Keri teaches drawing and painting classes influenced by French artists such as Matisse and Cezanne. She currently teaches an impressionism class that goes in-depth to learn about some of the greats in the discipline, while inspiring her students to use classic techniques--mixed with their own innovation-- to create mini-masterpieces. In addition to teaching at Neighborhood Art Studio, Keri is also the owner of The French Flat, a French-inspired custom design and painting service and garden antique dealer, and is midway through earning her MFA (Masters of Fine Art) in Illustration at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. Keri’s postgraduate studies allow her to pass the techniques and principles that she’s studying along to her students. 

When she’s not teaching an art class, studying, or at The French Flat, Keri enjoys hiking, tennis, swimming, and travel. She lives in the Stapleton community with her husband and two kids- 13-year-old Hannah and 12-year-old Levi- as well as a dog named Sage and two parakeets, Laz and Annie, as well as with her parents, Cathy and Will Kimmal ~ published designers, and brothers, all Francophiles, and masterful gardeners/chefs.  

Fun Facts:

• Chantel Vogel, the Creative Project Planning Manager at NAS, was Keri’s son’s teacher back in second grade!
• Keri’s favorite movie is the Hitchcock classic Rear Window, because she enjoys how it shows how everyone’s perspective of an event can be different depending on how you look at it.
• Keri’s favorite part of instructing art is seeing kids tumble into their ‘zone’ and shut out everything around them, creating a world within. Another favorite is the “aha” moments that spark connections and inspiration amongst art groups.