Billy'O O'Donnell

Billyo O’Donnell thrives on his passion for creating paintings en plein air that mark the exact point in time at which his inspiration happens. He thinks of his paintings as a diary of his artwork telling a story of himself at that moment. When he paints, it reminds him of how he must react spontaneously to inspiration in life or chance losing that significant experience. And, it is his easy nature in his style of living, synchronizing with the ease he feels when creating his works of art, that make those moments unique.

Perseverance and nature have always been a part of Billyo’s life. His perseverance has led him to become one of the top plein air painters in the country leaving his mark and personality on each work he creates. Perhaps the natural part of him began in his early days when he grew up west of St. Louis in an area where the prairie transforms into hills as it approaches the Missouri River. He explored the country then, as a child, making the connection with nature that has continued on to today and into his landscape paintings.
The recipient of many awards in painting, Billyo’s work has been shown at selected exhibitions throughout the United States and is currently exhibited at Kodner Gallery in St. Louis, Missouri, Fraser Fox Fine Art in Charleston, South Carolina, The Arts Company in Nashville, Tennessee and Mike Carroll Gallery in Lanai, Hawaii.

SELECTED AWARDS
2006 – Best Body of Work – Maui Plein Air Painting Invitational
2006 King of Frames – Maui Plein Air Painting Invitational
2003 Arts Advocacy Award by the Missouri Citizens for the Arts
1999 National Oil and Acrylic “Best use of Light and Color”
1996 Painters’ Society Exhibition – Design selected for the State of Missouri license plate
1996 Missouri State Community Colleges Award “Achievement in the Arts Artwork” selected for use by Austria’s Board of Tourism
1994 Artwork selected for the cover of the Japan’s Creators’ Association Annual, a publication of work from artists from around the world

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2006-2006 – Maui Plein Air Painting Invitational
1999-2006 – LPAPA and Laguna Art Museum CA, one of 50 of America’s top Plein Air Painters’ Invitational
2003-2004 – Haggin Museum in CA Exhibit “Sea to Shining Sea”
2001- Kodner Gallery, St. Louis, MO, One-man show
1997, 1999, and 2000 – Oil Painters of America National Exhibit
1989-1991 – Society of Illustrators New York, NY, Society of Illustrators Los Angeles, CA.
1997-1998 Northern Colorado Artists’ Association National Exhibit
1998 – Arts for the Parks, Top 200, Jackson Hole, Wyoming
1996-2000 – California Art Club Outdoor Painting Festival, San Juan Capistrano Mission
1996, 1998-2000 – National Oil and Acrylic Painters’ Society, Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri Artwork in many corporate collections

MUSEUM COLLECTIONS
Margaret Harwell Art Museum (2005), Poplar Bluff Missouri
St. Louis University Museum of Art, St. Louis Missouri
Ella Carothers Dunnegan Gallery of Art, Bolivar Missouri
Roswell Museum of Contemporary Art, Roswell New Mexico
Laguna Beach Art Museum, Laguna Beach California
The Haggin Museum, Stockton California

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
St. Louis Artists’ Guild- Board of Directors
California Art Club – out of State Artist Member
Society of Illustrators, Oil Painters of America
National Oil and Acrylic Association – Signature member

EDUCATION
East Central College, Union, MO Associates of Arts 1978
Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield, MO, Bachelor of Fine Arts, 1980
Represented by:
Helena Fox Fine Art, Charleston, South Carolina www.helenafoxfineart.com
The Arts Company, Nashville, Tennessee
Mike Carroll Gallery. Lanai, Hawaii
Kodner Gallery, St. Louis Missouri – 7501 Forsyth, Clayton MO 63105