This week we welcome Cathy O’ Keefe.
O’Keefe is an abstract expressionist painter who works primarily in oils, acrylics, and mixed media. She was born in Connecticut and raised there and in New York City. She first became interested in art as a child and created illustrations, paintings and sculptures as a teenager and young adult. Subsequently, O’Keefe worked as a technical writer for 20 years, returning to her first love, art, in 2012.
She has taken courses at the Art Students League, Pratt, among other institutions, but is mainly self-taught. O’Keefe exhibits in galleries and other venues in the U.S., and her work is on public display in several non-profit organizations focused on social justice and mental health. She also produced a painting on commission for Yale University.
“I create with a mixture of abandon and focus. I choose my colors, knives, and brushes carefully before I start to paint. I then make marks, strokes, and drips, and let the painting emerge. I let it speak to me. Eventually, I work toward bringing the elements together into a cohesive, joyful whole.
I have a long history with oil paint. I love the silence I feel inside while painting. The paintings themselves seem to call out with dynamism and a variety of emotions. I appreciate that people who view my paintings all see, feel, and think something different.”
