Laurie Kersey, 1961

La vita dell'artista di Laurie Kersey è iniziata nelle zone rurali dell'Ohio. È cresciuta in una famiglia artistica e ha sempre amato disegnare e dipingere.

Sua madre amava dipingere a olio quando Laurie era giovane e poi passò agli acquerelli. Suo padre era un cavaliere, addestrava e correva cavalli finiti, e trascorreva le sue estati aiutando nella stalla dell'ippodromo.

Dopo una prima educazione artistica presso l'Art Institute di Pittsburgh e poi una carriera di 15 anni nell'arte commerciale come Art Director ed Illustrator sulla costa orientale, Kersey si è trasferita a San Francisco, ha studiato pittura all'Academy of Art University e ha fatto il passaggio alle belle arti.

In seguito ha insegnato pittura e disegno al Dipartimento di Belle Arti dell'Accademia.

Sebbene entusiasta di dipingere una miriade di aspetti del mondo naturale, inclusi paesaggi e fiori, un tema dominante nel suo lavoro sono i cavalli. Avendo cavalcato per molti anni, si è resa conto che la sua esperienza pratica con i cavalli influenza in modo unico il modo in cui li vede e li dipinge.

"I miei dipinti equini si concentrano sulle relazioni - tra cavalli, o tra cavallo ed umani. Questa è la parte che conosco bene. Per quanto sia bello l'esterno di un cavallo, è l'interno che mi interessa di più. Una delle cose che preferisco dell'equitazione è incontrare e conoscere così tanti cavalli diversi; diversi personaggi e personalità, diverse stranezze, simpatie ed antipatie. Amo scoprire queste cose come pilota ed amo cercare di esprimerle in un dipinto".

I riconoscimenti includono premi all'American Women Artists National Juried Exhibition, all'Oil Painters of America Salon Show, al Plein Air Salon Online Competition e al Carmel Art Festival.

È stata descritta in Art of the West Magazine, Southwest Art Magazine, Plein Air Magazine, Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine, American Artist Magazine, USEF's Equestrian Magazine, Horses in Art Magazine, ed è stata una vincitrice del primo posto nel concorso annuale della rivista Artist's.

Kersey è membro della California Art Club, Oil Painters of America ed American Impressionist Society, membro principale di American Women Artists e membro artista dell'American Academy of Equine Art.

È rappresentata da Jones and Terwilliger Galleries a Carmel, CA e Palm Desert, CA, Mountain Trails Fine Art a Santa Fe, NM, e K Nathan Gallery a La Jolla, CA.

"My love, my sanctuary, is the natural world; the forest, the earth, the sky, the trees, the flowers, the little woodland animals, the birds, the horse beneath me…this is where everything is right in the world. These are the things that I am compelled to paint" - Laurie Kersey.

Laurie Kersey’s life as an artist began as a child in rural Ohio. She grew up in an artistic household and always loved to draw and paint. Her mother enjoyed painting in oils when Laurie was young and then later switched to watercolors. Her father was a horseman, training and racing harness horses, and she spent her summers helping out in the barn at the track.

After an early art education at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh and then a 15 year career in commercial art as an Art Director and Illustrator on the East Coast, Kersey relocated to San Francisco, studied painting at the Academy of Art University, and made the switch to fine art. She later taught painting and drawing in the Fine Art Department at the Academy.

Though excited about painting myriad aspects of the natural world, including landscape and floral, a dominant theme in her work is horses. Having ridden for many years, she has come to realize that her hands-on experience with horses uniquely influences the way that she sees and paints them.

"My equine paintings focus on the relationships - between horses, or between horse and human. That’s the part I know well. As beautiful as the outside of a horse is, it’s the inside that interests me the most. One of my favorite things about riding is meeting and getting to know so many different horses; different characters and personalities, different quirks, likes, and dislikes. I love discovering those things as a rider, and I love trying to express them in a painting".

Honors include awards in the American Women Artists National Juried Exhibition, the Oil Painters of America Salon Show, the Plein Air Salon Online Competition, and the Carmel Art Festival.

She has been featured in Art of the West Magazine, Southwest Art Magazine, Plein Air Magazine, Fine Art Connoisseur Magazine, American Artist Magazine, USEF's Equestrian Magazine, Horses in Art Magazine, and has been a first place winner in the Artist’s Magazine’s annual competition.

Kersey is a Signature Member of the California Art Club, Oil Painters of America, and American Impressionist Society, a Master Signature Member of American Women Artists, and an Artist Member of the American Academy of Equine Art. She is represented by Jones and Terwilliger Galleries in Carmel, CA and Palm Desert, CA, Mountain Trails Fine Art in Santa Fe, NM, and K Nathan Gallery in La Jolla, CA.

She resides in Pebble Beach, CA with her artist husband, Brian Blood.