Arts Visual Arts

Cover Artist: Brian Kuehn

Blue Ridge Vista. Brian Kuehn, artist

By Gina Malone

A native of the Midwest who grew up with “seemingly endless prairie” at his back door, Brian Kuehn became interested in art at a young age, encouraged by his parents and inspired in particular by his mother who worked full-time as a nurse but always made time for painting. Kuehn attended the Rocky Mountain School of Art (now the Rocky Mountain School of Art and Design) in Denver, CO, where he studied all mediums and had daily life drawing classes. His talent and a degree in graphic design paved the way to a 40-year career as a design/art director and illustrator. Through the years and in the many places he and his family lived, he never stopped drawing and painting.

Lucille in the Field. Brian Kuehn, artist

“My wife says that I seem happier when I’m creating art and I think it’s true,” Kuehn says. “We all need to feed our creative soul.” He and wife Diane, who creates jewelry and wearable fiber art, work in adjacent studios next to their home in Pisgah Forest and, Kuehn says, “are always bouncing ideas off each other.”

Among his influences and interests, Kuehn names album cover art of the 1970s and poster art and vintage photos of the 1930s and ‘40s. His current works are rendered in soft pastel on a highly textured black board. He applies a black pastel primer to heavy paper or Masonite to achieve the background. “Typically, I start with a detailed sketch which I then transfer to my black surface,” Kuehn says. “Then it’s a painting process of applying many layers of pastel while trying to not over-work it. It’s not uncommon for me to get a painting close to finished and then set it aside for a few days just to study it to see if it needs more. Often, I decide it was done after all.” He creates landscapes as well as works depicting people in farm settings.

“The Farmers Series uses people that I often find through vintage photos,” says Kuehn. “They are almost always working in the field or picking crops.”

He likes that people sometimes respond to his paintings in a visceral way, recalling a woman who, upon seeing a farmscape of his at a show in Virginia, began to cry. “It turns out her mother who lived on a small farm had just passed away and her friends were taking her out for the evening,” Kuehn says. “She bought the painting and it really felt good to connect with someone through art. That’s what it’s all about.”

The Farmer. Brian Kuehn, artist

After years of traveling the festival circuit, Keuhn says he has settled for a quieter life of creating in his studio and displaying his works on his website and in galleries, including the Lucy Clark Gallery & Studio in Brevard. “Brian brings depth and emotion to his pastel work with the images he chooses to create and the rich, yet vibrant, colors that he masterfully lays down,” says gallery owner Lucy Clark.

Kuehn’s landscapes are inspired by WNC scenery, along with other beautiful places he has lived and traveled. Time spent enjoying the outdoors—camping, mountain biking, hiking and fly fishing—offers breaks from studio time and a chance to recharge.

“At this stage of my life, I do art for the pure joy of it,” Kuehn says. “There’s still a lot of subject matter and ideas that I want to explore.”

To learn more, visit BrianKuehnStudio.com. Studio visits are welcome by appointment. Find Brian Kuehn’s work at Lucy Clark Gallery, 51 West Main Street, Brevard. In addition, through October 28, his work may be viewed at Connestee Falls Realty, Brevard.

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