Pit O'Maley Fantasy Portraits

For over 35 years Pit O'Maley has been experimenting in the visual arts. His work has been exhibited or acquired since 8th grade. First, drawings in pencil, on to pen and ink, cartooning, and a range of work from fashion illustration to residential. Then he took up photography, producing a burst of sports and rock n' roll work. As he began painting from his own photographs with increasing realism, it was appent that a mentor had been unconsciously present. A few years before, as an undergraduate, he struck up an immediate rapport with Professor Mel Ramos, the renowned West Coast Pop Artist of California State University, Hayward. His work embraced classical influences with a twist of humor. It was that self-mocking style of Ramos that inspired him to use classical techniques in another way.

In his first three attempts in oils from photographs, Pit worked strictly in monochrome; with inspiration from Ramos' work, he launched quickly into life-size realism with full color. Having reached a Renaissance level of portraiture, he knew that he had achieved the versatile palette his imagination demanded.

With the technical inspiration of Ramos, Caravaggio, Dali and Leonardo, O'Maley confidently takes fine portraiture to a new realm. After a few rock n' roll larger-than-life paintings, he executed his first fantasy portrait in oils. You see it in the group shot of a certain British band surrounding a friend of his. He quickly followed that with a fantasy baseball portrait (a fan with his idol), this time in full color. Now he produces from the imagination of clients.