FEATURED ARTIST
WINTER MORNING by bRian hinkle
Brian Hinkle was born in Emporia and has lived in Wichita most of his life. After earning his undergraduate degree in mathematics at Grinnell College in Iowa, he returned to Wichita State University to study painting, finishing his MFA in 1992. Brian has been actively pursuing his art career ever since, teaching art classes and showing and organizing exhibitions for a number of Wichita art galleries, most notably at The Wichita Center for the Arts. And of course, painting.
I like nothing better than to get in my old Jeep and tour the back roads of Kansas. Taking the long way to the Oxford Mill or finding stone bridges in Cowley County, I never have to look far for good scenes to paint. My wife and I recently got lost east of Matfield Green. Even though I had my trusty Gazetteer, I managed to get off my route, four wheeling it across creeks and cattle barriers. But we stumbled across the most beautiful Flint Hills valley tucked back in the middle of nowhere and had the best time. I snapped a ton of pictures and eventually found my way out near Olpe. It was a great day, but I might have to break down and buy a GPS one of these days! The beauty of the Kansas landscape is ephemeral. Outsiders don’t get it, and I am selfishly a little glad. Let’s keep it our little secret, shall we? The beauty of Kansas is found in the space, the changing light, the colors of the changing season and the sky. Blue haze over the Smoky Valley, a moment of brilliant pink in a Kansas sunset, the dew on the grass on a foggy Flint Hills morning. These subjects inspire me. And they lie waiting down every little dirt road I take the time to explore.
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