Biography of
Kelly Dodge
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Canadian artist Kelly Dodge’s first exhibition in 2001 marked the beginning of a fast-rising career that garnered both national and international recognition. She is a signature member of the Artists for Conservation, the Pastel Society of America, and the Society of Animal Artists, NY. In 2004 she was deemed an ‘Artist of Note’ by Wildlife Art magazine and for several years was featured prominently in the UK’s former Wildscape Magazine. In 2009 she received the prestigious AFC Flag Expedition Fellowship enabling her to travel to the Galapagos Islands for the purpose of artistic field research. She has been awarded the AFC Medal of Excellence twice. This award is given annually in recognition of extraordinary artwork.
In recent years Kelly has been exploring traditional techniques in oil painting to create contemporary paintings in the classical realist style emphasizing drawing as the foundation of all creative work. Her desire is to infuse increasing amounts of life and light into her paintings. A self-taught artist Kelly’s paintings exhibit a refined quality of realism. Her unique treatment of the subject matter, which spans the range from animals and birds, to still life, and figures are created through thoughtful composition and expression of light.
Artist’s Statement
“My paintings are a celebration of the privileged place I hold in partnership with my fellow-creatures and my Creator. I have had the privilege of meeting firsthand the creatures that become the subjects of my artwork thus my artistic process relies heavily on both intimate observation and relationships. My goal is to re-create the narrative that I read all around me – those interactions or moments that reflect His providence and take my breath away, something I am then compelled to share.“
~ Kelly Dodge
CREDENTIALS:
AWARDS & HONORS:
2011 Medal of Excellence, Artists for Conservation
2011 Pastel Artists of Canada, Third Place
2010 Medal of Excellence, Artists for Conservation
2010 Wildscape Magazine U.K. First Runner up to Wildlife Artist of the Year
EDUCATION: Self-taught
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS:
The Algonquin Art Centre – June – October 2020
Buckhorn Festival of the Arts – New Regionalism Exhibit – August 2020
Masterpieces in Miniature – PictureThis Gallery – May 2020
The Art of Conservation 2018 – Lanwan Art Museum, Qingdao, China – October – December 2019.
2018 Artists for Conservation Silent Skies Mural Mosaic – 27th International Ornithological Congress, Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, BC
2018 Artists of Kawartha – Group Exhibition – The Lindsay Public Gallery, Lindsay, ON
2017 Society of Animal Artists Great Lakes Regional Show, Charlevoix Circle of the Arts, MI
2010 The Art of Conservation 2010, Artists for Conservation, Grouse Mountain Resort, N. Vancouver, BC
2011 The Art of Conservation 2011, Artists for Conservation, Grouse Mountain Resort, N. Vancouver, BC
2012 The Art of Conservation 2012, Artists for Conservation, Grouse Mountain Resort, N. Vancouver, BC
2014 The Art of Conservation 2014, Artists for Conservation, Grouse Mountain Resort, Vancouver, BC
2015 The Art of Conservation 2014, Artists for Conservation, Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ
2015 The Art of Conservation 2014, Artists for Conservation, Miramar Cultural Center, Miramar, FL
2015 The Art of Conservation 2014, Artists for Conservation, Nova Southeastern University – Alvin Sherman Library, FL
2016 The Art of Conservation 2016, Artists for Conservation, Grouse Mountain, N. Vancouver, BC
2017 The Art of Conservation 2017, Artists for Conservation, VanDusen Botanical Garden, Vancouver, BC
2017 The Art of Conservation 2016, Artists for Conservation, Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ
2017 The Art of Conservation 2016 Tour, Artists for Conservation, Qingdao Lan Wan Art Gallery, Qingdao City, China
2018 The Art of Conservation 2018, Artists for Conservation, Vancouver Convention Center, Vancouver, BC
2018 The Art of Conservation 2018, Artists for Conservation, Arizona Sonora Desert Museum, Tucson, AZ
2018 AFC Silent Skies Mural Mosaic, 27th Int’l Ornithological Congress, Vancouver Convention Centre, Vancouver, BC
2001 – 2018 Buckhorn Fine Art Festival, Buckhorn, ON
2009 – 2011 Science Art – Nature, American Association for the Advancement of Science Art, Stanford University, WA, DC
2011 Society of Animal Artists, 51st Art and the Animal, Dennos Museum Center, MI
2012 Society of Animal Artists, 51st Art and the Animal, Peninsula Fine Art Centre, Newport News, VA,
2012 Society of Animal Artists, 51st Art and the Animal, Appleton Museum of Art, Ocala, FL
SOLO EXHIBITIONS:
2012 Robison and Richard Fine Art Gallery, Charleston, SC
2010 Galapagos – Forty Days and Forty Nights, The Lindsay Public Gallery, Lindsay, ON
SELECT PUBLICATIONS:
2011 Galapagos Conservancy Calendar
2011 Wildscape Magazine, UK, Feature Article
2012 Arabella Magazine, Artist to Collect, Feature article by Michael Dumas
2008, 2010-2012, 2014, 2016 -2018 The Art of Conservation Exhibition Hardcover
2017 Reptiles and Amphibians in Contemporary Art, E. Ashley Rooney, published by Schiffer
2016 Millennium Alliance for Humanity and Biosphere (MAHB), Stanford University
2018 Artists of Kawartha, Andrea Hello
The Gallery of Nature – 2021 1st Edition – Regional Artists Inspired by Robert Bateman – Bateman Foundation Calendar – Legacy Project
The Art of Nature – Independent Culture 2022 – Regional Art Collection Calendar
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTS:
‘The Gallery of Nature’; is a collection of works by some of the most skilled painters in Canada. These projects showcase established household name artists, alongside young and mid-career painters, providing a continuity that spans three generations. While fostering greater awareness of the importance of independent culture – upon which both free expression and Social Commentary depend – we seek to develop a new economic model for artists, to ensure that the ‘Eyes of Society’ can continue to share with the world what they see.
This project will be distributed from coast to coast in Canada, from coast to coast, and border to border in the United States, providing unparalleled exposure for the featured artists, and some additional income to boot. These projects are also a vehicle to tell the almost forgotten story of Regional Art – an ‘art for the people that is rapidly disappearing from the ‘official’ history. Artists include Nancy Howe, Derek Wicks, Daniel St-Amont, Alan Bateman, Michael Dumas, Chris Bacon, Terry Isaac, Kelly Dodge, David Ward, Brent Townsend, Julia Rogers and Robert Bateman.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Signature (Juried) Memberships
Artists For Conservation, Signature member 2001 –
Pastel Artists of Canada, Signature Member 2011 –
