About Odessa Kelley

As a self-taught fine artist Odessa uses photography and life experiences to produce dramatic images of the world’s flora and fauna. She complements these tools with detailed research about each subject. Her paintings reveal her love for art and color coupled with an irrepressible lifelong reverence for nature and wildlife.

After studying wildlife in pencil as a child, she flourished in her twenties when she disciplined herself for artistic development in color, light and composition through acrylics. Because of her inquisitive nature, she has experimented with many different media, although oils and acrylics are her primary artistic vehicles. While living in Arizona, Odessa was introduced to the vibrant paintings of the Southwest. The Southwestern artistic tradition of using bright colors in a realistic style spoke to her and is readily evident in Odessa’s paintings today. She credits any skill she possesses to many hours spent at the drawing board, the steadfast encouragement of her parents and to the many artists whose work she admires. Odessa strives to be true to the wildlife she paints bringing not only their image to life, but their spirit as well.

Odessa's concern for wildlife habitat loss and the devastating effects of urban sprawl has led to her current series of indigenous wildlife of North America. Her paintings are thoroughly inspired by the natural world and the continuing journey of understanding her place within it.

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