BIO
Photo Credit: Steven Shank
Abby McClure is an oil painter from West Chester, PA. She graduated from Westtown Friends School in 1988 and moved to Chadds Ford, PA where she was inspired by artists Jimmy Lynch and Andrew Wyeth. Visits with Lynch to Wyeth's home and studio are treasured memories. Her first showing of work was at The Brandywine River Museum in 1989, having collaborated with Lynch on a series of pen and ink drawings.
Though primarily self-taught, she took drawing classes at age 14 with Rea Redifer and in 2005 was awarded a year-long scholarship from the Natalie A. W. Leaf Foundation to study classical realist painting with Neilson Carlin.
Abby paints in oils on either Belgian linen or birch panels. Her plein air work is typically linen mounted to birch or MDF panel. She is known for her twilight and nocturne landscapes, and in recent years she has also found inspiration on the rocky coastlines of Newport, RI, where she spends several weeks per year. Since 1989, Abby has sold over 850 works to regional and national collectors.
In 2013 she began to experience retinal issues which led to three major eye surgeries and significant loss of vision in one eye. Abby has permanent low vision in the eye - lack of central vision, peripheral and depth perception, as well as constant double vision- which makes painting and all aspects of life extremely challenging. Time spent outdoors painting en plein air (as well as playing golf) has been enormously helpful with the healing process; re-training the brain to compensate for the vision loss.
Though primarily self-taught, she took drawing classes at age 14 with Rea Redifer and in 2005 was awarded a year-long scholarship from the Natalie A. W. Leaf Foundation to study classical realist painting with Neilson Carlin.
Abby paints in oils on either Belgian linen or birch panels. Her plein air work is typically linen mounted to birch or MDF panel. She is known for her twilight and nocturne landscapes, and in recent years she has also found inspiration on the rocky coastlines of Newport, RI, where she spends several weeks per year. Since 1989, Abby has sold over 850 works to regional and national collectors.
In 2013 she began to experience retinal issues which led to three major eye surgeries and significant loss of vision in one eye. Abby has permanent low vision in the eye - lack of central vision, peripheral and depth perception, as well as constant double vision- which makes painting and all aspects of life extremely challenging. Time spent outdoors painting en plein air (as well as playing golf) has been enormously helpful with the healing process; re-training the brain to compensate for the vision loss.
Early Spring Plein Air painting, Doe Run Coatesville, PA