Laurie Kersey
My muse is the natural world; the forest, the earth, the sky, the trees, the flowers, the little woodland animals, the birds, the horse beneath me...this is where everything is right in the world.
Laurie
Pebble Beach, CA
Laurie Kersey
“My muse is the natural world; the forest, the earth, the sky, the trees, the flowers, the little woodland animals, the birds, the horse beneath me...this is where everything is right in the world. These are the things that I am compelled to paint.”
Laurie Kersey’s life as an artist began as a child in rural Ohio. She grew up in an artistic household and always loved to draw and paint. Her mother enjoyed painting in oils when Laurie was young and then later switched to watercolors. Her father was a horseman, training and racing harness horses, and she spent her summers helping out in the barn at the track.
After an early art education at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and then a 15 year career in commercial art as an Art Director and Illustrator on the East Coast, Kersey relocated to San Francisco, studied painting at the Academy of Art University, and made the switch to fine art. She later taught painting and drawing in the Fine Art Department at the Academy.
Though excited about painting myriad aspects of the natural world, including landscape and floral, a dominant theme in her work is horses. Having ridden for many years, she has come to realize that her hands-on experience with horses uniquely influences the way that she sees and paints them.
“My equine paintings focus on the relationships - between horses, or between horse and human. That’s the part I know well. As beautiful as the outside of a horse is, it’s the inside that interests me the most. One of my favorite things about riding is meeting and getting to know so many different horses; different characters and personalities, different quirks, likes, and dislikes. I love discovering those things as a rider, and I love trying to express them in a painting.” Education:
1980-1982 Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
1997-1998 Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA
Workshops include: Scott Christensen, Dan Gerhartz, Sherrie McGraw, Jill Soukup, Craig Nelson
View video of "Inside the Artist's Studio" talk from 11/9/2022
- YouTube Link
- Or scroll to 11/9/2022 video on this page
Artwork
Honors:
- California Art Club - Signature Member
- Oil Painters of America - Signature Member
- American Impressionist Society - Signature Member
- American Women Artists - Master Signature Member
Selected Publications:
- Cowboys & Indians Magazine April 2023 Editorial Feature
- Southwest Art Magazine
- June/July 2022 Editorial Feature Harmonic Convergence https://www.southwestart.com/featured/kersey-l-jun2022
- Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine October 2019
Featured Artwork:
- Laurie Kersey https://fineartconnoisseur.com/2019/10/featured-artwork-laurie-kersey/Art of the West Magazine November/December 2018 Editorial Feature The Power of Two https://aotw.com/2018/11/the-power-of-two/
Painting California:
- Seascapes and Seaside Towns By Jean Stern and Molly Siple, In Association with the California Art Club Published by Rizzoli Int’l Books, 2017 https://www.rizzoliusa.com/book/9780847860593/
- Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine
- August 2016 Editorial Feature
- Four Painters Thriving on the Monterey Peninsula https://fineartconnoisseur.com/2016/07/issue-july-august-2016/
Selected Exhibitions:
Museum Exhibitions
- 2023 Bowers Museum, Santa Ana, CA - California Art Club 112th Annual Gold Medal Exhibition
- 2023 Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA - Annual Art Auction
- 2022 Cheyenne Frontier Days Old West Museum, Cheyenne, WY - Cheyenne Frontier Days Invitational Western Art Show and Sale
- 2022 Bowers Museum, Santa Ana, CA - California Art Club 111th Annual Gold Medal Exhibition
- 2022 Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA - Annual Art Auction
- 2022 Customs House Museum, Clarksville, TN - Breaking Through, American Women Artists National Juried Exhibition
- 2022 Steamboat Art Museum, Steamboat Springs, CO - Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition
*Seascape Award of Excellence
- 2021 Hilbert Museum of California Art, Orange, CA - California Art Club 110th Annual Gold Medal Exhibition
- 2021 Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA - Annual Art Auction
- 2020 Booth Museum, Cartersville, GA - Making Their Mark, American Women Artists National Juried Exhibition (moved online)
- 2020 Hilbert Museum, Orange, CA - California Art Club 109th Annual Gold Medal Exhibition (moved online)
- 2019 Steamboat Art Museum, Steamboat Springs, CO - Looking West, American Women Artists National Juried Exhibition
*Grand Prize
- 2019 Pasadena Museum of California Art, Pasadena, CA - California Art Club 108th Annual Gold Medal Exhibition
- 2019 Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA - Annual Art Auction
- 2018 Hockaday Museum of Art, Kalispell, MT - A Timeless Legacy
- 2018 Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, LA, CA - California Art Club 107th Annual Gold Medal Exhibition
- 2018 USC Pacific Asia Museum, Pasadena, CA - Painting California: Seascapes & Beach Towns
- 2018 Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA - Annual Art Auction
- 2018 Rockwell Museum, Corning, NY - American Women Artists National Juried Exhibition, Perspectives of the American Experience
- 2018 Steamboat Art Museum, Steamboat Springs, CO - 27th Annual Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition
- 2018 Peninsula Museum of Art, Burlingame, CA - Art Between the Lines: Paintings by the California Art Club
- 2017 Tucson Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ - American Women Artists National Juried Exhibition, "Under a Vast Sky"
- 2017 Autry Museum of the American West, Los Angeles, CA - California Art Club 106th Annual Gold Medal Exhibition
- 2017 Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA - Annual Art Auction
National Exhibitions
- 2023 Awarded Best Oil in the Annual Plein Air Salon National Competition from Plein Air Magazine
- 2023 Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, Charleston, SC
- 2023 American Miniatures, Settlers West Galleries, Tucson, AZ
- 2023 Cowgirl Artists of America/Western Gallery, Wild Flowers Online Exhibition
- 2023 Coors Western Art Exhibit and Sale, Denver, CO
- 2022 American Impressionist Society National Juried Exhibition, Mary Williams Fine Art, Boulder, CO
- 2022 California Art Club Biennial Exhibition, Blue Line Arts, Roseville, CA
*Rick J Delanty Award of Excellence
- 2022 Winner, Western Category, July Plein Air Salon from Plein Air Magazine
- 2022 Winner, Animals Category, June Plein Air Salon from Plein Air Magazine
- 2022 Oil Painters of America Western Regional Juried Exhibition, Southwest Gallery, Dallas, TX
- 2022 Winner, First Place Overall, April Plein Air Salon from Plein Air Magazine
- 2022 Winner, Western Category, January Plein Air Salon from Plein Air Magazine
- 2022 Coors Western Art Exhibit and Sale, Denver, CO
- 2021 Mountain Oyster Club Contemporary Western Art Show and Sale, Tucson, AZ
- 2021 Winner, Floral Category, October Plein Air Salon from Plein Air Magazine
- 2021 American Impressionist Society Online Exhibition
- 2021 Winner, Western Category, August Plein Air Salon from Plein Air Magazine
- 2021 Oil Painters of America Western Regional Exhibition, Wichita, KS
- 2021 American Impressionist Society National Juried Exhibition, Omaha, NE
- 2021 California Art Club, Moments of Joy Online Exhibition
- 2021 Winner, Western Category, May Plein Air Salon from Plein Air Magazine
- 2021 Oil Painters of America Salon Show Juried Exhibition, Gainesville, GA
- 2021 Winner, Western Category, April Plein Air Salon from Plein Air Magazine
- 2021 Winner, Animals Category, April Plein Air Salon from Plein Air Magazine
- 2021 Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, Escondido, CA
- 2021 California Art Club, Renewal & Rebirth Online Exhibition
- 2021 American Impressionist Society Small Works Showcase, Charleston, SC
- 2020 Oil Painters of America Online Showcase
- 2020 California Art Club, Welcome to California Online Exhibition
- 2020 American Academy of Equine Artists Online Showcase
- 2020 American Impressionist Society National Juried Exhibition, online
- 2020 Oil Painters of America Salon Show Juried Exhibition, online
*Honorable Mention
- 2020 Oil Painters of America Western Regional Juried Exhibition, St. George, UT
- 2019 American Impressionist Society National Juried Exhibition, Salmagundi Club, NYC
- 2019 Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, Saint George, UT
- 2019 American Women Artists Show, Fredericksburg, TX
- 2019 Oil Painters of America Western Regional Juried Exhibition, Santa Fe, NM
- 2019 American Impressionist Society Small Works Showcase, Petoskey, MI
- 2019 American Academy of Equine Art Open Juried Exhibition, Middleburg, VA
- 2018 Mountain Oyster Club Contemporary Western Art Show & Sale, Tucson, AZ 2018 American Impressionist Society National Juried Exhibition, Door County, WI
- 2018 Oil Painters of America Salon Show Juried Exhibition, Traverse City, MI
- 2018 American Impressionist Society Small Works Showcase, Cincinnati, OH
- 2017 Oil Painters of America Western Regional Juried Exhibition, St. George, UT
- 2017 American Impressionist Society National Juried Exhibition, Park City, UT
- 2017 Oil Painters of America National Juried Exhibition, Cincinnati, OH
- 2017 American Impressionist Society Small Works Showcase, Costa Mesa, CA
Representation:
Carmel Fine Art
Dolores and 6th Street
Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA 93921
Santa Fe Trails Fine Art
200 Old Santa Fe Trail
Santa Fe, NM 87501 505-983-7027
https://www.santafetrailsfineart.com
K Nathan Gallery 7723 Fay Ave. La Jolla, CA 92037 858-459-3490 https://www.knathangallery.com
