Artist BIO

Begley was born in Buffalo and raised in Saratoga Springs, New York. She acquired her BFA from Buffalo State College and her MFA from The University of Buffalo.

Begley is a 1998 NYFA Fellow, a 2008 NYFA MARK artist and a Saltonstall Foundation Fellow. Begley’s painting, Incubation was awarded “Best in Show” in the 2012 MADE IN NY exhibit at Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center.

In addition to her career as a painter she was Label Manager at Ani DiFranco’s Righteous Babe Records. She has since left the music business to pursue her art career.

Artist Statement:
An entity surrounded by their environment is a universal concept, whether it is from what we call reality or in the realm of the subconscious. In my current body of work, I explore Bio-morphic forms and create stories about the human existence set in naturalistic atmospheres. I call these Abstract Tableaux. Layered forms, colors and textures create surrealistic landscapes.

My work lives in the world of the abstract. It is not action painting, it is about thinking, feeling and comprehending on a subconscious level. I compose stories though color, texture and form. Each piece is a journey which starts with one brush stroke and then builds upon that one mark with each additional layer. I let the scene unfold as I work. It is spontaneous mark making while a broader theme is conceptualized the individual pieces take on a life of their own in a meditative process.