Born in Cody, Wyoming and eventually settling there, T.J. Feeley says the area has everything he needs for his painting: "cowboys, wide-open spaces, stunning mountains, and magnificent wildlife" (Art of the West 11/98). He finds inspiration in the Wyoming cowboys and also at the nearby Buffalo Bill Historical Center, which is full of paintings and sculptures of Remington and Russell.

Feeley also has winter studio in Palm Beach, Florida.

As an artist, he is self-taught. His father was a construction worker and his mother a nurse. A teacher, family, and friends noticed his childhood art talent, and he credits their encouragement with his eventual success.

For short times, he lived in Los Angeles and Las Vegas and attended the University of Wyoming on a full basketball scholarship, but a knee injury ended that activity. At the U of Wyoming, he studied art, but his western art interests were put-down by his instructors, so he left school.

He returned to Cody, married and began painting, and after some struggling years began getting recognized in prestigious exhibitions including the Buffalo Bill Art Show, the Western Artists of America, Arts for the Parks competition, etc. In the 1970s, his subject matter was Indian villages and mountain men, but he switched to working cowboys.

Sources include:
"Art of the West", November 2000
Website of the Artist
"Great American Artists Exhibition and Sale", 2000