Hard-to-find Vintage Prints Available

Just in time for Christmas, a little piece of history to add to the nostalgia of the season. We have found a small collection of prints from the Kansas Prairie Print Makers group that flourished in the 1930s, along with prints from one of their contemporaries and from one of their forbearers.

The Kansas-based Prairie Print Makers group formed on December 28, 1930, in the Lindsborg, Kansas, studio of Swedish-born Birger Sandzen. Instead of portraying the mythical Midwest, the Prairie Print Makers show us an un-nostalgic view of everyday life.

The group eventually had more than 100 members throughout North America. Many members were professional artists, such as Charles B. Rogers (“Edge of the Field” left top), an instructor at Bethany College in Lindsborg and William Dickerson (“Country Grain Elevator” left second), Director of the Wichita Art Association.

Print Making Background in the US

Print Making Background in the US

In 1910 The Chicago Society of Etchers, (Charles B. Keeler “Ronda, the Impregnable” third left) was the first American printing group to begin issuing editions of prints, and Percival Rosseau (“Partners” bottom), best known for his hunting dong portraiture, lived just a generation before the Prairie Print Makers. In the United States, prints have long been considered to be an ideal art form because of their affordability. So please stop in to see us and all of the available work here in the gallery.

 

"Prints are intimate things and are meant to be handled and examined at close range, as is a rare book, a choice gem or a bit of old lace." --Coy Avon Seward Community Arts and Crafts Monthly - 1929

In addition to the lithographs mentioned above, we have more prints and 2 beautiful oil paintings from Charles B. Rogers.

We invite you to stop in to SouthWind Art Gallery to see the beautiful art available. But for your convienance, you can also see all of these pieces mentioned, online on our website at Prairie Print Makers and More.

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. SouthWindArtGallery.com  Holiday Store Hours: December 24 - We will close at 3:00 p.m.,
December 25 - Closed, December 31- We will close at 3:00 p.m., January 1, 2011 - Closed.

 50% off $50 Gift Certificates!

Framewoods of Topeka Gift Certificate Cards make the perfect gift for any occasion!  From today through December 24th, 2010 we are offering $50 Gift certificates for only $50! Gift certificates are good as cash for anything in the store — custom framing, gifts and even artwork at SouthWind Gallery Gift cards may be purchased online or at the store in denominations of $25, $50, $75, or $100.   

Great Art and Literature for First Friday Art Walk

Kansas Landscape and Musings on Life in Kansas Merge at SouthWind Gallery This Friday

SouthWind Gallery focuses on Kansas landscapes and life for this month’s First Friday Art Walk event, November 5, 2010, from 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. We are showcasing landscape paintings by renowned Flint Hills artist Judith Mackey (Cottonwood Falls, KS) and rising-star artist Debra Schroer (Strong City, KS), in an exhibit titled, “Big Sky Prairie”. (This exhibit closes November 15, 2010, so make sure you see it soon!)

Also on Friday, SouthWind is hosting a second Book Signing event with author, Cheryl Unruh (Emporia, KS) who will sign copies of her recently released book, “Flyover People: Life on the Ground in a Rectangular State. You’ll love the book!

Artists Reception & Book Signing

Friday, November 5, 2010

6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.

Wine & hors d’oeuvres

View the art and learn more about the artists with a virtual gallery tour >>

Read reviews for Cheryl Unruh's book, Flyover People >>

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

SouthWindArtGallery.com

Framewoods of Topeka Gift Certificate Cards make the perfect gift for any occasion!  Gift certificates are good as cash for anything in the store — custom framing, gifts and even artwork at SouthWind Gallery Gift cards may be purchased online or at the store in denominations of $25, $50, $75, or $100.   

Big Sky Prairie: Featuring New Paintings by Judith Mackey and Deb Schroer Opens at SouthWind Gallery

SouthWind Gallery, 3074 SW 29th, Topeka, premiers Big Sky Prairie, a two-person exhibit featuring new works by renowned Flint Hills artist Judith Mackey and rising-star Kansas artist Deb Schroer, on Friday, October 1, 2010, in conjunction with Topeka’s First Friday Art Walk. An Artists’ Reception will take place in the evening at SouthWind Gallery from 6:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The Big Sky Prairie exhibit runs through November 15, 2010.

In her 40-year career as a professional artist, Judith Mackey has established herself as one of the leading plein air painters in the United States. She is best known for her impressionist oil paintings of the Flints Hills and has devoted much of her life to visually documenting the history and rare beauty of this landscape where she lives and works. Her efforts have culminated in an extraordinary body of work.

Artist Deb Schroer has spent most of her life in Strong City, Kansas--population 584, located in the heart of the Flint Hills. She has put down deep roots in this beautiful and unique land, but also is making a name for herself in the art world as a gifted plein air painter. Her work captures the natural beauty of the Flint Hills landscape, the excitement of the American rodeo, and poignant moments in the everyday lives of people and animals. With her broad understanding of color, she produces an incredibly rich pallet that gives her work immense depth and feeling.

Showing concurrently with the Big Sky Prairie exhibit are bronze works by award winning sculptor Catherine Hale Robins, of Lawrence, Kansas.

Also showing at SouthWind Gallery is an art display of unique floral arrangements by members of the Floral Art Club of Topeka. Seven original floral designs will be exhibited in conjunction with the Big Sky Prairie art exhibit opening. The Floral Art Club of Topeka is a non-professional group dedicated to the study of the art of floral design, and maintains membership in the Kansas Assoc. of Garden Clubs and the National Garden Club. The club’s floral artists have created designs to complement the Big Sky Prairie art exhibit and feature the natural beauty of the Kansas Flint Hills. Floral artists include Trella Anderson, Jayne Cafer, Anita Dreiling, Deesie Jackson, Carolyn Litwin, and Maggie Warren.

Get social, share this show announcement with your friends on Facebook Big Sky Prairie: Featuring New Paintings by Judith Mackey and Deb Schroer

See the show online: SouthWind Gallery

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. SouthWindArtGallery.com

Framewoods of Topeka Gift Certificate Cards make the perfect gift for any occasion!  Gift certificates are good as cash for anything in the store — custom framing, gifts and even artwork at SouthWind Gallery Gift cards may be purchased online or at the store in denominations of $25, $50, $75, or $100.   

Members of the Floral Art Club of Topeka will exhibit unique designs

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Members of the Floral Art Club of Topeka will display seven original floral designs in conjunction with the Big Sky Prairie art exhibit opening on Friday, Oct. 1, 2010. The club is a non-professional group dedicated to the study of the art of floral design, and maintains membership in the Kansas Assoc. of Garden Clubs and the National Garden Club. Their floral designs for the Big Sky Prairie exhibit have been created to complement the art exhibit and feature the natural beauty of the Kansas Flint Hills. This beautiful floral art is truly unique—you’ll be intrigued by the individual creativity of each piece!

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. SouthWindArtGallery.com

Framewoods of Topeka Gift Certificate Cards make the perfect gift for any occasion!  Gift certificates are good as cash for anything in the store — custom framing, gifts and even artwork at SouthWind Gallery Gift cards may be purchased online or at the store in denominations of $25, $50, $75, or $100.   

Ensley Gardens Plein Air Art Sale and Fundraiser

Ted Ensley Gardens
Art Competition and Sale
A fundraiser for the Friends of Ted Ensley Gardens

Sunday, September 19, 2010
1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Garden House at Lake Shawnee, 37th & West Edge Rd.
(Refreshments served)

In June, SouthWind Gallery invited 35 artists to participate in a one-day plein air painting competition at the beautiful Ensley Gardens at Lake Shawnee. The paint-out was part of a fundraising event organized by the Friends of Ted Ensley Gardens. The public is invited to attend the juried art exhibit and sale on Sunday, September 19, 2010, from 1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m., at the Garden House at Lake Shawnee, 37th & West Edge Road. Jurors for the art competition are Gary Blitsch and Sharon Hotchkiss of SouthWind Gallery.

The World Class Ensley Gardens would not be possible without the public and private partnership created between Friends of the Ted Ensley Gardens and Shawnee County Parks & Recreation. All proceeds from the art sale will be used to support local artists and to ensure that the Ted Ensley Gardens remain "World Class Gardens" for all to enjoy. *

View the artwork online at SouthWind Gallery:

You can also share favorite pieces from the show with our new Facebook Like buttons on the detail page of each piece.

To learn more about the Friends of Ensley Gardens or to volunteer, contact Shawnee County Parks and Recreation at 267-1156.

*Sales Proceeds: Participating Artists will receive 60 percent and Friends of Ensley Gardens will receive 40 percent. 

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. SouthWindArtGallery.com
 

Framewoods of Topeka Gift Certificate Cards make the perfect gift for any occasion!  Gift certificates are good as cash for anything in the store — custom framing, gifts and even artwork at SouthWind Gallery Gift cards may be purchased online or at the store in denominations of $25, $50, $75, or $100.   

DeAnn Melton - Featured in "The New Impressionsts"

DeAnn Melton earned her M.F.A. from the University of Arizona, Tucson, in 1977. Her paintings have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions from the East Coast to the West. Her work has been published in books, newspapers and magazines, and featured in several television productions in Arizona. Melton and her husband, artist James Pringle Cook, maintain homes and studios in Tucson, AZ and Eskridge, Kansas.

“The New Impressionists” a group show featuring works by an elite group of painters. The exhibit includes three artists new to SouthWind Gallery:  James Pringle Cook and DeAnn Melton, Tucson, AZ; and Neil Patterson, Bragg Creek, Alberta Canada; and three returning artists: renowned artist Stan Herd, and gifted fellow artists Debra Clemente, and Zak Barnes, all of Lawrence, Kansas.  The exhibit will be open until September 15, 2010.

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. SouthWindArtGallery.com

Framewoods of Topeka Gift Certificate Cards make the perfect gift for any occasion!  Gift certificates are good as cash for anything in the store — custom framing, gifts and even artwork at SouthWind Gallery Gift cards may be purchased online or at the store in denominations of $25, $50, $75, or $100.   

Zak Barnes - Featured in "The New Impressionsts"

Born and raised in Kansas, Zak Barnes feels a deep connection to the prairie landscape and to the people of the land. This sentiment is the base and anchor of his work and sets the emotional tone for any narrative that plays itself out in his paintings. Influenced by his surroundings, life experience and self-interpretation whether working in the studio or en plein aire he finds the rhythm of life that is reflected in his work.

In the studio, Zak creates dreamlike narratives that are drawn from memory and the landscape becomes a backdrop for human interaction. Folk art, surrealism and contemporary composition create ambiguity in both period and environment. Natural and man made elements are placed in concert, creating the freedom of a magical story for the viewer to imagine. To Zak it is the movement and emotional space created that is important.


“The New Impressionists” a group show featuring works by an elite group of painters. The exhibit includes three artists new to SouthWind Gallery:  James Pringle Cook and DeAnn Melton, Tucson, AZ; and Neil Patterson, Bragg Creek, Alberta Canada; and three returning artists: renowned artist Stan Herd, and gifted fellow artists Debra Clemente, and Zak Barnes, all of Lawrence, Kansas.  The exhibit will be open until September 15, 2010.

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. SouthWindArtGallery.com

Framewoods of Topeka Gift Certificate Cards make the perfect gift for any occasion!  Gift certificates are good as cash for anything in the store — custom framing, gifts and even artwork at SouthWind Gallery Gift cards may be purchased online or at the store in denominations of $25, $50, $75, or $100.   

Debra Clemente - Featured in "The New Impressionists"

Debra Clemente earned a B.F.A. in Visual Communications at University of Kansas. After graduation she worked as a graphics designer and illustrator. Later Clemente returned to oil painting, but she traded her paintbrushes for a pallet knife. She uses bold colors and boldly applies layers of paint to her canvas. With her style of painting, Clemente is able to achieve a new reality for her subject matter—whether it’s a field of flowers or a rolling landscape. Her paintings are full of high energy and vibrant colors.

Debra’s work has found homes in private and corporate collections across the country. She is especially honored to have one of her sunflower field paintings, “Sunshine Grows in Kansas”, hanging in the Kansas Capitol building above the Governor’s private desk as part of the Kansas Governor’s office permanent art collection.


“The New Impressionists” a group show featuring works by an elite group of painters. The exhibit includes three artists new to SouthWind Gallery:  James Pringle Cook and DeAnn Melton, Tucson, AZ; and Neil Patterson, Bragg Creek, Alberta Canada; and three returning artists: renowned artist Stan Herd, and gifted fellow artists Debra Clemente, and Zak Barnes, all of Lawrence, Kansas.  The exhibit will be open until September 15, 2010.

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. SouthWindArtGallery.com

Framewoods of Topeka Gift Certificate Cards make the perfect gift for any occasion!  Gift certificates are good as cash for anything in the store — custom framing, gifts and even artwork at SouthWind Gallery Gift cards may be purchased online or at the store in denominations of $25, $50, $75, or $100.   

David Vollbracht - New Paintings in the Gallery

David Vollbracht, a Signature Member of Oil Painters of America (OPA), attended college at Fort Hays State University. His education in oil painting continued with workshops by internationally recognized artists Clyde Aspevig and Wayne Wolfe. David paints plein air and in the studio, using his studies to paint representational impressions of the landscape of the West. David’s paintings have been accepted for a number of regional and national juried exhibits including the Oil Painters of America, the Mountain Oyster Club and the American Plains Artist Exhibitions.

“The New Impressionists” a group show featuring works by an elite group of painters. The exhibit includes three artists new to SouthWind Gallery:  James Pringle Cook and DeAnn Melton, Tucson, AZ; and Neil Patterson, Bragg Creek, Alberta Canada; and three returning artists: renowned artist Stan Herd, and gifted fellow artists Debra Clemente, and Zak Barnes, all of Lawrence, Kansas.  The exhibit will be open until September 15, 2010.

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. SouthWindArtGallery.com

Framewoods of Topeka Gift Certificate Cards make the perfect gift for any occasion!  Gift certificates are good as cash for anything in the store — custom framing, gifts and even artwork at SouthWind Gallery Gift cards may be purchased online or at the store in denominations of $25, $50, $75, or $100.   

Stan Herd - Featured in "The New Impressionsts"

Stan Herd is a Kansas artist who is known worldwide for his gigantic earth works--a genre he virtually pioneered-- and also widely recognized as an accomplished painter  of immense talent. Many of his paintings are created in his distinctive impressionist and neo-impressionist (pointillism) style. His paintings are prized by private and corporate collectors in the United States and many other parts of the world.  Herd returns to SouthWind Gallery with new paintings and a prominent place among an impressive group of artists.

“The New Impressionists” a group show featuring works by an elite group of painters. The exhibit includes three artists new to SouthWind Gallery:  James Pringle Cook and DeAnn Melton, Tucson, AZ; and Neil Patterson, Bragg Creek, Alberta Canada; and three returning artists: renowned artist Stan Herd, and gifted fellow artists Debra Clemente, and Zak Barnes, all of Lawrence, Kansas.  The exhibit will be open until September 15, 2010.

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. SouthWindArtGallery.com

Framewoods of Topeka Gift Certificate Cards make the perfect gift for any occasion!  Gift certificates are good as cash for anything in the store — custom framing, gifts and even artwork at SouthWind Gallery Gift cards may be purchased online or at the store in denominations of $25, $50, $75, or $100.   

Catherine Robins - New Sculpture in the Gallery

Catherine Hale Robins grew up in Oklahoma enjoying the companionship of terriers, a willful horse and any other critter she could persuade her parents to tolerate!

She holds a BS, MS, PhD in Biology and MFA in Sculpture and has received many national and international awards for her sculptures. "Living, natural forms are always integral to my work. Gesture, immediacy and intensity are key elements of my working mode and resultant art. I prefer to work rapidly and with intense focus in squishy, responsive media such as ceramic clay, plasticine, wax or plaster. Each medium gives expression to different aspects of my sculpture. Ceramic clay brings out the whimsical, while the exigencies of working in fast-setting plaster lead to bizarre, abstracted forms.

Catherine has a lively story about the two sculptures shown here and I'd like to share that with you.

"Seemingly, most Kansans have been involved in haying. It is an amazingly labor-involved way of fixing solar energy in a sustainable crop of grass in order to produce food (cows, goats, etc) and transportation (horses and their kin). Producing small square bales of brome hay for horses is perhaps the most labor-intensive.The grass is cut in the hottest,driest days of the year, strewn in orderly rows on  the  stubble, then baled by machinery that drops it out the backside like a grasshopper on your favorite vegetable. These "droppings"/ bales then are slung  onto wagons by young (men  mostly) in orderly stacks as they walk along with the wagon. The hay is put up into barns to supply "flakes" (sections of bales) for hand feeding to cherished horses.Our supplier employs a team with specific jobs when the giant truck and its trailer with a few hundred bales arrives.

"'Kansas Apollo' is about a young man on this team who was at his physical peak and was glorying in it! This was his golden summer. Despite the fact that hay is dusty and full of prickly skin-rash-producing things, he was stripped way low to the waist, wearing his chinks with the strap  like a Highland piper's sporran in the appropriate place. Ironically, he was doing a job so easy I! can do it...tossing bales from the stack on the trailer to the guys below that were loading them carefully on the elevator.I saw a lot of humor as well as beauty in his pose.

"'104 degrees' is the adverse.  This is what the Kansas Apollo will likely become.Balding, overweight and  exhausted, accompanied by his faithful cattle dog, "104" is suffering in the heat. The team knows it and knows that he has paid his dues and will get up again and do what is necessary, fulfilling his role. They respect his wisdom and eye him carefully, wondering if that is not their future also."

“The New Impressionists” a group show featuring works by an elite group of painters. The exhibit includes three artists new to SouthWind Gallery:  James Pringle Cook and DeAnn Melton, Tucson, AZ; and Neil Patterson, Bragg Creek, Alberta Canada; and three returning artists: renowned artist Stan Herd, and gifted fellow artists Debra Clemente, and Zak Barnes, all of Lawrence, Kansas.  The exhibit will be open until September 15, 2010.


Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. SouthWindArtGallery.com

Framewoods of Topeka Gift Certificate Cards make the perfect gift for any occasion!  Gift certificates are good as cash for anything in the store — custom framing, gifts and even artwork at SouthWind Gallery Gift cards may be purchased online or at the store in denominations of $25, $50, $75, or $100.   

Neil Patterson - Featured in "The New Impressionsts"

Canadian painter Neil Patterson's passion for painting is expressed in his use of use of vibrant, impressionistic oils. and his ability to paint his feelings, rather than replicating what he sees.  Patterson has the ability to move from landscape, to still life, to wildlife painting with an easy grace. He was the first Canadian to become a Signature member of the highly respected Oil Painters of America (OPA). He is one of just 34 artists to attain the elite status of OPA Master Signature Member.  Patterson has won numerous awards to his credit and has been published in many books, newspapers and periodicals. His work has been exhibited in galleries across North America.


“The New Impressionists” a group show featuring works by an elite group of painters. The exhibit includes three artists new to SouthWind Gallery:  James Pringle Cook and DeAnn Melton, Tucson, AZ; and Neil Patterson, Bragg Creek, Alberta Canada; and three returning artists: renowned artist Stan Herd, and gifted fellow artists Debra Clemente, and Zak Barnes, all of Lawrence, Kansas.  The exhibit will be open until September 15, 2010.
 

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. SouthWindArtGallery.com

Framewoods of Topeka Gift Certificate Cards make the perfect gift for any occasion!  Gift certificates are good as cash for anything in the store — custom framing, gifts and even artwork at SouthWind Gallery Gift cards may be purchased online or at the store in denominations of $25, $50, $75, or $100.   

Jane Flanders - New Art in the Gallery

Jane Flanders, a Lawrence artist, creates art almost every day, working with oil paint, pastel, or clay. Jane loves to plein air paint in oil, with architecture as preferred subject matter. She also creates abstract paintings, usually in an organic way. She also portrays antique tractors in pastel, and keeps herself extra busy making functional and "beyond" functional ceramics.


“The New Impressionists” a group show featuring works by an elite group of painters. The exhibit includes three artists new to SouthWind Gallery:  James Pringle Cook and DeAnn Melton, Tucson, AZ; and Neil Patterson, Bragg Creek, Alberta Canada; and three returning artists: renowned artist Stan Herd, and gifted fellow artists Debra Clemente, and Zak Barnes, all of Lawrence, Kansas.  The exhibit will be open until September 15, 2010.

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. SouthWindArtGallery.com

Framewoods of Topeka Gift Certificate Cards make the perfect gift for any occasion!  Gift certificates are good as cash for anything in the store — custom framing, gifts and even artwork at SouthWind Gallery Gift cards may be purchased online or at the store in denominations of $25, $50, $75, or $100.   

James Pringle Cook - Featured in "The New Impressionsts"

James Pringle Cook's paintings are in the best tradition of American landscape painting. His paintings are big and gutsy,  with lavish, vigorous and confident brush strokes. In this exhibit,  his paintings bring us closer to the splendor of the Flint Hills where he grew up and continues to maintain ties to the land and its people. Cook's paintings hang in many museums throughout the world including the Denver Art Museum, Phoenix Art Museum, South Dakota Museum of Fine Arts, Tucson Museum of Art, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Osaka, Japan. His work is included in numerous public and private art collections from New York, to London, to Kyoto, Japan. Cook is a native Kansan who now lives in Tucson, Arizona, with his wife, artist DeAnn Melton.

“The New Impressionists” a group show featuring works by an elite group of painters. The exhibit includes three artists new to SouthWind Gallery:  James Pringle Cook and DeAnn Melton, Tucson, AZ; and Neil Patterson, Bragg Creek, Alberta Canada; and three returning artists: renowned artist Stan Herd, and gifted fellow artists Debra Clemente, and Zak Barnes, all of Lawrence, Kansas.  The exhibit will be open until September 15, 2010.

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. SouthWindArtGallery.com

Framewoods of Topeka Gift Certificate Cards make the perfect gift for any occasion!  Gift certificates are good as cash for anything in the store — custom framing, gifts and even artwork at SouthWind Gallery Gift cards may be purchased online or at the store in denominations of $25, $50, $75, or $100.