About the Artist

Born on a farm in Fremont, Michigan, Kristy McNelly’s early days were spent riding horses and playing in the woods along the creek. Art has been a long pastime since childhood. It is that love for nature and animals that is still carried into her work today as an oil painting artist.

Kristy graduated from Michigan State University and moved to Bergheim, Texas, a little town on the north side of San Antonio. After years of working as a graphic designer, Kristy now spends her time devoted to her oil painting. She also invented a urethane horseshoe called Ground Control Horseshoes, which she has sold worldwide since 1999. Kristy shows her paintings nationally and has exhibited in Kansas, Arizona, Florida, Michigan and

Wisconsin. Kristy is the featured artist representing the Hill country Art & Wine Festival for 2026. Her artwork was chosen as the featured image for the Kansas Equifest and the Mackinac Island Lilac Festival in 2025.

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A volunteer director of the AgriCultural Museum and Arts Center in Boerne, Texas since 2002, Kristy enjoys putting on events and antique tractor pulls and driving her antique 1950 Ford Truck called “Seabiscuit”. Every year Kristy and her husband Chuck enjoy taking road trips back to Michigan to visit family and also to tour their favorite vacation spots, including Mackinac Island, and Key West where Kristy’s many subjects for her paintings have been inspired. Charreada, a Mexican Rodeo-like event that takes place in San Antonio also inspires Kristy’s artwork. The competition showcases horsemanship, roping skills, and traditional ranching practices. The colorful themed images are filled with horses, riders, and dancers as they celebrate the cultural traditions of Old Mexico. Kristy is a member of several organizations included the American Impressionist Society, Oil Painters ofAmerica, American Women Artists, Cowgirl Artists of America, Boerne Visual Artists, American Plains Artists, Key West Art Center and Gallery, and Women Artists of The West.