THE ARTIST


Hi, I am Olena McMurtrey, a contemporary Ukrainian/American artist specializing in cityscapes, seascapes, and landscape.
I got inspired to pursue furthering my art education while living in Los Angeles and completed the Master of Fine Arts at the Academy of Art University, San Francisco.
I am always experimenting and playing with many mediums to find the exact tool to express my creativity and voice. I enjoy feeling thickness and heavy flow of oil, acrylic and resin: these mediums are so different and alike at the same time. The biggest challenge for me is to find a unique mix of colors to achieve depth and vibration in my paintings.
The bodywork of cityscapes was inspired by my time living in the beehive of the Big Apple, Los Angeles, and later in the City by the Bay during my grad school. There is something magical when the sun sets exactly along the cross streets in coastal cities, beaming sunrays into shattered reflections of a concrete jungle. For precision to bring the grid of cityscapes into a dance with light, oils are my favorite choice.
Through my passion for windsurfing and surfing, I felt compelled to paint waves, the element of fluid force that many deeply connect with. In my paintings, I thrive to bring the mood of calmness and wildness - a blend of beautiful and dangerous. To achieve the expanse intensity of ocean depth, I work with the dynamic nature of the tinted resin in many layers to control the desired design. I depart from strictly photo-realistic effects and focus on abstract elements and bring visual cues of the maker's hand to achieve painterly resin.

Education
Master of Fine Arts
Academy of Art University, San Francisco.
Shows
2021-2023
Still busy as a bee, figuring out how to create and show during a global pandemic. On a plus side, I had time to expand my art studio for large oils and resin works.
Exhibitions
2021 - 2023
828 Valencia St, San Francisco,
CA 94110
2023
April
Selected for TheOther Art Fair, LA



2021-March 2022
3235 Mission St, San Francisco,
CA 94110
2018-2020
828 Valencia St, San Francisco,
CA 94110
2020-
2022
2408 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica,
CA 90405
2019
3344 24th St, San Francisco,
CA 94110
2015-
2020
Open Studios with Art Span
2014-
2020
Open Studios with Art Explosion
2022-23
2022
Sept
Selected for TheOther Art Fair, LA
2022
March
Selected for Superfine! Art Fair, SF
2022
Jan-March
540 Howard st 3rd fl
San Francisco, CA 95105
2021
Oct
Selected for TheOther Art Fair, LA
Presented by SAATCHI Art
2021
June - Solo show
3235 Mission St, San Francisco,
CA 94110
2020
Busy as a bee, figuring out how to create and show during a global pandemic.
2020
Feb
Selected for Superfine! Art Fair, SF
2019
Sept
Selected for TheOther Art Fair, LA
Presented by SAATCHI Art
Contact Me
(707) 653-6207
