Finding Peace through Art
by Pat Kerns
While in Hannibal during the month of July discover what is offered at Alliance Art Gallery at 121 North Main. Besides the wide variety of art work and fine crafts offered by gallery artists, during the entire month of July you can treat yourself to the paintings of guest artist Austin Roberts and spotlight gallery artist Pat Kerns.
Austin Roberts never planned to stand in front of a classroom. Growing up between the coast of North Carolina and the island of Okinawa, Japan, he routinely brushed off the question of whether he would ever teach art with a firm “NO”. Even after earning his undergraduate degree at Indiana State University, his plan was simple: clock in to a day job and save his creative energy for the studio.
But life, along with a gentle push from his husband to pursue a master’s degree at Indiana State University, had other plans. While working as a graduate assistant, Austin discovered an unexpected truth, teaching did not drain his creative energy, it fueled it.
Today Austin heads the Fine Arts Department at John Wood Community College in Quincy, Illinois, where he mentors the next generation of artists. In a world often defined by chaos, his current studio practice is an antidote to the noise. Turning his canvas upward, Austin’s recent work focuses on the sky, capturing the fleeting, peaceful beauty of clouds in all their shifting moods and conditions.
Gallery artist Pat Kerns will also be featured during July. This Hannibal artist is now a full-time artist after a long career of teaching art. When deciding on a theme for what she wanted to present she had a whole list of ideas. But then life changed that. Still grieving the death of her husband, she suffered a stroke. While recovering she again considered what she wanted her work to say. She has found that the energy of color is a real physical and mental uplift. “It would be so easy to wallow in negativity. I have chosen not to do that”. After waking from a very realistic dream about a new way of painting flowers, something she is known for already doing, she started painting in what was for her was this new way. “This has been extremely challenging and has led me to creating in a new way where decisions must be made every step of the way. I would love for visitors to the gallery to just stand in front of my work and absorb the peaceful energy of flowers and color.”
Meet these two artists at the monthly Second Saturday Art Walk from 4:00 to 7:00 pm on July 11 with artists’ talks at 6:00. Come enjoy refreshments and conversations with artists and art lovers.
