Kelly O’Neal is a contemporary figurative/abstract artist, actress, and filmmaker. She was born in Miami, Florida, and is based in the Atlanta area in North Georgia. She studied at N.C. School of the Arts and Florida State University where she earned a BFA in Acting.
Kelly's mixed media canvases have been shortlisted (2024) and longlisted (2025) for the Women United Art Prize, and won honorable mention at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center (2023)
Her work has been commissioned for the covers of books and periodicals, and she is the co-illustrator of Capes & Cowls, The Adventure Board Game.
In parallel with her visual art practice, O’Neal has acted professionally in film, television, theatre, and stand-up comedy. She was a founding member of the 1990s glam/funk musical stage show Superchick & Goodpussy and a pioneer of early YouTube content creation through her web series The Gilda Sue Rosenstern Computer Internet Show. Her award-winning film Gilda Sue Rosenstern: The Motion Picture! is currently available on Amazon.She continues to collaborate with Droom Vox Theatre, co-producing the film series based on the work of Robin Spriggs.
She lives in a purple house in the woods, surrounded by many four-leggers, and one creative genius two-legger to whom she is married.
Kelly O'Neal's collages exist at the intersection of mythology, memory, and imagination, where the personal becomes universal, and ancient stories continue to resonate within contemporary life. A contemporary figurative and abstract artist, actress, and filmmaker, O'Neal approaches collage as both a visual language and a spiritual practice - one that invites curiosity, introspection, and wonder.
Working primarily with layered painted and found papers, she creates richly textured compositions that merge family history with ancestral mythology. Drawing deeply from her Norse and Celtic heritage, her work explores old gods, folk heroes, and legendary figures, reimagining them through a distinctly modern lens. Her acclaimed Avatar Series examines how these enduring archetypes continue to manifest within contemporary American culture, revealing mythology not as something confined to the past, but as a living presence woven into everyday experience.
Portraiture lies at the heart of O'Neal's practice. Faces emerge from intricate layers of color, texture, and symbolism, becoming vessels for stories that extend beyond likeness alone. Influenced by her parallel career as a professional actor, she approaches each figure as a character rather than a portrait, exploring identity as something fluid, performative, and deeply human. Even when she uses her own image, the resulting works transcend autobiography, inviting viewers into broader narratives of transformation and self-discovery.
Perhaps the most intimate element of her practice lies hidden within the collages themselves. Torn fragments of her grandparents' love letters from the 1940s and 1950s are embedded throughout her work, carrying traces of a lifelong romance into every composition. These deeply personal remnants become tangible expressions of memory, ancestry, and inherited love, grounding mythological narratives within the reality of lived experience.
Whether creating figurative portraits or dreamlike abstractions, O'Neal invites viewers to look beyond the visible surface. Her collages become contemplative spaces where myth and memory converge, encouraging us to discover our own place within the timeless stories that continue to shape who we are.
--Women United Art Magazine, Summer, 2026