Kathleen Telesco is a Connecticut-based artist who works in acrylics, pastels, charcoal, and sometimes fabric, using brushes and her hands to build layers and texture. She majored in studio art and communications with a scholarship in drawing at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Having spent most of her life creating realistic pencil and charcoal portrait and nature drawings, Kathleen felt a pull toward expressionist and semi-abstract painting during the winter before the pandemic. She draws inspiration from nature and wildlife, birding, and storylines from her dreams, painting quickly and energetically and usually completing works on paper in one sitting. Her art is almost always unplanned and an eraser is rarely used, as she prefers to go straight to intuitively using paint rather than sketching out compositions beforehand.
Kathleen has been involved in shows throughout Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and her work is part of several private collections. Her artwork is included in the new birding and conservation card game, Chirp Up, which will be released in July 2026.
Outside of painting she writes music and volunteers with Sharon Audubon Center, formerly as a clinic bird rehabber, and currently helping to plan events. She is an avid birder who is passionate about using art as a means to spark interest in conservation.