Monica Kelly was born in Cleveland, Ohio and earned a B.A. in Visual Arts and Art History from Bowdoin College. After teaching studio art in private schools for a few years she enrolled in graduate studies in painting at the Cleveland Institute of Art.  She attended CIA’s program in Lacoste, France where she studied painting and printmaking. Having lived and worked in New York and San Francisco for a period of time, Monica returned to Maine in 1989. She has exhibited her paintings in galleries throughout the state. She has participated in Artists’ Residencies at Wheaton College, in Massachusetts and through National Audubon at Borestone Mountain in Guilford, Maine.

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In addition to her work as a painter, Monica serves as Executive Director of Bay Chamber Concerts and Music School, in Rockport.  She founded the Odeon Youth Orchestra in 2000 and the Bay Chamber Music School in 2010. Monica is the proud mother of three grown sons, Noah, Angus and Conor who have greatly influenced  her work as a painter.