Kevin Maddrey was raised in Glenelg, Maryland where he doodled a lot. Then he went to college and majored in Computer Animation because it was sorta like doodling. During his last semester of school he took a painting class and realized that he should have majored in painting instead.

Not letting a lack of knowledge stop him, he headed out west to live in Yosemite National Park and to teach himself plein air painting. For months, Maddrey lived and painted outside. The valleys and forests were his subject matter and intuition was his guide. The mountains of Yosemite were his own studio, but as winter set in and as the days started to get cold, he realized that cold dreams are difficult and he decided to paint back east.

Inspired and energized from his time spent in Yosemite, Maddrey continued painting on the east coast, working mostly with abstraction and sculpting in bronze. With enough money saved, and forgoing all responsibility and reason, he embarked on a traveling painting adventure that was inspired and directed by whatever invigorated his creativity. Painting trips around the nation soon evolved into painting trips around the globe. What initially started as a summer getaway, turned into an endless wander. The wide array of new influences opened Maddrey's eyes and canvases to subjects that were far removed from his humble beginnings just painting in the woods.

Maddrey has created dozens of well-known series of works, among them the "Color / Texture" series created during his time away from nature; "Horizons" during his time spent living in Santa Cruz, "The Yosemite Series 1997-2011", "Namaste India", created during travels abroad to his favorite country and currently, "Water" which is trying to bring focus to an issue that will affect us all. For more information or to find ways that you can help, visit Water.org.

His work is now included in collections nation wide. He has been the recipient of no awards, not including any honorary doctorates and no fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. He curently resides and paints in Asheville, North Carolina.

The recent paintings are currently showing at the following locations:

Gallery Listing
Woolworth Walk, Asheville, North Carolina
Appalachian Craft Center, Asheville, North Carolina
Mono Inn Gallery, Mono City, California
Tioga Pass Resort, Lee Vininig, California
Tuolumne Lodge, Tuolumne, California