Grace McKee

Grace McKee was born in India and grew up surrounded by art in the form of beautiful architecture, amazing sculptures, exquisitely embroidered silks, intricate jewelry, vividly colored flowers and enchanting dances.
Grace‘s passion for color is evident in her paintings.  She gained a great deal of inspiration from books portraying the works of Sergei Bongart, Nicolai Fechin and Richard Schmid.  Her painting tends towards the impressionistic style with lots of color and abundant paint.  Grace paints landscapes mostly, but also a wide variety of other subjects ranging from flowers to still life, portraits and nudes.  Although her main love is oil, she continues to paint watercolors too, and has added sculpture and ceramics to her repertoire.  

Since moving to Sedona, she has studied with acclaimed artists including Don Sahli, Craig Srebnik, Pat Weaver, Gretchen Lopez, Kathryn Stats, John Budicin, Peggy Sands, David Haskell and Bill Fravel.  Her artistic goal is to have her paintings reflect the warm and colorful beauty that surrounds us, conveying a sense of nostalgia for familiar places and keen anticipation for those that we have yet to visit.  

Grace is a member of the American Impressionist Society, Sedona Visual Artists' Coalition, Northern Arizona Watercolor Society and the Sedona Arts Center.  She is currently represented by Infusion Gallery, Los Angeles and Manheim Gallery, Cottonwood, AZ.

Exhibitions:
Infusion Gallery, Los Angeles 2009 – solo exhibition
Galleria d’arte Moderna Alba in Ferrara, Italy, June 2009 – collective exhibition
Agora Gallery, New York in 2008 – collective exhibition
Salon International 2009, Greenhouse Gallery, San Antonio, Texas – juried exhibition
Millhouse Pond Gallery, New York in 2008 – juried exhibition
The Pen and Brush Gallery, New York in 2008 – juried exhibition
Manheim Gallery, Cottonwood, AZ in 2008 & 2009 – juried exhibitions
Sedona Arts Center in 2006 – 2009 – juried exhibitions
Northern Arizona Watercolor Society 2009 – juried exhibition

Statement
I am a full-time artist who enjoys painting, both oils and watercolor.  I have always loved drawing, even as a child, drawing portraits in the margins of my schoolbooks - much to the dismay of my teachers.  I excelled in drawing examinations at school and continued sketching throughout my life, especially while travelling abroad.

I chose a scientific career which involved examining beautifully colored cells and tissues under the microscope.  When the opportunity arose I started painting full time and have never looked back since.  I enjoy nature, brilliant sunsets, colorful flowers, evocative landscapes, and scenes that depict the life of everyday people.  Travelling to other countries has always held a great appeal for me as it introduces me to new and interesting people, places, architecture and customs.

My goal in painting is to reproduce the beauty I see around me, to capture the joy that I feel when I first see a breath-taking scene.  I love the texture and smell of oil paints, and especially the ability to use these paints thickly, in the manner of the impressionists.   It gives me great joy when people look at my landscape paintings and say “I feel I can walk right into that scene”.