The Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art is proud to announce that Gulfport-native painter John McDonald’s 12’ x 6’ digital painting “Shore Birds” is now on view in the Mississippi Sound Welcome Center.

“Shore Birds” is the result of more than 10 years of work that serves to highlight the roots of painting as a process rather than relying on the power behind Photoshop to produce a digital painting. McDonald began the work on canvas and transferred the work to digital via a 6-step process which he will discuss at OOMA’s next opening reception for new exhibits on September 26th from 5 to 7:30 pm. The artist will speak at 6 pm.

John McDonald was born in Bay St. Louis and received his BFA from The University of Georgia in 1976. He received his MFA from Yale University in 1978. McDonald went on to work in art preparation and handling for the Museum of Modern Art, The Guggenheim Museum of Art, The Rothko Art Foundation, The Dia Art Foundation, and Pace Gallery in New York before returning to the Mississippi Gulf Coast in 1985. Throughout his career as a working artist, he has won a long list of grants and awards including the Ford Foundation Grant, Southern Arts Federation Grant, the Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant, and more. His work can be found in the Mississippi Museum of Art, Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, and seen at Heriad-Cimino Gallery, and The Painting Center, New York.