Kelly Sillivan

Kelly Sullivan paints portraits and poetic landscapes in oil. Her paintings have won awards at the Phillips'-Mill Art Show, and The Oil Painters of America National Exhibition. She is known nationally for her collaborative FingerSmear® paintings. The artist also produces Mighty Fingers Facing Change, which is an ongoing global empowerment project for adolescent girls in 29 locations around the world. Sullivan uses her artistic talents to build and anchor communities through collaborative art. A life-long facilitator of creative expression, Sullivan's art celebrates the complexity and energy of real life, in layers of evocative color, emotion and texture, distinctly present in her own paintings as well as in her public murals and collaborative canvases.

Kelly Sullivan is under contract to acquire the old Strand Theater in Lambertville, New Jersey. The theater, which opened in 1915, has been used as a storage warehouse for the last 50 years. Sullivan plans to close on the building in April of 2021 and transform the Strand back into a lively venue for the arts. The artist's piece “Dawn on the Canal at Coryell” is from the Storybook Village series which will help support the renovation of the theater.

Study and Training
The artists’ grandmother introduced her to paint when she was five years old. She spent summers at their cabin in the Poconos wrapped in creative endeavors and nature. Kelly did not have access to a university arts education, but has remained unwaveringly dedicated to the arts throughout her life. She has studied with some of today’s great oil painters including Kevin MacPherson, Scott Christensen, Quang Ho, and Sherri McGraw.

Influences
Influences include Edgar Payne, NC Wyeth, William Lathrop, and Daniel Garber.

Colleagues and Organizations
Salmagundi Arts Club, New York, New York
National Organization for Arts in Health

Connection to Bucks County
Sullivan grew up across the river in Hunterdon County and was drawn to the New Hope and Lambertville area. She moved to Lambertville in the 80’s before heading west to explore. Sullivan returned to Lambertville in 2011 and has run a successful studio/gallery in the town ever since.

Selected Major Corporate Commissions
Johnson & Johnson Brave New World, Princeton, New Jersey, 2010
Johnson & Johnson, GMO Conference, Princeton, New Jersey, 2010
CSL Berhing, Blood Disorder Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, 2010
Phillip's-Mill Annual Art Exhibition, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2018
Old Navy, Boring, Oregon, 2011
Janssen, Better Together, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 2011
Johnson & Johnson, The Tree House, Titusville, New Jersey, 2011
Celgene, Chicago, Illinois, 2011
Encounters in Oil, Art Spirit Gallery, Sold Out Show, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, 2011
Soroptimists International, Hawaii, 2012
Bridgeport Hospital, Bridgeport Connecticut, 2012
The Bitter End Yacht Club, Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands, 2012
Centrak, Newtown, Pennsylvania, 2012
The Richeson 75 International Small Works Show, Kimberly Wisconsin, 2012
Mercy Hospital, “Holy Night” Northwest, Arizona, 2013
Novartis, "Connections" Phoenix, Arizona, 2013
Owens Corning, "Bright Tomorrows" Las Vegas, Nevada, 2013
Terex, "Pathways" Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 2013
Owens Corning, "Rooftop Studio" San Antonio, Texas, 2013
GAP!, Mighty Fingers Facing Change, Jackson Wyoming, 2013
YWCA, Mighty Fingers Facing Change, Edmonton, Canada, 2013
Oil Painters of America Eastern Regional Exhibition, 2013
South and Maine, Boothbay, Maine, 2013
Terex Corporation, Leadership 2014, Orlando, Florida, 2014
Terex Corporation, Cranes 2014, Orlando, Florida, 2014
Reed Data Construction, Chicago, Illinois, 2014
Astellas, Chicago, Illinois, 2014
CBS, Madam Secretary, 9 paintings in permanent set collection, 2014
Mighty Fingers Facing Change, Uganda, 2015
Genie Corporation, Washington, 2015
Paint.Team, Launch of new digital FingerSmear web application, 2016
Mighty Fingers Facing Change, sponsored by the Chinmaya Mission, India, 2016
Art Ambassadors, JIUQIAN Organization, Shanghai, China, 2016
Intuit, Powering Prosperity Around the World, San Francisco, California, 2017
New Jersey Education Association Teachers Conference, Atlantic City, New Jersey, 2017
NJEA Leadership, Princeton, New Jersey, 2017
AbbVie Leadership, Miami, Florida, 2017
Mighty Fingers Facing Change, Philadelphia Parks and Recreation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2017
XinChang, China, Artist Invitational Exhibition, XinChang China, 2018
TEDX Presenter, Solebury School. “Exercise Imagination”, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 2018
MDVIP, Membership Mural, Anatole, Texas, 2018
Terex Corporation, Leadership 2018, Dublin, Ireland, 2018
Mighty Fingers Facing Change, sponsored by The New Jersey Education Association, Absecan, New Jersey, Jersey City, New Jersey, Hillsbrough, New Jersey, Clinton, New Jersey, Hamilton, New Jersey, 2018
Mighty Fingers Facing Change, Sponsored by the Chinese Government, Pudong, China, 2018
Baxter Leadership Conference FingerSmear, Orlando, Florida, 2018
Terex, Leadership Conference, Houston, Texas, 2019
EUFMC Commemorative FingerSmear, Virginia, 2019
Jefferson College of Nursing, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2019

Awards and Grants
The 82nd Annual Phillips Mill Art Show, Pennsylvania, Award for Oil Painting 2010
Oil Painters of America, National Exhibition, Award for Portraiture, 2014
The 89th Annual Phillips Mill Art Show, Pennsylvania, Award for Painting, 2018
Artist Choice Award, Driggs Plein Air, Driggs, Idaho, 2019
Capital Health Regional Medical Center, Trenton, New Jersey, Awarded major installation of 6 collaborative art pieces co-created by employees, patient population and city of Trenton to be produced throughout 2020, 2019
Grant winner at Up-Start for work on app.Paint.Team, 2019