Kaelimcleod

Kaeli McLeod -

Mixed Media Illustration

Well hello there! My name is Kaeli, & I’m a mixed media illustrator based in California with a BFA in Illustration from California College of the Arts & Crafts.

As a mixed media illustrator, my craft brings bold linework, vibrant colors, & playfully exaggerated forms to a range of mediums including digital illustration, analogue drawing/painting, printmaking, murals, zines, & more (oh my)!

I specialize in poster illustration, printmaking & thrive at the intersection of bold visuals & public-facing projects, whether it’s a festival poster, interactive map, beer label, or sculptural mural. My approach to art is rooted in dense texture, playful characters, & process-oriented techniques, blending the refinement of digital tools with the imperfection of analogue techniques to build imaginative, rich, tactile worlds often influenced by nostalgia, queerness, California iconography, & street art/posters.

I have been featured in over 45 art shows, art markets, & magazines/zines since 2024 & have illustrated for clients including the YMCA SF, California Academy of Sciences, Stern Grove Festival, Noise Pop, Planned Parenthood, the Future of Us Festival, & more!

When I’m not illustrating my heart out, I can be found working across the Bay Area as a teaching artist, supporting a DIY show from behind the scenes, asking to pet your dog, or making music in my bedroom.

Don’t be shy, reach out, say hi! :-)

Partners + Clients

CV/Published

California Academy of Sciences
CCA Center For Art and Public Life (CAPL)
CCA Radio
City Studio
Collective Arts Brewing
Creative Citizens in Action
Drag & Democracy
Future of Us Festival
Girls on Deck
Jack London Improvement District
Love Lives in SF
Noise Pop
Oakland LowDown
Planned Parenthood
Plenary Co.
PREFund
Potrero Kids
Public Works
Queer Cultural Center
SF Children & Nature
SF YMCA
Stern Grove Festival
Wonderland Avenue Elementary School

Awards

McLeod, Kaeli. (2025). Good Morning Santa Monica! Society of Illustrators, Student Scholarship Competition.

McLeod, Kaeli. (2025). Map of Los Angeles. Society of Illustrators, Student Scholarship Competition.

McLeod, Kaeli (2022). First Year Portfolio Review . California College of the Arts, All College Honors Nominee.

McLeod, Kaeli (2021-2025). California College of the Arts, Creative Scholarship Award.

Contact

email - mcleodkaeli@gmail.com
linkedin - Kaeli McLeod
IG - @mrsandmann

2026

Ticket to Ride — Known SF at Mini Bar SF — San Francisco, CA
Future of Us — Future of Us Festival at The Pearl — San Francisco, CA
Where Do All the Gays Go? — LYRIC Online & Print Zine — San Francisco, CA
Themeless Show — Rosebud Gallery — San Francisco, CA
Best in Show — Crisis Club Gallery — Oakland, CA
Love Lives in SF: Emerging Artist Showcase — Hotel Emblem — San Francisco, CA
Love Lives in SF: Emerging Artist Showcase — Orphan Gallery, Moongazer Collective — San Francisco, CA
Women's 10x10 — Faultline Gallery — Oakland, CA
Fire Horse — Riso Pop — Amsterdam, Netherlands
Women, Femme, and Them — Ape SF — San Francisco, CA
For The Love of the Bay — KnK Contemporary — San Francisco, CA

2025

Pancakes & Booze Art Show — Public Works — San Francisco, CA
ARTvent — Madrone Art Bar — San Francisco, CA
Good Spirits — Ritual Valencia — San Francisco, CA
Ren Fair — Quartz Place Community — Oakland, CA
Fall Show — Rosebud Gallery — San Francisco, CA
Winterfest — SF Bike Coalition — San Francisco, CA
Beautiful Mutants — MutMuz — Los Angeles, CA
Ants 3.0 — Unassigned Gallery — Brunswick VIC, Australia
Evolved Art Gallery: Ventura Opening — Evolved Art Gallery — Ventura, CA
Everyday Strange — Novack Gallery — San Francisco, CA
$hit $how — Uma Gallery — Oakland, CA
Exchange — Youth Art Exchange — San Francisco, CA.
Claude's Big 3-0: Nightlife — California Academy of Sciences — San Francisco, CA
Sonder Literary: Issue 2 — Online & Print Magazine
Themeless Show — Rosebud Gallery — San Francisco, CA
Runt Pub: DOGFIGHT — Online & Print Magazine
Summer Show — Rosebud Gallery — San Francisco, CA
Buy GAY Art!!! — Sour Cherry Comics — San Francisco, CA
Showoffs: Graduating Student Showcase — The NAVE, CCA— San Francisco, CA
Student Scholarship Showcase — Society of Illustrators — New York, NY
DYKEADELLIC: Issue 1 — Online Magazine
Youth of Letters: Issue 2 — Online Magazine
Jardin Zine: Issue 2 — Online & Print Magazine
Sex — The NAVE, CCA — San Francisco, CA

2024

CCA Arts and Craft Fair 2024 — California College of the Arts — San Francisco, CA
Photographing the Supernatural — CCA Graduate Center Showcase — San Francisco, CA
BOM-ROCK-A-THON — Timken Hall, CCA — San Francisco, CA
Drag and Democracy —The NAVE, CCA — San Francisco, CA
VOTE! — The NAVE, CCA — San Francisco, CA
Pastel Serenity: Issue 16 — Online & Print Magazine
Femicide Zine: Issue 7 — Online & Print Magazine
Listen Here: Issue 1 — Online Magazine
Doll Heart Zine: RAGE — Online & Print Magazine
Quick Draw — The Illustration Homeroom, CCA — San Francisco, CA
Sustainability in Practice — The NAVE, CCA — San Francisco, CA
CCA Spring Fair 2024 — California College of the Arts — San Francisco, CA
Riot GRRRL Culture — The NAVE, CCA — San Francisco, CA
Bay Area Resources Vol. 2 — The Illustration Homeroom, CCA — San Francisco, CA

2023

CCA Fall Fair 2023— California College of the Arts — San Francisco, CA
Midsummer Magazine — Online & Print Magazine
Imperfect Zine Issue 1: Head in the Clouds — Online Magazine
Fourteen Zine — Online Magazine
Graveyard Zine: Issue 6 — Online Magazine
Plantita: Issue 3 — Online Magazine
Pastel Serenity: Issue 12 — Online & Print Magazine
Wellness Zine: Issue 2 — Online & Print Magazine
XinSai: Edition 3 — Online & Print Magazine/ Online Exhibition
The Starving Artist: The Body Remembers — Online Exhibition
Same Faces Collective: Last Romantics — Online Exhibition
Altruistic Zine: Issue 1 — Online Magazine
102 Knots and Images on SA — The NAVE, CCA — San Francisco, CA
Mark Eanes' Student Drawing Exhibition — California College of the Arts — San Francisco, CA
CCA Spring Fair 2023 — California College of the Arts — San Francisco, CA
Love — The NAVE, CCA — San Francisco, CA
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Person — Hooper Atrium, CCA — San Francisco, CA

2022

Teen Art Market — Los Angeles, CA
Art + Clothz Sale — Culver City, CA
Without U or 👁️ There is No Unity — Online Exhibition
Gender — The NAVE, CCA — San Francisco, CA