About the Artist
Kelly Pennington
"Passion for the Natural World"
Kelly Pennington is an Oklahoma artist whose work is rooted in a deep connection to the outdoors and the distinct character of the East Central Oklahoma landscape. She draws inspiration from the quiet beauty of rural life—grazing livestock, country roads, and the shifting colors of the seasons—translating these familiar scenes into paintings that are both observant and expressive. Working both on location and in the studio, she balances direct experience with a thoughtful approach to larger, more complex compositions.
Plein air painting has played a formative role in Pennington’s artistic development. During her early years of training, she spent extensive time painting outdoors—often working from the back of her car at sunrise, studying trees, clouds, and the changing atmosphere of the land around her. Travel has further enriched her perspective; returning home after painting unfamiliar places allows her to see her own countryside with renewed attention and appreciation.
Pennington works in high-quality oils using an alla prima approach, bringing immediacy and vitality to each painting session. Her energetic, color-rich brushwork is applied to linen panels in the field and to larger linen-mounted cradle boards in the studio. Up close, her paintings reveal a dynamic surface of varied marks and textures, while maintaining an underlying sense of structure and compositional clarity.
Artist Statement
I paint landscapes, animals, and rural structures that resonate with me emotionally, using a representational style grounded in direct observation. Working from life is central to my process and to the way I understand the essence of a place.
I am continually drawn to the countryside of rural Oklahoma, where I search for compositions that reveal something essential through season, light, and atmosphere. Some locations invite repeated visits, allowing me to experience how they shift over time. When I find a site worth pursuing, I set up a simple outdoor painting arrangement—easel, palette, brushes, and linen panel—so I can work with focus and without distraction. In those moments, I study the relationships of light, color, and value with greater intensity, editing what is unnecessary and emphasizing what carries the most visual and emotional weight.
Oil is my preferred medium for its range of transparent and opaque possibilities and for the energy it can hold within a single brushstroke. After painting outdoors, I return to the studio with field studies, visual notes, and reference photographs—especially for subjects that will not remain still. Over time, these experiences have built a strong internal understanding of nature, giving me the confidence to develop larger, more resolved paintings that remain rooted in direct experience
COMING SOON
2026 "Passing Through" Duo art exhibit with Karla Brady, The Leslie Powell Art Gallery, Lawton, OK.
Reception Nov 14, 6-9 pm, Nov 14- Dec 30, 2026
2024 Friends of Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Sulphur, OK: Two oil paintings for tourist panels.
Historical signage for the original golf course area and veterans walking to gather water from the natural springs area.
2024 Guymon Public Art Movement, Open Sky Gallery, "New Dawn"4'x8' oil on panel.
Portrait of elk that live in the city's wildlife refuge.
2023 Kimray Inc. AAA Visual Art Collection, Oklahoma City headquarters, Iconic Kimray Red Valve 3' x 2' oil on linen
Awards
2023 Ada Artist Association and Ada Arts Council Art Show, 2nd place Oil and Acrylic, “Navajo Churro Fleece”
2022 Ada Artist Association and Ada Arts Council Art Show, 2nd place Oil and Acrylic, “Sister Peach”
2021 Ada Artist Association Fall Art Show, 2nd place Oil and Acrylic , “Spring Signs”
Judge Dr. Bob Palmer
2021 Holdenville Society of Painters and Sculptors Spring Show, 1st Place in Master Artist Painting category
Judge Carol Armstrong
2o19 Outdoor Painters Society Associate Members Show and Sale, “Plein Vision in Miniature” 3rd
Place, “Fisher’s Place,” Corsicana, Texas. Judge Kay Franklin
2019 3rd Annual Plein Air “Red Fern” Outdoor Painting Competition, 2nd Place, Arts Council of
Tahlequah, OK April 26-27
Judges Sylvia Nitti and Mikel Yantz
2019 Ada Artist Association Fall Art Show, 3rd Place, Oil and Acrylic Painting, “Morning Mist”
Judge Jamie Semple Umsted
2019 Holdenville Society of Painters and Sculptors Spring Show, Best of Show in Advanced Painting category.
Judge Carol Armstrong
2018 Artist of the Arbuckles Fall Show, 1st place for Painting “Daddy’s Girl”
Judge Dr. Bradley Jessop
2018 Ada Artist Association Fall Show, 2nd place for Oil and Acrylic Painting " Oklahoma Tetons"
Judge Dr. Gleny Beach
2018 Holdenville Society of Painters and Sculptors Spring Show, Honorable Mention and Sale
"Barn with Red Dress On"
2017 Ada Artists Association Fall Show, 2nd place for Oil and Acrylic Painting “Choctaw Homestead”
Judge Dr. Gleny Beach
2017 Artist of the Arbuckles Fall Show, Purchase Painting Award “Three Bags Full”
2017 Spring Ada Artist Association, 1st place Oil and Acrylic, “Where Have All the Children Gone”?
Judge Dr. Bob Palmer
2017 12th Annual Paint Historic Waxahachie, 1st Place Plein Air Painting Waxahachie, TX
Judge Ann Hardy
2016 Ada Artists Association Fall show, Judge’s Choice Award, “Fall Pick”
Judge Kay Franklin
Selected Exhibitions
2024 Wait 5 Minutes, Terra Rosa Gallery, Guthrie, OK April- May
2024 Amarillo Museum of Art, 20 x 20 Exhibition & Online Auction 40 Selected Artists , March 28
2024 Myriad Botanical Gardens, Crystal Bridge Conservatory Art Gallery “Tulip Mania Exhibit” OKC, OK, March 7-April 9
2023 Hot Fun in the Summer, Terra Rosa Gallery, Guthrie, OK June 17- August 31
2023 Selected Artist, Oklahoma City Festival of the Arts April 25-30 sponsored by the Arts Council of Oklahoma City
2023 Tulsa Botanical Gardens Spring Plein Air Event and Sale, April 2, Tulsa, OK
2023 Carlton Landing 2nd Annual Spring Arts Festival
2023 Regional Oklahoma Artists, Terra Rosa Gallery, Guthrie, OK Nov. 11- Dec. 30
2022 Featured Artist at the Pontotoc County Fair August 25-27, Pontotoc County Agri-Plex, Ada OK
2022 The Vault Five-Year Anniversary Showcase, Pauls Valley, OK
2020 35th Annual Bosque Art Classic Juried Artist, Clifton TX
2020 50th Annual Goddard Juried Exhibit Juried Artist, Ardmore, OK
202o 2nd Annual Outdoor Painters Society Associate Members Show and Sale, Juried Artist
“Plein Vision in Miniature” Corsicana, Texas. Judge Rusty Jones
2o19 Juried Artist 49th Annual Goddard Exhibit , Ardmore, OK
2019 Pauls Valley Arts Council “Fifth Friday Art Walk Event” August Show and Sale, Pauls Valley, OK
2019 Chisholm Trail Arts Council’s Annual “Kick Off and Membership Drive,” Aug 1- Sept. 20 Featured
Artist, CTAC Art Gallery, Duncan OK
2019 “An Evening with the Artist Gay Faulkenberry and guest Kelly Pennington,”
Chisholm Trail Arts Council Guild Gallery, Duncan, OK , February 1-29
2018 Juried Participating Artist Outdoor Painters Society Plein Air Southwest Painting Competition
and Show. Rockport, TX May 20-26
2018 Her Paint, His pixels, two-man exhibit at the Wichita Wildlife Refuge Visitors Center
Lawton, OK March 3-30
2017 Her Brush & His Lens, two-man exhibit at The Vault in September Pauls Valley, OK September
2017 Juried Artist 47th Annual Goddard Juried Exhibit Ardmore, OK
2015 Juried Artist 10th Anniversary Spring Stampede Art Show and Sale
Rusty Gables Guest Lodge and Gallery, Oklahoma City, OK
2014 Juried Artist Artist 9th Anniversary Spring Stampede Art Show and Sale
Rusty Gables Guest Lodge and Gallery, Oklahoma City, OK
Bibliography/ Publications and Videos
Kelly Pennington: In Plein View
https://videos.oeta.tv/video/kelly-pennington-plein-view-wciqni/
OETA Gallery America, Episode 2 Season 6
Produced by Robert Reid & Ryan Lorg, editor
Published on Sept 9, 2020
A Brush with Truth, Explore Ada
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wemnI1w1y7s&app=desktop
Produced by Dust Bowl Films © City of Ada
Published on June 30,2017
“Paint it Grand: Artist Finds Inspiration in the Beauty of Nature”
by Sunnie Dawn Smith Ada, OK September issue 2017
Ada Hub, Community Magazine,
Galleries
Terra Rosa, Guthrie, OK
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