Winning NYS Fair painting contest honored SU administrator’s family legacy
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Painting has always played a part in Kevin Costello and his family’s lives. Some of Costello’s earliest memories are of watching his father experiment with oil paints and sitting on the couch with him watching Bob Ross videos — the same videos that inspired him to focus his paintings on nature and wildlife.
Costello, Syracuse University’s Assistant Vice President of Business Operations and Staff, placed first in the fine arts wildlife division category at this year’s Great New York State Fair for his acrylic painting of a peacock, which was announced on Aug. 12.
Costello was “pretty shocked” about his win, despite years of coming in second- and third-place with consistent improvement each year.
“I had been striving, just getting better each year with my painting, and so it was a very nice surprise to see first,” Costello said.
He decided to paint a peacock, titled “Reign in Blue,” this summer because he loved the bird’s colors and beauty. The piece was painted solely with acrylics, a medium Costello said can be difficult because it dries so quickly. The piece features an array of blues, greens and vibrant yellows with prominent brush strokes, showing off the feathers and textures of the multicolored bird.
Costello has served in his current position for the Student Experience Division since January 2024, overseeing the division’s budget, human resources, information technology and staff development operations. He’s been with the division since 2011, his first year working at SU, and has worked his way up through several roles in the budget office.
He works an “obscene number of hours at SU,” Costello’s uncle, Joe Mastroianni, said. Then, Costello spends the weekends perfecting his craft, turning painting into his creative outlet.
Although painting started as a side hobby, Costello entered his art to the Fair four years ago from the encouragement of his friends and family. But Costello’s first competition entry in 2022, a painting of a wolf against a mountain backdrop, wasn’t made with winning in mind.
The piece placed second, which was a moment that shocked Costello, Mastroianni said, especially because Costello never expected his hobby to have such a strong reception.
“It was kind of an encouragement in the sense of each year I would try to get better and improve upon that,” Costello said
Costello began taking art more seriously after the death of his father, an oil painter himself.
After Costello’s father died from a sudden stroke at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Costello honed in on his painting skills, living out his father’s legacy. While he’s primarily self-taught, many of his common techniques come from his father’s tutelage.
At 16, Syracuse University employee Kevin Costello created this fish painting with his dad. Costello’s friend and fellow SU employee Debbie McKie said his connection to his father shines through in his work. Courtesy of Kevin Costello
When Costello was 16, his father began teaching him how to paint, and they worked together on a small painting of a fish swimming in the ocean. They painted the fish as a way to practice different techniques, and Costello still owns the piece today.
“It’s not the best painting,” Costello said. “But we made it work.”
Debbie McKie, SU’s Greek life senior program coordinator, has known Costello for around 15 years. She said his connection to his father shines through his art.
“He’s living the echo of his father’s heart,” McKie said. “He’s carrying on his dad’s legacy.”
McKie said Costello rarely talks about his hidden art skills, even with close colleagues like her, describing Costello as “humble” and “unassuming.” Costello “deserves more recognition than he gives himself credit for,” McKie said.
Costello, who works almost exclusively with acrylics, gravitates toward wildlife and nature scenes, drawing inspiration from his love of hiking and trail running. His next subject is a puffin, inspired by a recent trip to Maine — even though he didn’t spot one there.
Although art is in Costello’s blood, painting doesn’t come quickly to him. Costello estimates each piece takes about 15 to 20 hours, a byproduct of his perfectionism, he admits.
Despite constant requests from friends and colleagues, Costello has yet to sell any of his paintings. Costello said he’d be too hard on himself if he sold a painting to someone, calling himself his “own worst critic.”
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Costello’s win at the Fair didn’t surprise McKie, but it did move her, she said.
“I was beyond proud of him, doing backflips, filled with tears,” McKie said. “It was the recognition he deserves because he really truly is gifted.”
She also noted that Costello’s talents extend beyond art — he’s a gifted athlete, competing in triathlons regularly. However, he keeps his talents pretty private at the risk of sounding arrogant.
Still, Costello shares his accomplishments with a small circle of people that McKie said she’s grateful to be part of.
Mastroianni, who encouraged him to first enter the Fair years ago, described Costello as dedicated and hard on himself. But Costello always pushes himself to paint new subjects, whether that means a peacock one year or a puffin the next.
“I guess it’s in my blood, and I didn’t realize it until later in life, but maybe I do have the ability,” Costello said.
