Emily Zebel
Oil Painter | Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Emily Zebel is an oil painter based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, whose work explores the wild, symbolic, and emotional presence of animals and landscape. Her paintings often center coyotes, foxes, wolves, deer, elk, birds, and other wild beings as figures of instinct, endurance, mystery, and inner knowing.
Rooted in years of travel, endurance sports, wilderness exploration, and time spent in the American West and Southwest, Emily’s work blends realism with a mythic sense of place. Her paintings are grounded in close observation of the natural world, but often move beyond literal representation into dreamlike narratives of animal presence, solitude, transformation, and belonging.
Emily is a studio artist at The Millworks in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where she was named Featured Artist for June 2026. She was also a Featured Artist at ArtsFest 2026. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions regionally and internationally. She is a brand ambassador for Phoenix Art Materials.
Exhibition Record
Selected Artist + Honorable Mention, Call of the Wild Juried Exhibition
The San Fernando Valley Arts & Cultural Center | September 2026
Selected Artist, Unbridled Hope Juried Exhibition, Milan Art Gallery
Sarasota, Florida | August 2026
Featured Artist, The Millworks
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | June 2026
Featured Artist, ArtsFest 2026
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | May 2026
Reflections of a Greater Realm
International Group Exhibition, Cultural Arts Collective | October 2025
Debbie Smith Gallery
Lemoyne, Pennsylvania | April 2025
Cornerstone Gallery — Solo Exhibition
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | March 2025
3rd in the Burg Artist of the Month
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | February 2025
Yellow Bird Gallery — Solo Exhibition
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania | January 2022, 2023, 2024
Mt. Washington Backcountry Ski Festival Photography Exhibition
North Conway, New Hampshire | February 2023
Perry County Council of the Arts, Self Portraits Exhibition
Newport, Pennsylvania | 2018
Selected Publications & Film
Cover artist, The Burg Magazine
Persephone selected as 2026 cover artwork | Circulation 20,000+
I’m Not Sure What I’m Doing Here
Travelogue / essay | Longreads, May 2024
Corridors for the Curious
Travelogue, Awarded Best in Print 2023
Geography of Place
Short documentary
Herd of Hope
Short documentary, Awarded Selection for No Man's Land Film Festival, 2022
36 Hours in Kitsbow: Mysteries of Saint Anthony’s
Short documentary
Education
Bachelor of Arts, Professional Writing
York College of Pennsylvania | 2009
Summa Cum Laude
Contact
Emily Zebel
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
enzebel@gmail.com