Gaye Kelly – Oil & Pastels

A native Texan, Gaye Johns Kelly paints portraits, still lifes, landscapes and figurative paintings.

Gaye studied art for five years at Kent State School of Art. She was accepted into their prestigious Blossom-Kent program, taking classes with Janet Fish and Alex Katz, as well as other New York Artists. She has also studied with Ray Vinella, Joseph Mendez, Bob Rohm, Doug Dawson, Desmond O'Hagen and Albert Handell.

She is a signature member of the Pastel Society of the Southwest and a signature member of the Association of Creative Artists in Dallas. Her paintings have won many awards and were included in both the Pastel Journal's 2001 and 2002 "Pastel 100" publications.

"I consider it a high privilege to work as a painter. I delight in recording the world and the people around me."

Gaye teaches painting in her studio in Highland Village, Texas. She is represented by the Garret Art Gallery in McKinney, Texas. Growing up in the small North Texas town of Electra, Gaye says, "I don't think I ever saw an original work of art until I was in college, but I drew and painted with whatever art supplies were available from the time I was a small child." When her five children were mostly grown, she entered Kent State University's art school. There, she was accepted into the Blossom-Kent Art Program, studying with New York artists Janet Fish and Alex Katz, as well as with many other artists from New York City, in the Visiting Artists Program. "I could only afford to take one class per semester, so I took every painting and drawing class that was offered, repeating some of them." After moving from Ohio, she painted on her own and later attended workshops with Joseph Mendez, Ray Vinella, Daniel Greene, Albert Handell, Desmond O'Hagen, Doug Dawson, and Bob Rohm.

Her works have been accepted into many juried competitions in the Dallas area, as well as in Houston, St. Louis, and Chicago. In the Pasadena Art League, her still life was awarded Best of Show, juried by Carrie Ballard. She won the Vi and Ray Froman award for portraits and the Ray Froman award in the 1999 Association of Creative Artists show in Dallas, juried by Kevin McPherson. Her pastel was chosen for the First Award of Excellence at the 2001 Pastel Society of the Southwest National show, juried by Ned Mueller, and her oil won first place in the 2003 Texas and Neighbors Regional show. Her pastels were published as finalists in the Pastel Journal's Pastel 100 in 2001 and also in 2002. In 2003, her painting, Temple Bells II, was accepted into the Oil Painters of America Midwest Regional at the Hilligoss Gallery in Chicago, and was featured on the invitation to the show. Her oil painting, "Asa," won the B. Frank White award in the 2005 Pastel Society of the Southwest Annual Juried Show. Recently, her work was featured in the invitational Contemporary Masters Show in Fredericksburg, Texas.

Gaye lives with her husband in Highland Village, Texas, where she paints in her home studio. She is represented by the Garret Gallery in McKinney, Texas.