Kathy O'Leary has been a professional artist for over 20 years. A California native, she was raised south of San Francisco in the Santa Clara Valley. Growing up she played in the orchards and creeks of what was then a rural environment. As an adult she never lost her love of the rural landscape when she began painting as a transplant to California's far north coast on Humboldt Bay. Today her focus remains the landscape as she works on location and out of a large studio in 'Old Town' Eureka.
Her art studies began early in high school, and continued in college at San Jose State University. Dissatisfied with the focus on illustration and commercial art, she took several years away from the field before returning to focus on fine art. In addition to her earlier training in illustration, her development as an artist has been self taught and directed. Living in a rural artist's colony (Humboldt County) provided her with many artistic resources from which to draw, in addition to working at her art as a full time job. Over the years she also studied with several well known artists, including Scott Christensen, Carolyn Anderson, Mark Keckhoff, Jim McVicker, and a several other painters teaching in a PAPA (Plein air Painters of America) workshop.
Kathy works both en plain air, and on larger studio pieces from field sketches and her digital photography. Over the years, her interest and skill in plein air painting has grown. She now takes several trips annually to paint throughout the state. Most recent trips included, plein air paint outs at Lake Tahoe, and Shelter Cove and spending a month in the California dessert (29 Palms/Joshua Tree) living and painting with 5 other artists. In October she painted on location during an extended trip through Utah and Colorado.
Kathy's work has won recognition and awards in regional and national juried exhibitions (including Oil Painters of America and California Art Club). Her work can be seen in several galleries in California including Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento, The Studio Shop in Burlingame, Sewell Gallery in Eureka, and Strawberry Rock Gallery in Trinidad, as well as other regional venues. Much of her work can be viewed on her web site: kathyoleary.com.
Most recent awards:
2017: "Best of Show" Humboldt Arts Council, Morris Graves Museum of Art, Eureka, CA
2017: "Best Representational Art" RAA annual Fall Exhibition, Eureka, CA.
2016: "Best of Show" Humboldt Arts Council, annual member show, Morris Graves Museum of Art, Eureka, CA
2015 "Best Local Artist" Shelter Cove Plein Air at the Lost Coast, Shelter Cove, CA
2015 "First Place" North Lake Tahoe Plein Air Open, North Lake Tahoe, CA
2015 "Best of Show" Humboldt Art's Council annual Juried Exhibition, Morris Graves
Museum of Art, Eureka, CA
2014 First Place, "Quick Draw" Shelter Cove Plein Air event, SC, CA
2014 "Best of How" 56th Juried Fall Exhibition, RAA Eureka, CA
2013 "Honorable Mentin, 55th Fall Exhibition, RAA, Eureka, CA
2012 "3rd Place", Humboldt Arts Council Annual Juried Member Exhibition, Eureka
2012 "Best of Show RAA juried Exhibition, (Diana Daniels, Crocker Art Museum, Sacto),Eureka, CA
2009 "Best of Show For Painting", RAA Juried Exhibition, Eureka, CA
2008 "First Place" Award, RAA Annual Exhibition (George Rivera, Executive Director & Senior Curator Oakland Museum of CA), Eureka, CA
2008 "Award of Excellence", California Art Club Exhibition, "Natural Beauty", Pasadena, CA.
Powered by Artwork Archive