Cantrell Gallery will present an exhibit of new paintings by John Deering entitled “Arkansas Traveler”. They are hosting a preview party on Friday, August 22, 6-8:00 pm. It is open to the public – the admission is free. The artist will be on hand to discuss his work.  “Arkansas Traveler” will continue through October 18. Regular gallery hours are Monday – Saturday, 10-5:00.

Artist’s Statement for “The Arkansas Traveler”

“While I have explored a wide range of subject matter as an artist and illustrator, the basis for my paintings and sculpture has always been to explore subjects in a representational way. Surface texture and the application of paint, clay or wax is a means to an end. That end is either the creation of a visual narrative or an attempt to record the image of a place or person. The group of paintings in “The Arkansas Traveler” display a little of both of these endeavors at the same time.  These paintings are of subjects I have planned to draw or paint for years, images that I see around me every day. In some instances I have depicted scenes from Arkansas history. But generally, I haven’t painted scenes I’m most familiar with until fairly recently.

Notes about a few of the pieces in “Arkansas Traveler”

“‘4:00 PM Shadows’ is painted from a series of yards and houses I pass by frequently. I studied the light in the yards and continue to do so – and I plan on painting this scene again, at other times of the day.”

“‘Patriot’s Creek’ is a depiction of a spot only a block from my house. The flagpole (and the creek) is tended often by a long-time neighbor.”

“I was fascinated by the scene depicted in ‘Night Crew’ when I drove by this office window one evening, and I stopped to record it with photos to paint from in the studio. The photos were taken through the window during a rainstorm, and the members of the “crew” didn’t know the moment was being recorded.  The “interior/exterior” framing is something I like very much.”

“‘The Other Side of the Cove’ is a type of painting and theme I have wanted to return to for some time. I like the depiction of an outdoor scene in Arkansas that at once has a quality of a specific place as well as a quality of anonymity-reality with a dream-like quality. This painting has some similarity to another large canvas I painted about 10 years ago, which depicts a rather quirky-looking couple on a fishing dock.”

Other paintings in this exhibit depict family members and co-workers, always placed in a familiar context.  Some subjects were, literally, right outside the door of my studio.

“Rather than focusing on pure landscape or cityscape painting in my work, I always prefer to incorporate people. I always return to a sense of narrative.” – John Deering

John Deering is a lifelong Arkansan. He attended the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where he studied fine art. In 1981, he got a job at the Arkansas Democrat, (now the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette) where he worked in Advertising Layout, but quickly moved to the Editorial Art Dept. creating maps, charts and illustrations. He became a regular cartoon contributor to the “Voices” page. In 1988 after winning a number of regional cartooning awards, he was promoted to the Democrat’s Chief Editorial cartoonist.

John’s political cartoons have been featured in Time, Newsweek, and the Sunday New York Times and have been shown on the NBC Nightly News, ABC and C-Span. John has won several national awards for political cartooning, including the Fischetti Award given by Columbia College, Chicago, and the Berryman Award from the National Press Foundation. In addition to his editorial cartoons, Creators Syndicate also distributes his two comic features, “Strange Brew” and “Zack Hill”.

A professional sculptor as well, John has completed three monuments for the state of Arkansas which are on permanent display on the grounds of the state capitol in Little Rock. John’s work is in other public and private collections in Arkansas and around the U.S.

John and his wife, Kathy, live in Little Rock with their two sons, Will and Matthew. Their daughter, Elizabeth Deering Morris, teaches art in the Little Rock public schools, and is the mother of Deering’s grandchildren, Mickey Sue and Maya.

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