AMERICAN

Eileen Downey was born in San Francisco and received her art education at UC Berkeley with a B.A. (with honors) in 1959 and M.A. in 1960. There she studied under Karl Kasten, Erle Loran and John Haley and was greatly influenced in her figurative painting during her last year by her teacher, David Park. In addition, in 1957, she studied painting with Ruben Tam at the Brooklyn Museum School of Art in Brooklyn, New York. In 1979 she also added an M.A. in drama from the San Francisco State University. As a peer of Joan Brown Eileen was early influenced by Brown’s use of color, texture and composition. In later years, Downey focused on the landscapes of her San Francisco surroundings and figurative paintings of musician friends. In the most recent past, she has focused on watercolor paintings particularly of mountains and forests. She has had numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout the San Francisco Bay Area as well as New York City, Canada and France.