Modern Paintings Using the Traditional Methods of the Old Masters

A native of Alabama, artist  Ainsley McNeely  has drawn and painted all her life.  A student 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 lead 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.  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. 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.                                                                                                                            To contact the artist - amartist@REMOVETHIShotmail.com Updated regularly! PLEASE KEEP CHECKING BACK AS MORE PIECES ARE ADDED! horse dog cat bird gamebird Dixie historical history hawk eagle cowboy Indian Cherokee Seminole Creek war west duck cougar mountain lion  deer elk nature water river lake landscape Southern fishing fisherman shrimper delta alligator ibis net art painting turkey quail wildlife nature hunting egret flowers floral labrador boxer wolfhound terrier foxhunt  red wolf  mule Spanish dressage race colonial trader golf warrior soldier campfire artist chickee churn ballet mini dancer flamenco fly-fishing rodeo fox horse art rabbit canyon  Montana Wyoming South coast coastal outdoor wildlife kestrel historical South colonial equine portrait Indian cowboy foreign orientalism  sporting art hunting animal nature realism realistic international American waterfowl heron egret war 1812  Muskogee coastal bay Alabama gulf art nature oil fishing history painting historical hawk realism cougar drawing historical history eagle cowboy Indian pastel oil south wildlife miniature  nature sporting dog horse equine plein air gamebird history Indian settler pioneer outdoor sporting portrait bird duck heron turkey quail southern Montana Wyoming cat duck art painting west artist drawing pastel equine horse travel wolf bear outdoor