"Self Proclaimed Most Sensitive Illustrator of the 21st Century"
Kaeli McLeod
Illustration / Visual Development
Howdy! My name is Kaeli and I’m an artist based California with a BFA in illustration from California College of the Arts!
I strive to invite my audience into playful, vivid worlds that are at once emotionally resonant and visually imaginative, often through motifs of queerness, nostalgia, girlhood, and California iconography.
My approach to art is distinctly process-oriented and methodologically playful. I blend digital tools with analog techniques, screen printing, zine-making, riso-graph, scanned textures, and hand-crafted print media, to build rich, tactile worlds. This intersection of precision (from digital editing) and unpredictability (from analog methods) mirrors the layered experience of identity itself: perfectly imperfect!
I have been featured in over 35 visual art installations since 2021, curated four exhibitions working with over 250 artists, and have been published in 18 magazines including Society of Illustrators, Xin Sai Magazine, Jardin Zine, and U.K. Femicide.
Partners
CCA Center For Art and Public Life (CAPL)
CCA Radio
City Studio
Creative Citizens in Action
Drag & Democracy
Girls on Deck
Love Lives in SF
The California Academy of Sciences
The Oakland DownLow
PREFund
Potrero Kids
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
phone - (323) 606 - 2083
IG - @mrsandmann
CV/Showcase
“distorted” / Multimedia / Eastern Star Gallery 2020
“You, me, we and them” / Photography / Eastern Star Gallery
2020
“Seclusion” / Multimedia / Online
2021
“Summer Art/Clothing Sale” / Painting / Culver City Venue
2021
“Gender” / Zine, Fashion/ California College of the Arts
2022
“Without U or 👁️There is No Unity” / Multimedia / Online
2022
“Art + Clothz Sale” / Print / Culver City Venue
2022
“Teen Art Sale” / Painting / West Hollywood Venue
2022
“Portrait of the Artist as a Young Person” / Adobe Illustrator / Hooper Atrium
2023
“Love” / Multimedia / California College of the Arts
2023
“CCA Spring Fair 2023 ” / Multimedia / California College of the Arts
2023
“Mark Eanes’ Student Drawing Exhibition” / Drawing / California College of the Arts
2023
“102 Knots and Images on SA” / Illustration / CCA Nave
2023
“Altruistic Zine : Issue 1” / Illustration / Online Zine
2023
“Same Faces Collective : Last Romantics” / Illustration / Online Exhibition
2023
“The Starving Artist : The Body Remembers ” / Illustration / Online Exhibition
2023
“XinSai : Edition 3” / Illustration / Digital Magazine
2023
“Wellness Zine : Issue 2” / Illustration / Zine
2023
“Pastel Serenity : Issue 12” / Illustration / Online Magazine
2023
“Plantita : Issue 3” / Illustration / Online Magazine
2023
“Graveyard Zine : Issue 6 ” / Illustration / Online Zine
2023
“Fourteen Zine ” / Illustration / Online Zine
2023
“Imperfect Zine Issue 1:Head In the Clouds” / Illustration / Online Zine
2023
“CCA Fall Fair 2023 ” / Multimedia / California College of the Arts
2023
“Midsummer Magazine ” / Illustration / Online Magazine
2023
“Bay Area Resources Vol. 2” / Zine / CCA Illus Homeroom
2024
“Riot GRRRL Culture” / Zine/ CCA Creative Citizens in Action
2024
“CCA Spring Fair 2024 ” / Multimedia / California College of the Arts
2024
“Sustainability in Practice” / Found Material Art / CCA Nave Expo
2024
“Quick Draw” / Illustration / CCA Illus Homeroom
2024
"Doll Heart Zine : RAGE"/ Illustration / Zine
2024
"Listen Here" / Video + Sound Art / Zine
2024
"Femicide Zine: Issue 7" / Illustration and Collage / Zine
2024
"Pastel Serenity: Issue 16" / Illustration/ Zine
2024
"VOTE!" / Zine / Center for Art and Public Life Installation
2024
"Drag and Democracy" / Poster / Creative Citizens in Action Performance
2024
"BOM-ROCK-A-THON" / Illustration and Decor / Center for Art and Public Life Performance
2024
"Photographing the Supernatural" / Photography / CCA Graduate Center Showcase
2024
"CCA Arts and Craft Fair 2024" / Illustration and Sculpture / CCA Main Building
2024
“Sex" / Illustration / CCA Nave
2025
“Jardin Zine: Issue 2" / Photography/ Digital + Print Multimedia Magazine
2025
“Youth of Letters: Issue 2" / Illustration/ Online Magazine
2025
“DYKEADELLIC : Issue 1" / Illustration/ Online Magazine
2025
"Student Scholarship Showcase" / Illustration/ Society of Illustrators, New York
2025
"Showoffs: Graduating Student Showcase" / Illustration/ California College of the Arts
2025
"Buy GAY Art!!!" / Illustration & Screen-print / Sour Cherry Comics
2025
"Summer Show"/ Illustration & Screen-print/ Rosebud Gallery
2025
"Runt Pub : DOGFIGHT"/ Illustration/ Online & Print Magazine
2025
"Themeless Show"/ Illustration/ Rosebud Gallery
2025
"Sonder Literary: Issue 2"./ Illustration / Online & Print Magazine
2025
“Claude’s Big 3-0 : Nightlife” / Poster Illustration / California Academy of the Sciences
2025
“Exchange” / Screenprint / Youth Art Exchange
2025
“$hit $how” / Illustration / Uma Gallery Oakland
2025
“Evolved Art Gallery : Ventura Opening” / Illustration / Evolved Art Gallery
2025
“Ants 3.0” / Illustration / Unassigned Gallery
2025
“Beautiful Mutants” / Illustration / MutMuz
2025
“Winterfest” / Screenprint / SF Bike Coalition
2025