Keith Batcheller

Born in the foothills of San Gabriel Mountains, near Los Angeles, California, Keith Batcheller grew up admiring the images of the Southwest, the Old West, and Native American peoples. Keith earned a Bachelor of Fine Art with honors at the Art Center College of Design and was selected by Art Center to attend post graduate studies in Connecticut. Keith refined his skills with some of the country’s most acclaimed artists and illustrators including Bob Peak, Mark English, Bernie Fuchs and Bob Heindel.
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A professional illustrator for 30 years, Keith worked with many clients in New York City, Chicago, and the West Coast, creating paintings for the advertising, publishing, and movie industries. He was commissioned by Walt Disney Productions to create movie posters for Pocahontas, Beauty and the Beast, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Lilo and Stitch, and Hercules. A representative of the Society of Illustrators, Keith created sixteen paintings for the United States Air Force Art Collection, five of which were chosen for the permanent exhibition at The Pentagon, Washington D.C.
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Upon retiring from his career as an illustrator, Keith is pursuing his true passion as a western artist, working primarily in oils and using a style known as “Painterly Realism.” ​

Keith has been honored with many accolades and awards in his career. He regularly participates in prestigious invitational shows and exhibitions around the country, including the Annual Bosque Art Classic in Clifton, Texas, the Annual Western Spirit Art Show at the Old West Museum in Cheyenne, Wyoming, as well as the Annual Cattlemen’s Western Art Show in Paso Roles, California, where he received People’s Choice Award in 2018. Keith is also a participant of the California Art Club Renewal & Rebirth Excellence in Traditional Fine Art Show, the Mountain Oyster Club in Tucson, Arizona, and the Gillman Historic Ranch Wild West Days Art Show, in Banning, California, where Keith was awarded First Place for Best Painting as well as Best of Show in 2016 and 2017. He received Third Place at the 2020 Art of Innovation Exhibition in Reno, Nevada. At the Western Art Rodeo Association (WARA), Keith took First Place in the “World Finals,” Second Place at the “Fall Gathering,” and Second Place in the “Stampede Art Competition” in 2018. Additionally in San Dimas, California, Keith was nominated for Best Oil Panting in 2009, 2017, and 2019 at the San Dimas Festival of the Arts, and in 2013 he received a Gold Medal for the Best Oil Painting. In 2021, Keith won Best of Show and First Place in figurative oils at the Mountain View Americana Art Show in Easley, South Carolina.