Rebel Tenderly
That's me at my corporate job
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Welcome to my website/how I escape my 9-5
dont tell my boss
Hello. How are you? Yes, I am asking you how you are doing. Shouldn't everyone have the ability to speak their mind and have someone to connect to? Well as cringey as it is to say, I'm glad you're here.
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I hope you stay around and look at some of my weird art and if you feel so brave, you should sign up for my newsletter. I'll tell you stories about how I stole 2 spoons from my job "by accident" and how I'm constantly reminded in my shame eveytime I eat with them...but also... I had to eat the yogurt in the car..so I really didn't have a choice.. You ever had a car yogurt?!
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Sorry. Distracted. I make art. You might like it. OR NOT. whatever. up to you.
Limited Time Prints
Order before they sell out....
JOIN MY MIDNIGHT SNACK CLUB
I’m Arlene Bruce, and every month I’ll be mailing out little pieces of my studio: prints, doodles, letters, and sometimes things that smell faintly of coffee and paint (bonus flavor).
The Midnight Snack Club is for anyone who:
eats a concha at 11 PM and calls it self-care
love spooky season because they’re both spooky and cozy
wants to collect art without needing a gallery wall or a trust fund
enjoys laughing and crying at the same time (usually while snacking).
What You’ll Get Mail Art: Each envelope has a print or mini original (like a snack-size piece of my bigger works).Notes from the
Studio: Letters, doodles, and confessions about the weird things I think while painting.
Surprises: Zines, stickers, or little experiments I shouldn’t be allowed to mass produce but will anyway.
Latest Projects
Exhibition: Spooky + Tender (Día de los Muertos) — Monarca Art Space, MÁS KC
Opening: Friday, November 7 • On view: through December
Where: 1225 Union Ave, Suite 100, Kansas City, MO 64101 (West Bottoms)
This new body of work began with a Día de los Muertos prompt and grew into a celebration of identity—honoring memory, humor, and the beautiful mess of being alive. I wove in the flamboyant spirit of Lucha Libre—masks, bravado, grit—as a playful mirror to how we present ourselves versus who we are underneath. Expect skulls that smile back, tender color, and portraits that rebel (gently). Come see it in person and say hi.
My Name is
Arlene Bruce
I’m Arlene Bruce, a Mexican-American artist in Kansas City making bold, funny portraits where humor, chaos, and tenderness collide. I paint food and faces as love letters to being alive—celebrating the weird little rituals that make us human. My work lives between the sacred and the silly, inviting you to laugh, feel, and hang something a little rebellious on your wall.
