by Andy Lyons, Editor-in-Chief
The Gann Gallery in Warrensburg, Mo. is getting a facelift for the month of March as owner Nina Gann’s showing has ended and University of Central Missouri student Courtney Hunt is moving in.
Hunt will be featuring mixed media, including oil and acrylic paintings, charcoal drawings and some pottery pieces. She said most of the art is pieces she created for classes, and gave her showing a theme of plants and nature.
“Her collection of work is varied with soothing colors and sentiment, covering genres of medium which include landscape, pottery and illustrations,” Gann told CMN last week at the gallery.
The charcoal drawings stand apart because the majority of Hunt’s work is landscapes and the medium draws a big difference in comparison to oil and acrylic paintings.
“The drawings, a lot of them are done with charcoal and in one session,” Hunt told CMN during a visit to Gann Gallery last week. “The acrylics, I might work on it one day and then come back the next week. I like working with the paints more because I like color and I just enjoy using the paints.”
Along with her paintings and drawings, several pottery pieces show the diversity of Hunt as an artist. Some of her pottery pieces include an octopus vase and a lifelike brain, both of which were also pieces she worked on for classes at UCM.
Working with different mediums allows Hunt to express herself artistically in a multitude of ways.
“If I don’t have materials for something or if I feel like I want to express myself a certain way I can go back and forth between different mediums,” she explained. “It just depends on what I’m wanting to do, how much time I have and what I’m trying to portray.”
Beyond self-expression, it’s connecting to people that motivates Hunt to create.
“The biggest motivator for me is just to make work that people can connect with, people can look at and bring joy to them, or just to make a space interesting or start a conversation,” she said.
Hunt’s work will be displayed in the Gann Gallery, 111 N. Holden St., from March 3-24. The gallery hours are from 2 to 6 p.m. Mondays and Fridays. Hunt’s showing starts with an opening celebration from 5 to 9 p.m. March 3.
Follow the Gann Gallery on Facebook here.
