Ainsley McNeely         Modern paintings  using  traditional  methods  of the Old Masters

     A native of Alabama, artist  Ainsley McNeely  has drawn and painted all her life.  A student of the art of the old masters and the great artists of the 1800’s,  she originally worked primarily in watercolor and graphite then expanded into oil,  pen & ink,  pastel,  sculpture and more recently casein,  frequently mixing media to achieve the desired effect.   She paints  both  in  the  field   (which has led to interesting animal encounters!)    and  in the studio.   Her work can be seen in museums,  galleries,  private & corporate collections in North America, Europe, and Australia.   Ainsley’s  wildlife paintings,  sporting art,  portraits, historical  and  figure work appear in shows  throughout the U.S.,  winning awards in many competitions including the World Wildlife Art Festival,  The Art Show at the Dog Show,   The Miniature Art Society of Florida Show,  The Grand National Art Contest,  The Miniature Painters, Sculptors, & Gravers Society of Washington D.C. Show,  the Alabama Flora & Fauna Art Show,  the Spanish Moss Miniature Art Show and  the Louisiana Wildfowl Festival.  She also designed the 2001-2002 Alabama Duck Stamp,  and her art was featured on the cover of   Alabama Wildlife Magazine   as well as  in an article in  Art Galleries & Artists of the South.  Additionally, she is included in the book "Painted Sky: 106 Artists of the Rocky Mountain West" .  Three of her plein air paintings were selected for  "Alabama Then and Now",   the APAA traveling bicentennial exhibition,  and one of those paintings was featured by Hoover's Magazine. She was inducted into the UMS-Wright Hall of Fame for Fine Arts. She was one of the founders of the Alabama Miniature Art Society and  served as its president for 5 years.  Ainsley has always loved the outdoors and much of her time is spent in the field studying and photographing her subjects. She travels extensively - getting up close & personal with her subjects is an important part of her method. Firsthand experience leads to better paintings!

      A severe bout of Lyme Disease  (contracted  in the  field  while photographing wildlife)  interrupted her career but with practice & patience she rebuilt her skills.  The illness did not dampen her enthusiasm for the wild! Her reference material  for  historical  pieces  is  primarily  gathered  by  photographing costumed models  &  re-enactments throughout the country;   her figure work is usually drawn from a live model in the studio.   She particularly enjoys the challenge of capturing the beauty,  energy,  and  emotion of the natural world as well as the people & animals who inhabit it,  both now and in the past. 

   In the 1990s Ainsley went to the Wyoming/Montana area to paint and liked it so much she bought property and began designing a new studio, adding western scenes & subjects to her repertoire.  She represented the United States in an artist exchange with Eastern Europe  (3 American artists were sent there, 3 artists were sent from Slovakia to the US)  and did a series of paintings from her many experiences there.   The History Museum of Mobile  incorporated her paintings with some of their artifacts in a show in their gallery and she was the lead artist in the southern history show "Looking Back". Ainsley also gives demonstrations and presentations to various art, conservation and business groups and occasionally teaches workshops. She holds a B.A. in studio art from Florida State University and a master’s degree from the University of South Alabama.

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You can contact the artist directly - follow the instructions in the address  (a necessary evil to defeat bots)   amartist@REMOVETHIShotmail.com

     All art on this site is copyrighted by Ainsley McNeely and all rights are reserved.