This week's featured artist is Linda Hoover. Her career in art began in 1984 when she opened a sign painting business in her home.
Once all her children were in school Hoover returned to school herself. She financed this venture with funds from her business, scholarships and the support of her husband, Dave. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in art, and in 1998 began to teach art part time at two Missouri K-8 schools, Clarksburg and Blackwater. Hoover moved to the Northwest School District where she taught until retiring in 2013. This gave her time for her art and grandchildren. She completed her master's degree in art education at University of Missouri in Columbia while teaching.
Hoover's master's thesis was titled "Lighthearted Art," the kind of art she loves to do. Her goal is to put a smile on someone's face. That smile is her goal whether for paintings, portraits, illustrations, caricatures at parties or large scale mural projects.
Since Hoover retired, she has involved herself in arts in her community, teaching a number of adult art workshops in Warrensburg, Sedalia and Jefferson City. She accepted the position of director of the fine arts department at the Missouri State Fair for two years. She was vice president and program chairman for the Mid-Missouri Artists in Warrensburg for three years. She also held the same position for the Sedalia Visual Art Association for three years, then accepting the position of president three and a half years ago.
The members' art is now displayed in a number of venues - the Sedalia Municipal Building, Bothwell Hospital, Sedalia Country Club, Liberty Center for the Arts in Sedalia, The Goddard Gallery of the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art in Sedalia and others. Hoover personally organizes the rotation of art each two months for the municipal building. She also helps with the hanging and promotion of each show.
Hoover's favorite art forms are murals and caricatures. The idea behind the American Gothic mural on the side of the Fine Arts Building at Missouri State Fairgrounds was to draw people to the juried section on the second floor, which worked out nicely. Hoover said several Sedalia Visual Art Association members were discussing how people get up there during the fair, and they thought of doing something on the outside of the building. Hoover did a sketch right then and later turned it into a watercolor painting.
When the group felt they were ready they asked permission from the Chicago Art Institute, owner of the original painting. They made an appointment to present their idea to the Fair Director Mark Wolfe. He loved the idea and wanted to know what the fair needed to do in order for it to happen, Hoover said. She asked to put up a faux wall, which allowed for a smooth surface to paint on. The State Fair hired Hoover as artist-in-residence, and she painted the mural during the fair in 2013.
Before the fair began, Hoover took an overhead projector and, with her husband's help, projected the image on the building and drew by using a ladder. The fair put up scaffolding so she could paint lines that look like siding. Hoover said she got the faces started before the fair and finished the rest of the painting during the 11 days of the fair, having a great time doing the mural.
People talked to her while they did research on Grant Wood, who painted American Gothic. The painting itself brought crowds down, Hoover said, and she talked with people about the figures she was painting.
She wanted to paint the whole figures, with the woman spraying a graffiti message encouraging people to go upstairs. For this mural, Hoover was demonstrating the contrast between the rather serious, ruralist style of Grant Wood and the bright, loose, modern style of graffiti seen today. She herself calls this mural "American Graffiti."
The Sedalia Stars Mural was to commemorate the number of people born in Sedalia, who attended Sedalia School and then went on to earn national recognition in the entertainment business. Hoover felt it was a positive thing for the young people in the area to be aware of. The stars have caricatures of three of those famous people.
State Fair College also hired Hoover to do caricatures of its students at the welcome back activities this year. She is available to draw caricatures at parties, graduations, anniversaries, picnics or events. For more information, call Hoover at 660-238-6242 or [email protected].
Mid-Missouri art happenings and exhibits
The Annual Adult Fine Arts Exhibit sponsored by Jefferson City Art Club is now open at Capital Arts Gallery. The show's reception will be during the Arts Around Town Gallery Crawl 4:30-8 p.m. April 26 at the gallery, 1203 Missouri Blvd. Maps are available for all participating businesses who will display artists' work during the Arts Around Town Gallery Crawl.
The annual High School Sketch Day will be May 6-12 at Capital Arts Gallery and is sponsored by Jefferson City Art Club. The artistry seen here is the best Jefferson City Public Schools has to offer. Many of these artists are graduating and going directly to art school. A reception will be held 3:30-6 p.m. May 8 at Capital Arts Gallery. For more information, call 573-635-8355 or visit capitalarts.org.
The "Icon" exhibit begins April 26 at Columbia Art League, 207 S. 9th St. in Columbia. The exhibit gives artists a chance to explore their feelings about iconology and idolatry in modern society. There will be a reception 6-8 p.m. April 26. The gallery is open 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call 573-443-8838 or visit columbiaartleague.org.
Art House will hold the Callaway Plein Air event and exhibit from May 23-26, with a reception on May 26 at its gallery at 531 Court St. in Fulton. The Art House showcases many area artists' work from Fulton and the surrounding communities. It also hosts a variety of classes and workshops open to the public. Stop by Art House from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday or 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call 573-592-7733 or visit arthousefultonmo.org.
The Sedalia Visual Arts Association maintains a rotating art exhibit at Sedalia City Hall in Sedalia Municipal Building, 200 S. Osage in Sedalia. They feature two new artists every two months, with Maren Schenewark and Linda Schwermer's work currently on display. Hours of operation are 8:30-5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The association will have an exhibit May 24-Aug. 18 at Goddard Gallery in Daum Museum of Contemporary Art at State Fair College in Sedalia. A reception will be held 6-8 p.m. June 27. For more information, visit sedaliavisualartassociation.org.
The artwork of Jimmy Mustion will be on the JCAC website, jeffersoncityartclub-missouri.com, through May 12, with Fred Schollmeyer as the next featured artist May 13-June 26. Artwork of both Jimmy Mustion and Joshua Hartzler, also known as "The Duke Of Artz," are on display at the Department of Motor Vehicles, 1617 Southridge Dr., which is open 7:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m.-noon Saturday. Mustion and Hartzler will appear on upcoming video programs from Rick Jey at "JCTVAccess" channel on YouTube.
Larry Carver has released a series of videos each having a melodic tour meandering through compositional elements of his paintings. By pausing the video at each element, viewers will be able to produce their own versions of these works of art. Carver works in acrylic paint (a water soluble paint that dries quickly) on canvas. To access these videos, visit Cindy Powell Carver's Facebook page. A new painting and video is posted about once a month.
The Village Art Studio is gearing up to offer its 2019 summer art camps, available for children ages six and older. Each camp is $125 per session, held 8:30-11:30 a.m. or 1-4 p.m. Additional classes available at The Village Art Studio are homeschool art on Tuesday and Thursday, clay handbuilding on Tuesday and Thursday, after school art on Tuesday, adult or group painting on Wednesday and Thursday, children clay class Thursday, fused glass Friday and children art workshop the first Saturday each month. The studio is also available for birthday parties for all ages. For more information, call 573-230-1414 or visit thevillageartstudio.com.
The Silver Smith's Design Company in Tipton is run sisters Debbie and Sarah Smith. Debbie designs and re-designs handmade clothing, which could be made from repurposed clothing, and both Sarah and Debbie make personalized jewelry, as well as personalized antique spoon and fork rings. For more information, stop by their location 10 a.m.-5 p.m. May 3 and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. May 4 at 11272 Highway 50 in Tipton, or call 573-230-3658 or 660-473-1750.
Jimmy Mustion is a professional artist who is involved in area arts organizations and galleries.