top of page

THE ARTIST

me.jpg
om1.jpg

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.

om.png

Education 

Master of Fine Arts

 Academy of Art University, San Francisco.

Exhibitions

Shows

olena34.jpg
olena37.jpg
olena36.jpg

2018 - 2023

828 Valencia St, San Francisco,

CA 94110

2023

November

Fort Mason, SF - Art Span

2023

August

2023

April

2022-23

2022

Sept

2022

March

2022

Jan-March 

540 Howard st 3rd fl

San Francisco, CA 95105

2021

Oct

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

2019

Sept

Presented by SAATCHI Art

2020-

2022

2408 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica,

CA 90405

2021-March 2022

3235 Mission St, San Francisco,

CA 94110

2019

3344 24th St, San Francisco,

CA 94110

2015-

2023

Open Studios with Art Span

2014-

2023

Open Studios with Art Explosion

olena43.jpg

Contact Me

(707) 653-6207‬

Thank you, we'll reply shortly.

bottom of page