In celebration of National Historic Preservation Month, our May exhibit features paintings of Joplin’s historic buildings and houses created by young artists aged 8 to 16 years.

The students were taught by local artists Jesse McCormick, Percilla Penner, and Margie Moss, who also helped them research the history of the structures.  Some of the kids set up easels in the Murphysburg Historic District and painted “plein air” pictures of such landmarks as the Schifferdecker, Zelleken, and Picher houses.

Here are the artists and what they chose to paint…

Lexus Allen                     Jasper County Courthouse & Round Barn in Saginaw

Bentley Allen                   Connor Hotel, City Hall, Picher House, Grand Falls, Redings Mill Pool

Urneth Arreguin               Coca-Cola Bottling Company

Aubrey Christenberry      Connor Hotel

Connalee Churchwell      Olivia Apartments, Picher House

Cydney Churchwell         Main Street, Thomas Hart Benton Mural in City Hall, Picher House

Julianna Joseph              St. Peter’s Church

Raymond Nyguen           Kramer Thomas Reppey Mine

Ashlyn Kanakis               Schifferdecker House

Maggie Kent                    Columbia Block

Ben Kolkebeck                Rains Building

Paige Neuenschwander  Jasper County Courthouse

Raymond Nguyen           Thomas Mine

Jotham Pullen                 House of Lords

Maya Strick                     St. Peter’s Catholic Church

Jasmine Stone                Sinclair Filling Station

Brianna Sturdyvant         St. John’s Hospital, Schifferdecker House

Madison Sturdyvant        Zelleken House

Kyle Towery                    Newman Department Store (now City Hall)

Kaila Winn                       Schifferdecker House, Carl Junction Mammoth, Grand Falls, Redings Mill,  Dale’s Route 66 Barbershop

Artist Statement:

My photography flows from a love and respect for nature.  Although I am better known for macro floral photography, I strive to see beauty and harmony in all aspects of our natural world.

Marcel Proust said, “The real act of discovery is not in finding new lands but in seeing with new eyes.” I experienced this discovery during a photo workshop in Callaway Gardens, Georgia.  I began seeing beyond a pretty flower to the grace and beauty of nature.

Cher was featured on KSN’s Brad’s Beat on January 24, 2013.

“Joplin: An Outside View” is the December exhibit at the Post Memorial Art Reference Library.  It features vibrant plein air paintings by Joplin artist Margie Moss. Her expressionistic style paintings illustrate familiar scenes around Joplin, including the Japanese bridge at MSSU, Grand Falls, and the iconic cross at the former St. Mary’s Catholic Church site.  Moss operates Joplin Decorating Center and is one of the featured artists at Local Color Art Gallery.  She is involved in many other art organizations and has won several awards.

Read the December 2, 2012 Joplin Globe article about Margie Moss.

Karen Brust of Carthage is a fine artist specializing in oil and acrylic paintings.  The artist brings to life a wide range of subject matter–historical works, intricate still-life, streetscapes and beautifully rendered landscapes.

Brust’s art incorporates vibrant color schemes and defining texture, earning her a reputation as a colorist among fellow artists.

Self-taught with a life-long love of painting, she attempts to perfect her technique and captivate her audience with every brushstroke.

Karen’s work can been seen at the Koka Gallery in Carthage, Missouri and is regularly entered in area art shows, including the Thomas Hart Benton annual competition in Neosho, Missouri and the Joplin Museum Complex annual show.  She is a member of Spiva Center for the Arts, Art Central Carthage, and the Joplin Regional Arts Coalition.  She participates in their membership shows.

“The Art Lesson”, a Carthage historical painting by Brust, is on display at the Powers Museum in Carthage.

To see more of her work visit joplinrac.org or visit her on facebook.

Koral has always had a camera in her hand. In the last ten years, as digital photography capabilities have advanced, she has been able to combine her love of computers and her technical knowledge with her photography. In her photography she utilizes Canon’s and Olympus’ professional line of digital cameras and lenses and Epson’s professional printers. She is experienced in all aspects of digital photography, including digital capture, digital darkroom processing, color management, printing, and presentation of fine-art prints, which she does both for herself and for other area artists. She is also an experienced web developer and graphic designer and the owner of Koka Art Gallery, where she sells her photographic artwork and the artwork of thirty other artists.

She sells her works, too, at art shows around the country. She is a member of the Joplin Regional Artists Coalition, the North American Nature Photography Association, The Society for the Arts in Healthcare, The Center for Health Design, Spiva Center for the Arts, and Carthage Art Central. She received the contract for the artwork in the McCune-Brooks Regional Hospital in Carthage, Missouri. She feels strongly that there is healing in the beauty of nature; she is glad to be able, through her photography, to share that healing attribute with others.

To see more of her work or to find out how to purchase it, visit her websites :  www.koralmartin.com and www.healingnatureofart.com.

Steve was born and raised in California.  He says, “I have always loved art, and studied art in high school and college. Since 1985 I’ve owned and operated an advertising agency. In all those years, I have designed logos, written jingles, created countless TV and radio commercials and hundreds of videos, but my true love is photography and painting! I have recently begun rediscovering those two mediums. The ‘little kid’ in me who always wanted to be an artist is now doing so. The best part–is doing it with my wonderful wife, Cindy, also an artist!”

Cindy has worked as a registered nurse for St. John’s / Mercy Hospital in Joplin for over 25 years.  During those years, she has also been a part time artist.  She recently began painting and exhibiting in earnest.  She has been featured in the March 2012 issue of Show Me the Ozarks Magazine and the April 2012 issue of Joplin Metro Magazine.

Cindy says, “I have loved art since I was a small child. As far back as I can remember, I was always doing something ‘artsy’. Over the years, I have enjoyed many different mediums: calligraphy, quilt making and fabric arts, re-purposing furniture, mixed media and, most recently, painting. My style comes from the ‘little girl’ within me and my goal is simply to make people happy! If my artwork makes you smile, then I’ve succeeded in what I set out to do!”

The Heads are members of Joplin Regional Artist Coalition and George A. Spiva Center for the Arts.  To see more of their work or to find out how to purchase it, visit their website.

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The August exhibit features paintings by Joplin artist Nancy Erwin.  Many of the paintings depict historic landmarks of the area, including some on Route 66.

Even as a child, Erwin loved to put her dreams in drawings on paper.  Some of her earliest drawings were the latest women’s fashions.  She focused on design and color. After raising three children, she enrolled in art classes at Missouri Southern State University.  She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in graphic art.

Erwin says, “I love to paint the past, and Joplin has culture and character that distinguishes it as a unique studio for my paintings.  Watercolor seems to work best as I visualize the buildings and scenery surrounding the Joplin area, and my mind captures on canvas the place I love.  Being born and raised in Joplin, I see the past change before my eyes, and my dreams of being an artist have now become reality.”

On August 21, 2012, Brad Douglas featured Erwin’s work on the KSN evening news.  Click this link to watch it.