Cold Wax & Oil Series

I’ve recently been combining Cold Wax with my traditional oil paint. I find the combination of oil paint and cold wax (50%/50%) an expressive material to work with. Cold wax and oil create an almost sculptural medium facilitating looser strokes, experimentation with layers, color, shape and various mark making tools. The end result leans toward a more abstract interpretation of the landscape. These small paintings are done on paper backed on wood panel, or Gessoed linen or wood panel.

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Kathy O’Leary is a California native working as a professional artist for over 16 years.  She began her art studies during college in the late 60’s, focusing mainly on graphic design and illustration. After several years of training she left the field and turned her attention to other work and raising a family.  In the early 90’s she returned to her art once more, this time focusing on developing her skills in fine art.

During the course of her reintroduction to art she found her basic training in commercial art and illustration provided a solid grounding as she explored and experimented with different mediums.  Once she moved out of her home to a separate studio space and began working in oils she realized she had found the perfect medium as well as a great space to work through her artistic vision.

Much of her skill as an artist has grown through self-direction and long hours at the job.  She gained further experience and knowledge working with several accomplished artists in her own region of Northern California and attending workshops with Plein Air Painters of America, and Scott Christensen.

While she sometimes uses the still life and figure as subject matter, currently her main focus is the land, particularly the beautiful rural and protected areas of her home state of California.  She works both in plein air, when weather and circumstances permit and on lager format paintings in her studio from field sketches and her digital photography.  She takes several trips yearly (sometimes for weeks at a time) around California to paint on location and photograph.  Recent trips have included painting at regional Land Trusts with the California Art Club.

Kathy’s work has won recognition and awards, in regional and national juried exhibitions and her work can be seen regularly in several galleries in Central and Northern California, as well as on her blogs.