Ali Cavanaugh was born in St. Louis in 1973 and has worked as a professional artist for 13 years. Her compositions are strong and intuitive, thanks not only to being a wife and mother but also to the variations in her experience—such as hearing loss—that made her adapt to and recreate the world around her.
Cavanaugh developed a process best described as neo fresco secco, where she applies watercolor to plaster panels; her figures often are accentuated by stark white negative spaces. Fascinated by the dichotomy of the seen and unseen in the human condition…body and soul…Cavanaugh’s art brings to light the complexity within contemplation. Her signature poetic titles are part of this engaging discourse.
She has seen her share of worldly success. Cavanaugh was awarded the prestigious Presidential Scholarship from the David Wolcott Kendall Foundation, a four-year, full-tuition merit scholarship. This allowed her to study at Parsons School of Design in New York City and Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where Cavanaugh earned a bfa with an emphasis in painting in 1995. In 1996, she co-founded the New School Academy of Fine Art in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Through the mid- to late 1990s, Cavanaugh established a vast following of students and collectors and became one of West Michigan’s most sought after private instructors. In 2000, upon relocating to Santa Fe, New Mexico to establish her work in the town’s world-renowned art scene, she also developed her watercolor technique.
She has had solo and group exhibitions in more than 40 galleries throughout the U.S., and Cavanaugh’s art has been featured in publications such as American Artist Watercolor, Watercolor Artist magazine, Southwest Art magazine, International Artist magazine, Art Calendar magazine, and The Daniel Smith Art Supply Catalogue. Perhaps because of her work’s infectious energy combined with deep reflection, her collectors are particularly devoted. Her work has won numerous awards, received extensive recognition, and is featured in more than 300 private and corporate collections throughout the U.S., Canada, England, Portugal, Switzerland, Singapore, and Australia. She now lives in the St. Louis area with her husband and three children.
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