McKee's art on exhibit

Drawings done with crayons, gel pens

By RON LARSEN

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- Local artist Barbara McKee's crayon drawings will be displayed for the next three weekends at Kiesling House Gallery, operated by the Council for the Arts in New Ulm.

The show, which runs through May 20, opens with a reception 7-9 p.m. Friday at the gallery. Viewing hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and 1-4 p.m. on Sunday. The exhibition also can be viewed by appointment by calling 507-233-2268.

Although McKee has been drawing with crayons since early childhood, it's only the past five years in which she has concentrated on them in developing an art form, working in Crayola crayon and gel pen.

"In July 1999, one of my drawings was selected for CANU's juried exhibition," McKee said. "It's a drawing of a terrier mutt, called Scribbles, so Scribbles got me started." "Scribbles" is one of the 29 drawings in the exhibit.

Another drawing, "Ageless Love," was a hit with viewers of CANU's juried exhibition last October, earning her a "People's Choice" award.

Then, in January, her drawing, "Growing Up," earned a merit award in an exhibition at Carnegie Art Center in Mankato.

Her one-artist show at Kiesling House is the second of her career, the other being in Springfield last fall.

McKee specializes in people and pet portraits, although occasionally she will do other subjects. And she does commission work, as well.

She has stuck with Crayola crayons and gel pen because "that's what I'm comfortable with, and there aren't very many people doing it." She's a self-taught artist who "keeps doing what I'm doing because I like to do it."

Through experimentation, she learned to mix various colored crayons on paper to get the colors she wanted. She then discovered the gel pen, which is commonly sold at grocery stores, for giving her drawings a more "fluid" look. Consequently, her drawings have more of a pastel look than straight crayon texture.

McKee said she was once a "closet" artist, not wanting to display her work, but then became convinced "that art was meant to be seen."

McKee, who grew up in Le Sueur, has lived in New Ulm for the last five years. Her next scheduled exhibition will be at Mankato's Carnegie Art Center next April.