About

Megan Kenney paints the West as she sees it, somewhere between myth and reality. Cowboys, musicians, and desert scenes show up often, each with a quiet sense of character, humor, and something just slightly askew.

She grew up on the East Coast and first met the West through television, building her own version of it long before she ever arrived. The day after high school graduation, she headed for Arizona. She was so excited she ran barefoot onto the sidewalk and immediately blistered her feet. Myth, meet reality.

Arizona was too hot. Colorado was too cold. Los Angeles was just right, but that’s another story.

Megan began her formal training at Mission: Renaissance in Los Angeles, where she studied traditional techniques rooted in the old masters. While she gained a strong technical foundation, she eventually found herself pulling away from tightly controlled, highly traditional work in search of something looser, more personal, and a lot less predictable.

After stepping away from painting for many years, she returned in 2024 after discovering Milan Art Institute. There, she began exploring mixed media, experimentation, and new approaches to painting that emphasized finding her own voice rather than following someone else’s.

That shift shows up in her work now with pieces that are less about perfection and more about presence, personality, and feeling.

As a musician, Megan is drawn to cowboy singers and the idea of sound traveling across open land. She’s fascinated by frontier stories and by the humor and stubborn optimism of people who leave one life behind in pursuit of another.

She is especially interested in character, how personality can live inside a posture, or even an object. Her work often sits somewhere between sincerity and subtle humor, where things are recognizable, but not entirely straightforward.

Megan has listened to Lonesome Dove far too many times while painting and likely will again.

Artist Statement

My work explores movement, tension, and moments where light, time, and form feel slightly out of sync.

Using bold color and expressive line within a contemporary Western style, I create pieces that feel alive, immediate, and open to interpretation, capturing fleeting moments that invite curiosity and connection.