About the Artist

Maureen O’Hara Pesta is a graduate of St. Mary's College at Notre Dame, Ind., where she studied with Norman Laliberte. Her career has encompassed both fine and commercial art, including graphic design and illustration for books and periodicals.



MAUREEN O’HARA PESTA


She has worked on commercial projects as varied as creating window designs for major department stores around the country, drawing newspaper cartoons and courtroom trial sketches, and painting the “Cool Bus” ~ an old schoolbus converted for promotional use by a radio station.

Her fine art has appeared in numerous solo and group shows, and she has received honors in major juried shows at the national, regional, and state levels. Her paintings have hung in museums and galleries throughout the United States, including the Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio, and the National Arts Club and Salmagundi Club in New York City. In 2002 she participated in an exhibit in Tokyo, Japan, memorializing the victims of Sept. 11, 2001.



“GOODBYE”

Among her collectors are international corporations as well as regional institutions. Her work was featured in the November 1997 and June 1998 issues of American Artist Magazine.

She is a signature member of the Pastel Society of America; other memberships include Indiana Heritage Arts, the Indiana Artists Club, the Hoosier Salon, the Indiana Plein Air Painters Association, and the Southern Indiana Center for the Arts.

Working primarily in pastel, she creates studio and plein air work, utilizing a French easel for on-site studies and paintings. She has traveled in the U.S., Europe, and Asia with easel and supplies.

Her studio and gallery adjoin the Jackson-Washington State Forest in southern Indiana.


Workshops & Lessons

May 21: Plein Air Pastel Class

Maureen O‘Hara Pesta will lead a plein air pastel class on Saturday, May 21, from 9 a.m. to noon, on Skyline Drive in the Jackson-Washington State Forest. For more information and to register, contact the Southern Indiana Center for the Arts at (812) 522-2278.


For information about individual instruction, please contact the artist directly. Contact information can be found at the bottom of this page.


News, Gallery Representation & Exhibits

May 14-15: Gallery Open House

Four kinds of art ~ pastel painting, photography, folk singing, and mystery writing ~ will be featured Saturday and Sunday, May 14-15, during an open house at the Maureen O‘Hara Pesta Art Gallery on Starve Hollow Road in Jackson County, Ind. Pastel paintings by Maureen O‘Hara Pesta will be on exhibit, and the artist will give a demonstration of plein air painting. Also on exhibit: Black-and-white photography by Jesse Pesta from Indiana, New York, and other places where he has lived or traveled around the world.

Providing musical entertainment on Saturday, May 14, will be Joe Persinger, who will sing traditional folk songs as well as original songs of his own, while accompanying himself on the guitar. John Pesta will be on hand to sign copies of his mystery novel, “Safely Buried,” published in February 2011. The murder mystery is set in Southern Indiana. Copies of the novel will be available for purchase; anyone who already owns the book is welcome to bring their copy along to be signed by the author.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, May 14, and noon to 4:30 p.m. Sunday, May 15.

This gallery open house, book-signing and musical performance is one of the stops along the Forest and Farms Artisan Trail through Jackson and Jennings Counties. Several such trails have been established to promote tourism, arts, and crafts in Indiana.


Maureen O’Hara Pesta is represented by:

Kellar Mahaney Gallery, 270 South Main Street, Zionsville, Ind. 46077
Phone: (317) 796 8354
Online: KellarMahaney.com


Castle Gallery, 1202 West Wayne Street, Fort Wayne, Ind. 46802
Phone: (866) 726 3699
Online CastleGallery.com


The artist’s studio and gallery is open by appointment:

Maureen O’Hara Pesta Gallery, Vallonia, Ind. 47281
To make an appointment, please use the contact information at the bottom of this page.



“A NEW DAY”

Art Auction ~ Southern Indiana Center for the Arts

Original artwork for the Southern Indiana Center for the Arts limited-edition poster, “Skyline View,” by Maureen O'Hara Pesta (shown below), sold for $5,400 at the 2010 annual Artful Affair fundraising event to a group of doctors for the Schneck Medical Center in Seymour, Ind. The painting represents a scene in Jackson County, Ind. The fundraiser benefits the Southern Indiana Center for the Arts, located in Seymour, Ind. Further information call (812) 522-2278.



“SKYLINE VIEW”



Contact the Artist

Contact Maureen O’Hara Pesta here or by emailing Maureen@MaureenPesta.com.


Links

JessePesta.com ~ black-and-white photography.
AbigailPesta.com ~ editor and writer in NYC.
JohnPesta.com ~ author of the murder mystery “Safely Buried.”
ButterNoParsnips.com ~ short stories and fine art.

Copyright (c) Maureen O’Hara Pesta, all rights reserved.