There is a tactile vibrance to the plein air paintings of Brian O’Leary: You can feel the layers of light and leaves and rock and water. You can feel the shadows moving, the light shifting, time passing. The gesture of painting, the very brushwork, becomes a gesture of affection for the changing landscape, the drifting clouds, the unpredictable moodiness of the weather, and the rolling of the hours and the seasons.

Brian O’Leary is a landscape painter based out of Lambertville NJ who has been pursuing painting avidly for the past three decades. His true passion is painting en plein air, capturing quickly changing light in challenging conditions, using gestural brushwork to capture motion and intensity in the scene. Brian primarily paints in oil creating seascapes, and landscapes, but also pursues experimental art in encaustic and other media.

Brian O’Leary graduated from Mason Gross School of Art, receiving a BA in Visual Arts and Art History in 1992 and has pursued painting avidly for the past three decades.

​In addition to painting, Brian is a volunteer and consultant within the non-profit space. Currently he works with international humanitarian charities to support fundraising efforts through developing compelling messaging and branding. Brian also served as Vice President for Development at the New Jersey Audubon Society, where he oversaw all fundraising activities for the state’s largest conservation organization. Earlier in his career, Brian served as Executive Director of ARTWORKS in Trenton, and held art handling positions at The Barnes Foundation.

The Brian O’Leary Art Gallery will be opening soon in downtown Lambertville NJ.  In the meantime, see available work on this site and on Instagram at brianolearyart.