September 29, 2014
Story and Photos by Joe Vinduska
Local artists Michael Whelan and Robert Joy will grace the gallery with their unorthodox pieces at the opening reception for the “Crossing the Line” exhibit from 1-3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5 in the Shafer Art Gallery, which will feature a live performance from the band Johnnie Booth and the Head Wounds of Lawrence.
Both artists are self-proclaimed “doodlers,” each of which take the technique from its normal confines of spiral notebooks and napkins, and propel it to fine-art levels. The exhibit will feature art that doesn’t fit into any of the traditional art categories.
“Obsession is one of the hallmarks of the creative process,” Shafer Art Gallery Director Dave Barnes said. “In the work of Joy and Whelan we see displayed a fine frenzy and obsession for mark-making and linear systems. Both of these artists allow themselves to be swept away by that obsession. More important than Joy’s whimsical vision or Whelan’s doodles and incandescent color is the process itself, which layers mark upon mark like notes on a score to produce a strange and beguiling music. The simple honesty of their mark-making seems appropriate to two homegrown artists who turn the ordinary act of marking into something extraordinary.”
Joy will take part in a temporary residency in the Gallery for the duration of the exhibit. The public is invited to come draw alongside the artist from 9 a.m.-noon Monday through Friday. Materials will be provided.
Michael Whelan
From his humble beginnings drawing trains when he was two-years old, Michael Whelan has come a long way. He is now a full-time graphic designer as the Creative Director for Fuller Industries in Great Bend as well as a fine artist.
“I’ve never thought of myself as anything other than an artist,” he said. “I’ve known all my life. I was just always known as the ‘art guy,’ and when I went to college, I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do. The design aspect of my career pays the bills so I can do the art work on the side. It’s really worked out pretty well.”
Whelan describes his work as “abstract doodleism,” which is even the name of his website, abstractdoodleism.com. He uses permanent black markers on his black-and-white pieces but also does some “color collages” from photos he prints off and then arranges.
“I try not to look at other artists and emulate what they do,” he said. “I am really trying to go towards something that is unique. That’s why I don’t title any of my work. I’m just trying to create something that is color, texture, form and shape. Hopefully, people can look at it and use their imagination and come to their own conclusions about what it is.”
Whelan said he enjoys his graphic design work and even owned his own business for seven years. However, he said his favorite part about working on his own pieces is the freedom.
“Being a graphic designer, you have a tendency to do what other people tell you to do,” he said. “It’s their vision. When you’re a fine artist, you make your vision.”
A good indicator of the freedom he feels when creating can be found in his process.
“I don’t do any sketches or anything,” he said. “I put a blank canvas in front of myself and I start working. “I like the freedom of doing whatever happens. I work almost unconsciously.”
Robert Joy
Ellinwood resident Robert Joy wants to draw all the time. His brain tells him repeatedly that’s what he wants to do. Sure, he takes in the occasional theatre performance or concert, reads and drinks tea but when it comes down to it, what he really wants to do is draw.
“It’s like an addiction,” he said. “I gotta have it. I wake up in the morning, and all I want to do is draw.”
Joy considers himself a lifetime artist, but he hasn’t always had a great relationship with it. He went through bouts of trying to emulate more traditional art forms, which was frustrating to him until he had an epiphany.
“One day, I decided that I was going to put out what I put out and not worry about what other people do, and I wasn’t going to compete with them,” he said. “Now it’s working. I don’t try to do what anybody else does, I just do what I do.”
Joy said he thinks this disposition about how he creates is what makes drawing so enjoyable to him.
“People try too hard, and talk about ‘working on their style,’” he said. “Your style is already there.”
He has the same approach to choosing subjects and doesn’t draw the same thing for too long.
“It’s really just a matter of lines, and it just kind of goes through my mind. “It’s kind of a meditative state that I get into. Some artists stay on the same thing forever, and I just can’t do that.”
The exhibit will be up through Oct. 29. The Shafer Gallery is open 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 1-4 p.m. on Sundays. Admission is always free.