Kevin Gleason
FEATURED ARTIST
HOLIDAY 2023 RELEASES
Kevin is a landscape painter living in Santa Barbara, California. He enjoys working directly from nature, trying to capture the beautiful moods and changing light of the California coast. Kevin developed a love of drawing and painting as well as a deep connection with the nature from an early age. He grew up in Lake Tahoe, CA with miles and miles of National Forest right out of his back door where he spent many hours hiking, building forts, drawing, camping and appreciating
the intricacies of the natural world.
The first stage of his painting is exploring and hiking around and looking for an intriguing subject that appeals on a visual level mixed with a sense of light and atmosphere that tugs at him emotionally. In his paintings, he likes to capture a true sense of color, light and form so that from a distance, the painting looks real. However, he likes for the viewer to be able to appreciate more abstract design qualities when they get closer to the canvas. This push and pull between representation and abstraction allows the painting to be appreciated on different levels.
Kevin came to Santa Barbara after high school and met his wife Lauren when they were students at UCSB. He majored in Studio Art and also earned a teaching credential. He has been teaching drawing and painting for twenty-five years at Dos Pueblos High School. He feels lucky to be able to share something that has brought him so much joy with young people. Kevin has shown in several galleries and is a member of several art organizations including The Oak Group, SCAPE, and the California Art Club. Both the Oak Group and SCAPE have shows that raise funding for environmental projects and concerns. Kevin says, “I love that art can be used as a tool to awaken people to the beauty and importance of natural environments and can help raise resources to protect wilderness.”