Artist Biography
"My love of the early American painters from the Hudson River School and Victorian era has
inspired many of my landscape oil paintings, which are directed toward the styles of those
artists. I love the natural beauty of the land
and thus I share a similar vision to the Hudson River School painters: Capturing the beauty of the earth on canvas,
devoid of signs of human progress (or interferance), with only minimal evidence of man living in harmony with the land.
I hope to one day produce comparable
works to such masters of landscape as Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Frederic Church, George Inness and
John Kennsett among others."
~ John O'Keefe Jr.
Hello,
My name is John Joseph O'Keefe Jr.. I was born and raised in Wallingford, Connecticut, USA and this is where I am now raising my family with my wife Jennifer. While I am comfortable working in most mediums I specialize in landscape oil painting done in a style similar to the famous Hudson River School and Victorian era artists.
I sell original works, accept commission work to create custom landscape paintings, and I offer a variety of high quality pigment print, i.e. Giclee, reproductions of my artwork.
ART IN MY EARLY LIFE
Like every other artist I have loved viewing and creating art
for as long as I can remember. Growing up I was always drawing with pencils,
colored pencils, watercolors, and just about every other medium I could get my hands on.
I received formal art training during my primary school years.
In elementary school I received training at the Paier College of Art in New Haven, Connecticut,
and in middle school I was invited to attend art classes one day a week at Connecticut's University of
Bridgeport.
Also during this time I had studied watercolor painting with Connecticut artist Kathy
Singer.
However, my most beloved art teacher is my Aunt Annie who instilled in me a love
of art when I was a child.
The first recognition of my artistic ability happened in elementary school when I won an
award, placing in the top five of a state wide student art competition.
It was my love for art that led me to seek a career in mechanical drafting. As new technologies emerged I advanced from manual drafting to more sophisticated 3D CAD modeling systems, new product development, and project management. Over the course of 18 years I completed many university courses and job specific training to advance my mechanical design/engineering career. Even though my work was very technical in nature, there is an artistic element involved in the designing of new products and the associated documentation processes.
My love of creating art did not stop at drawing and painting. As a teenager I started pursuing musical arts, my primary focus being the guitar. For a time I ran a small recording studio out of my home, while also playing guitar in a few bands. Today my children use the studio as they pursue their own musical interests.
The computer soon became another outlet for creating art. With my computer skills and 3D modeling experience I began to develope a sophisticated DC-9-41 cockpit add-on package for Microsoft Flight Simulator. This project is focused on the Scandinavian Airline Service (SAS) DC-9 airplane OY-KGR. This project requires extensive programming and a large number of computer generated renderings and image files that are assembled in real-time when the game is running giving the person that is playing the experience of sitting in a real DC-9 cockpit.
It was my love for art that led me to seek a career in mechanical drafting. As new technologies emerged I advanced from manual drafting to more sophisticated 3D CAD modeling systems, new product development, and project management. Over the course of 18 years I completed many university courses and job specific training to advance my mechanical design/engineering career. Even though my work was very technical in nature, there is an artistic element involved in the designing of new products and the associated documentation processes.
My love of creating art did not stop at drawing and painting. As a teenager I started pursuing musical arts, my primary focus being the guitar. For a time I ran a small recording studio out of my home, while also playing guitar in a few bands. Today my children use the studio as they pursue their own musical interests.
The computer soon became another outlet for creating art. With my computer skills and 3D modeling experience I began to develope a sophisticated DC-9-41 cockpit add-on package for Microsoft Flight Simulator. This project is focused on the Scandinavian Airline Service (SAS) DC-9 airplane OY-KGR. This project requires extensive programming and a large number of computer generated renderings and image files that are assembled in real-time when the game is running giving the person that is playing the experience of sitting in a real DC-9 cockpit.
A RE-NEWED LOVE OF ART
In 2007 my wife, Jennifer, rekindled my zeal for drawing and painting. It was her
encouragement and support that motivated me to create O'Keefe Arts and take up oil painting
as a full time artist.
Jennifer also enjoys creating art and its because of our shared love of art that we are working together
to promote the business and my paintings.
My paintings have been well received in the art community, which has allowed my works to be displayed in prestigious exhibitions and juried art shows. In my home state of Connecticut, the Lyme Art Gallery, Mystic Arts Center, Cate Charles Gallery, and the Mill-House Gallery have exhibited my artwork. My paintings have won awards and I have also had the honor of being a featured artist in a group exhibition at the Lyme Art Associations '17th Annual Associate Artists Exhibit'. In April of 2009 I was elected onto the board of directors of the Cheshire Art League in Cheshire, Connecticut, and I created and managed the leagues website until the fall of 2011. Organizations that I belong to are Oil Painters of America, Lyme Art Association, The Salmagundi Club of New York City, Mystic Arts Association, Cheshire Art League, and Landadscape Artists International. The future only seems brighter as I work to create and promote my art.
In closing, I have created this site to share my love of art with others. I have documented my entire body of oil paintings, along with some interesting facts about each piece, in the Landscape Paintings section..
Please enjoy!
John
My paintings have been well received in the art community, which has allowed my works to be displayed in prestigious exhibitions and juried art shows. In my home state of Connecticut, the Lyme Art Gallery, Mystic Arts Center, Cate Charles Gallery, and the Mill-House Gallery have exhibited my artwork. My paintings have won awards and I have also had the honor of being a featured artist in a group exhibition at the Lyme Art Associations '17th Annual Associate Artists Exhibit'. In April of 2009 I was elected onto the board of directors of the Cheshire Art League in Cheshire, Connecticut, and I created and managed the leagues website until the fall of 2011. Organizations that I belong to are Oil Painters of America, Lyme Art Association, The Salmagundi Club of New York City, Mystic Arts Association, Cheshire Art League, and Landadscape Artists International. The future only seems brighter as I work to create and promote my art.
In closing, I have created this site to share my love of art with others. I have documented my entire body of oil paintings, along with some interesting facts about each piece, in the Landscape Paintings section..
Please enjoy!
John