Ramon Kelley was born in 1939 in Cheyenne, Wyoming.  From an early age he developed a strong interest in art, drawing in the margins of his school books was a favorite past time.  After serving in the US Navy, he won a scholarship to the Colorado Institute of Art, finally settling in Denver with his wife and son. 

   Kelley has built an award-winning reputation in various media: oil, acrylic, watercolor, charcoal, conte crayon, pastel and sculpture.  His first watercolor was accepted into the American Watercolor Society's annual exhibition, where it won the Helen Gapen Oehler Award.  While his work in watercolor flourished, Kelley also adopted pastel and became one of the first members of the Pastel Society of America. The Pastel Society of America designated Ramon a Master Pastelist, and in 1986, Ramon was elected to the Pastel Hall of Fame.  Due to his many affiliations, Kelley has been exhibited in one-man and groups shows from Tucson to Taiwan.  In addition to painting, his sensitive character studies are included in the collections of the Seattle Frye Museum, the Denver Public Library, the Spokane Museum of Native American Cultures, the Santa Fe Museum of Fine Art and the Academy at West Point. 

     Kelley is a member of the American Watercolor Society, the Allied Artists of America, Pastel Society of America, National Academy of Western Art, Knickerbocker Artists and Oil Painters of America, Representational.