The year that was— 2020

After the year of chaos known as 2020, it was great to see KY Governor Andy Beshear and First Lady Britainy Beshear announce plans for a Team Kentucky Gallery to be displayed in the state Capitol building starting in July, 2021. The press release was in late February, 2021, with the selected artworks being featured as part of a six month installation.

Often, artists are the last ones to be thought of during any time, even less so during the destruction of COVID. It brought havoc to not only our profession (as artists), but countless others. That’s why there seemed to be a sliver of hope— a light starting to shine through those dark clouds, when the Team Kentucky Gallery was announced.

submitting my sunflowers

I submitted one of my paintings (The Solitude Of Sunflowers) and was delighted to know that it had been accepted, and would be hanging amongst the beautiful artwork of other artists from Kentucky. Initially, I had concerns because the painting that I was submitting didn’t fit the typical ‘Kentucky’ theme, i.e. horses, rolling fields, basketball, bourbon, etc., but I’m glad that I went ahead and followed through. My wife and I went to the Capitol building in Frankfort after the artwork was installed and viewed each piece in the gallery. It’s always a great feeling to see your artwork displayed, but something about having it in the Capitol was extra special to me. Maybe just the timing of it all too? My painting is displayed in the main hallway, next to the Attorney General’s office. It has an incredible home for the next six months. Once this installation of the Team Kentucky Gallery is complete, the painting will still be part of that history and that will forever be attached to “my sunflowers”.