Jeff Skele

Jeff Skele is a mixed media painter and muralist based in Austin, Texas.

Jeff "Skele" Sheely was born and raised in Virginia where he excelled as a soccer player - even received a scholarship offer. But at age 19, he suffered knee injuries that abruptly ended his bright future as an athlete.

This became a period of reflection and transition for Skele. As he searched for what he would do next, it became clear that his “next” was emerging from a sketchpad. As he continued to recover from his knee injuries, Skele worked odd jobs around Virginia Beach, sketched in his downtime, and gradually built up a collection of work. After meeting some local graffiti artists and surrounding himself with creatives, Skele was inspired to focus more on his art and begin showing work.

Skele’s 2013 relocation to Dallas was the final push to live off his art. In less than two months of his arrival in Texas, he was showing work in a gallery. Skele became a fixture in Kettle Art Gallery, entered numerous arts festivals and live-painting events, and honed his skills as a studio artist before moving to his current home Austin in 2017.

If you had to put Skele in a category, you could say he is a neo-expressionist artist. He loves working in various mediums, but primarily layers spray paint, acrylic paint, and oil pastels for his canvas works. He has also dabbled in digital art, like t-shirt designs and stop-motion animation. Recently, Skele has developed an interest in wood sculptures and multi-layer cutout pieces coated in resin.

Find him on Instagram @jeffskeleart