Kelly McQuain

A site documenting the writing, art and musings of Kelly McQuain.Randomly updated.

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Mural Update, July 31, 2025

I returned home from an art retreat in Portugal this week to find my mural project made the Mainline Health blog! https://giving.mainlinehealth.org/blog/art-healing-and-growth

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A new painting of mine debuts tonight at the William way LGBTQ center in Philadelphia

Dear friends, I’m delighted to have a painting in the William way LGBT centers 19th annual art show. The opening reception is tonight, January 16thth at 6 PM. The show will be up for about a month, so drop by sometime and see all the artwork. I caught a sneak preview and I dropped off my painting this past week, and the show looks really good! Plus food, drinks, and merriment! –Kelly QUEER…

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New Sales, Upcoming Art Shows, Mural Commission--woo-hoo!

Just sold! A painting titled “Home State” in honor of (you guessed it) my home state of West Virginia. You can see more of my work at the link below. https://kellymcquain.wordpress.com/2024/09/08/splendor-revealed-six-new-paintings-to-debut-at-art-ability-in-november-2024-show/ In other news, I have six works in the 2024 Art Ability international exhibit debuting November 2, 2024 in Malvern, PA,…

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Splendor REVEALED! Six new paintings to debut at Art Ability in November 2024 show!

Title: how we delight in showing offthe petals of our splendor Kelly McQuain, 2024acrylic on canvas Today I am sharing a new painting, one of six that just got accepted in a show that debuts November 2, 2024 in Malvern, PA, called Art Ability. I was their Featured Artist last year. To learn more about this international show and my artwork, visit these links: 6ABC Action News Feature on me…

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Gallery Tour of my Show, "Ways of Seeing"

This is the last official week of my summer 2024 solo show at grasshopper gallery at the lost river trading post in Wardensville, West Virginia. Here is a virtual tour of the show for those who couldn’t make it. I meant to post this sooner, but this summer has been whizzing by, full of new paintings and projects. (One of those projects is a new Commission for a mural for a rooftop garden in the…

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Video Tour of “Ways of Seeing” Gallery Show, Summer 2024

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Day 11 - A Painting a Day: Catch me if you can! --- Exclusive Exhibition: Kelly McQuain's Art for Sale at Grasshopper Gallery

In tandem with my current gallery show, I’m posting a painting every few days.  The show, Ways of Seeing, invites viewers to look closely at images that overlap and flow into each other, mirroring the porous boundaries of nature and the interconnection of all life. Today’s painting is one of my personal favorites. In my work, I often fuse people and animals with flowers or fish, And sometimes I…

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Kelly McQuain: Ways of Seeing - Nature and Life Paintings, Day 9 - A Painting a Day

mine to shareyours to hold Kelly McQuain, 2023. 24×20 inches. Acrylic on gallery-wrapped canvas In tandem with my current gallery show, I’m posting a painting every few days.  The show, Ways of Seeing, invites viewers to look closely at images that overlap and flow into each other, mirroring the porous boundaries of nature and the interconnection of all life. You can learn more a out my…

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Day 10 – A Painting a Day  -- Celebrate with a satyr!

In tandem with my current gallery show, I’m posting a painting every few days.  The show, Ways of Seeing, invites viewers to look closely at images that overlap and flow into each other, mirroring the porous boundaries of nature and the interconnection of all life. As I mentioned in a previous post, I like to create faces, both realistic and highly stylized. This playful painting depicts a satyr,…

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Day 8: A Painting a Day

even when the light grows low there is still so much to seeKelly McQuain, 2024 17×13 framed Mixed media with acrylic In tandem with my current gallery show, I’m posting a painting a day. The show, Ways of Seeing, invites viewers to look closely at images that overlap and flow into each other, mirroring the porous boundaries of nature and the interconnection of all life. I’ve fallen a bit behind…

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Day 7: A Painting a Day

Day 7 – A Painting a Day – Shh! Secrets are hatching! This painting is one of the earliest completed in the current show, done during COVID. It reflects a nascent stirring toward the more fanciful style that dominates the works in my current show. I am a fan of painting people, whether from real life or a my imagination. I once did a series of poet portraits for Fjord’s Review, a literary…

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Day 6 – A Painting a Day --- behold the green monkey!

Day 6, though I am sure I have missed a day or two since starting this project. Q: What do you see in these funky flowers? let your eyes listenfor the flowers’ roar       In tandem with my current gallery show, I’m posting a painting a day. The show, Ways of Seeing, invites viewers to look closely at images that overlap and flow into each other, mirroring the porous boundaries of nature and the…

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A Painting a Day #4 and #5

Check out the new paintings a day!

Today you get a two-for-one deal since yesterday I was too busy to post a painting. I was in the Philadelphia suburbs doing a site visit at a Women’s Health center where I was chosen to paint a mural for the entrance to a new rooftop flower and vegetable garden that Mainline Health Systems is building. The project is still in the planning and preparation phase, but as I commence work on it I hope…

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A Painting a Day #3 - from Ways of Seeing

A Painting a Day #3

A Painting a Day #3 – from Ways of Seeing in the see-me/don’t-see-me of the mind’s tricky eye            Kelly McQuain, 2023. 23×19 inches framed. Acrylic. When is a cat more than a cat? In tandem with my current gallery show, I’m posting a painting a day. The show, Ways of Seeing, invites viewers to look closely at images that overlap and flow into each other, mirroring the porous boundaries…

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My Summer 2024 Solo Art Show Features Nearly 40 New Paintings - Kelly McQuain

Please check out my new solo show with nearly 40 new works!

So much has been going on lately that it’s been hard to update the website until now! I’ve been busy launching a solo exhibit at Grasshopper Gallery in the Lost River Trading Post (Wardensville, WV). The show, titled Ways of Seeing, kicked off on July 6th and runs through August 28th, 2024. The show’s  themes include the celebration of nature in an era of climate crisis the interconnectedness…

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Art News and Book News from a Hometown Hero!

Art News: The Art Ability exhibit is coming to a close Jan. 28th! Check it out online if you haven’t had a chance to do so! Browse the 2023 Art Ability artwork: https://one.bidpal.net/artability23/browse/fixedPrice   (McQuain’s paintings are 215-223, on p. 4)   ALSO… Philadelphia’s 6ABC Action News named me a Hometown Hero recently:. View the clip:…

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My Paintings Got Featured on Action News 6 Today! Check it out!

Check this out from Action News!

Hey! Today I was featured on ABC Action News 6 in a Hometown Hero segment where I got to talk about painting, poetry and the arts as a vehicle for healing. Get a sneak peek at some of my art on display at the Dec. 9th, 2023 Open House! The show runs through Jan. 28th, with over 300 works by participating artists at all price points, so time to holiday shop! To see the video segment, click…

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