Shelby Keefe

Shelby Keefe is an award-winning, impressionistic painter, teacher and performance artist. Born in Whitewater, WI in 1958, she graduated in 1981 with a BFA from Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee, WI. Always painting even while working as a self-employed graphic designer, it was in 2005 when her success as a fine artist allowed her to become a full-time painter. Her award-winning urban landscape paintings and plein air work have earned her participation in prestigious national juried shows, plein air painting competitions, residencies, and arts festivals as well as garnering commission work for many corporate clients and private collectors. She has been written about and featured on the cover of SouthwestArt and PleinAir Magazines and continues to grow her reputation nationally. She is represented at Timothy Cobb Fine Arts in Milwaukee, WI; Oh-Be-Joyful Galleries in Telluride/Crested Butte, CO; and Castle Gallery of Fine Art in Fort Wayne, IN.

Artist Statement

“I am passionate about drawing and depicting my subjects with honesty as well as expressiveness. My goal is to create a fresh perspective to the recognizable world without being predictable or mundane. Being comfortable at rendering in oil paint, I enjoy tackling complex subjects from cityscapes to the figure in the ala prima method of wet on wet.  Utilizing a vibrant underpainting technique of complimentary colors, my oil paintings are complex, but not overly-worked. As I continue to grow as a representationalist painter, I plan to develop my ability to say more with less.”

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