George Hatcher

George Hatcher was born in the Dominican Republic, near Santo Domingo. After He graduated from Chico Senior High School in California, he volunteered for the United States Marine Corp. His path ultimately lead him to the Art program at Pittsburg State University. There he pursued a Bachelor of Fine Arts with an emphasis in 2D and minor in Graphic Design. After graduating George plans to pursue employment in his field, and continue to create art.

I see the world around us just as you do. But my imagination takes the everyday and transforms it into something completely different. Some may see things for their face value. I see the universe unraveling. The contrast from the light area to the darker areas. The face that magically appears. The landscape with a river going through it. The patterns in the carpet and walls clearly make shapes, and objects in my mind. These ideas are inspiration for my work, to be able to see something unexpected in the mundane. This concept enables me to have an infinite source of ideas. If I do not like what I see, then I simply turn it around. Look at it in different shades, different angles. What I see every day can be seen in the clouds. You see a dog I see an epic siege on a castle.

As an artist I pride myself in the basics and the fundamentals of art. With that in mind there isn’t anything I wouldn’t try at least once. From pencil to paint, watercolors to sculpture. There is not a discipline in the art community that I wouldn’t try. As an artist I prefer painting. Finalizing any painting usually motivates me to continue adding or subtracting on the idea of the finalization. This usually leads to more ideas of how I could improve said painting., Which in part turns into another idea. And the cycle continues until I feel like I have achieved all outcomes.

My work area is a normal drafting desk with pictures of my family and friends. Rock and roll music can be heard while I examine the world around me to create. Artworks from my past and present are tacked to the wall, helping me stay humble. Actual artwork from established artists complements my works. This inspires me to use my imagination, to take the everyday and transform it.

Destiny Ray

Destiny Ray was born November of 2000 in Kansas City Missouri but now studies Art illustration with visual storytelling in Pittsburg Kansas. Destiny is a watercolor, sketch, mix media artists that caught a passion for art from her three older brothers. She plans on graduating with her BFA in the fall of 2023 and will take the skills she’s learned all four years to pursue becoming a book illustrator and one day cartoon designer and animator.

My artwork is an expression of who I am as a student and as a growing, maturing young adult ,that is African american. I use my personal expression , cultural conflicts and imagination of my inner thoughts. I am an artist that uses various colors and materials to create my work.

My art is an expression of my inner thoughts and emotions from my life growing up in two different environments that have shaped me to who I have become today. Personal issues of stereotypes, insecurities, family life, gender equality, and more

My 2D and 3D works emphasize things that are hard to talk about. Race, Gender, Mental health, Politics. The things that make you uncomfortable In today's age there is social media influence and expansion of technology that focus on these currently.. I focus on these things to educate and spread awareness. Since I just make my art just because I make art for the vices that need to be heard, a stress relief, to share my life story and to bring attention to the harsh reality of today's society

I expect my work to cause a variety of statements and viewpoints. convey a variety of ideas and opinions of a variety of viewers for my art to stand out I strive for relatability, a change for younger audiences to learn about these ideas. To evoke sympathy with the negatives while also seeing the positive. And sympathizing with the negative in today's world. What is called “freedom”or “the american dream” are just ideas made up from people who don’t fit the expectation as well So I want to show the other side of that.

Artists that I have really been interested in and are leaning towards are modern artists of the 1900s Pablo Picasso,Jackson Pollock, Henri Matisse, abstraction artists, and art that uses symbolism, expression, cubism and many more. Artists that made a change in the artworld by the colors they used, the subject matter, the style, the technique to convey real unique and out of the box art that was never seen before in their time. The 1900s shaped a variety of artists of the twenty-first century and have boarden new forms of art showcased and created from their techniques.

Montana Watts

Montana Watts born in Independence, KS currently lives in Pittsburg, KS. Studying at Pittsburg State University expected to graduate with a BFA in Fall 2023. Montana has shown works at Verdigris Valley Young Artist Association in Independence, KS, and the Sculpture Garden in Coffeyville, KS. Montana has published works in the children’s book Little Tree, Ask Me by Kim McGrath, and the PSU Department of Education coloring book.

Coming from a small town in Kansas which has minimal attractions making my bond to the people around me very strong. My relationship with each of my family members is unique. I look to my mom for security, my dad for guidance, and my sister for a best friend. I enjoy being close to my family so I create work that makes me feel as if I am the presence of my loved ones.

I have become an aunt in the last 3 years which is something I take great pride in Being the youngest in my family meant I was never around kids growing up. I have found it fascinating to watch my niece and nephew discover the world. I have recently been using them as my main inspiration due to their impact on my life. This allows the viewer to see how important family is to me through my subject being someone I love or something that relates to them.

When creating, I work on defining my relationship with my family. I hope this allows for the audience to relate with their own feelings toward their family My dedication to my work is made clear in the small details of the face or the exact light and shadow The process is guided through the media of ink and colored pencil. Each media represents a different personality of my subjects.

Katie Wells

Katie Wells was born in Wichita, Kansas in 2001. She currently studies Fine Art at Pittsburg State University, Kansas. She will graduate with a BFA with an emphasis in Illustration in December 2023. Primarily a painter and illustrator, Katie works in watercolors, gouache, oils, printmaking, and ink. While pursuing her BFA, she found a love for art history and plans to earn a master’s degree in the subject.

When growing up, art was a constant in my life. My uncle was an artist and his works were always around me. My parents and teachers supported my creativity, and I never felt discouraged to do what I loved. Children’s entertainment always held my interest, and I started making artwork by copying the shows I watched. This obsession with cartoons and comics turned me into a skilled illustrator, and I eventually turned to making original artworks I spent my time in college focusing on my technical skills Stylistically, I found a medium between illustrative and realistic. I focus on saturated colors and bright contrasts of light. My forms are smooth and well-rendered with punches of dark lines and thick paint for emphasis. I am mainly a painter and work with watercolors, gouache, oils, and ink on canvas, paper, and wood Recently I have discovered a passion for printmaking, etching lines into copper plates and using acid and ink to illustrate. I enjoy the tactile aspects of art, feeling the texture of materials with my hands and the satisfying resistance of a brush. While my skills improved, I felt my art became impersonal. I’m inspired by Mary Cassatt’s paintings of mothers and children Her artwork holds a sense of reverence and nostalgia for family that I find emotionally impactful and inspiring. I also want to create artworks that accurately portrays childhood and family, creating colorful pieces and experimenting with different mediums I always enjoyed making portraits of family and friends, and decided to bring my personal touch back this way. My mother has made several baby albums of my family, and photos of small moments and big milestones are abundant when digging through her Facebook. I find the quality of photos from the early 2000s interesting. The photos from older cameras are scanned and printed multiple times until they are blurry messes My childhood memories appear in my mind a similar way, blurry instances of specific moments in time. I recreate this effect through the blending of oil paint, the watery fluidity of watercolors, and the slightly off-kilter alignment of printmaking.