Ramon Kelley Paints Portraits and Figures [signed] [first edition]

Ramon Kelley (b. 1939) was born one of ten children in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1939. He has lived much of his life in Colorado and is of Mexican American heritage. He worked as a ranch hand and served in the US Navy. He began his art career in 1963. Although largely a self-taught artist he was influenced by Fechin, Sargent and Boldini. He received a scholarship to and studied at the Colorado Institute of Art in Denver. He specializes in portraiture, still life, and landscape paintings. After the birth of his first son, Kelley began working in advertising and illustration to support his family, all the while continuing to draw portraits in the evenings. Kelley found a gallery in Taos, New Mexico to represent his portraits, which quickly allowed him to focus exclusively on producing fine art. Since then, he has never ceased experimenting to further his skill. His portraits capture the inner glow and beauty of his subjects and reflect his deep understanding of sensitivity and human emotion. He has been named a Master Pastelist by the Pastel Society of America, which also elected him to the Pastel Hall of Fame. He has won awards for his work at exhibitions including the Prix de West Invitational, George Phippen Memorial, American Watercolor Society, Allied Artists of America, National Academy of Western Art, Southwestern Drawing Biennial, and the Colorado and Wyoming Governor's Invitational. Kelley is now a member of the American Watercolor Society, Allied Artists of America, Knickerbocker Artists, Oil Painters of America, Pastel Society of America, National Academy of Western Art, and the Whiskey Painters of America.