Keith Kavanaugh Encaustic Artist

Information may not be reliable

ARTichokes (ongoing), 10557 Mission Rd, Leawood, Kan. (more info)
Hobbs Building Open Studios Oct 8, 6-10pm, Oct 9, 1-4pm; 1427 W 9th, KCMO (more info)

My landscapes are inspired by a long time interest in our relationship to the natural world. With few exceptions, all of my work deals with places near my home in rural northeast Jackson County.

My recent work represents an increasing amount of painting from memory, seeking to balance internal motivation with the inspiration I get from the subject. My hope is to expose a more personal connection - one that goes beyond the superficial or simply pictorial and becomes a translation of a place rather than a depiction.
Greek for to heat, encaustic is an ancient medium dating back to the fifth century B.C. The word describes the necessity of working with the pigmented wax in its heated, or liquid state. Im particularly fond of its translucent quality and the textures that can be achieved through layering and scratching and scraping the surface. As a material which itself comes from nature, beeswax is a fitting medium for painting landscape.
Picking chrysanthemums along the eastern fence,
Gazing in silence at the southern hills,
The birds fly home through the soft mountain air of dusk.
In all these things there is a deep meaning,
But when we are about to express it we suddenly forget the words.
Tao Qian (365-427), poet

Drawing inspiration from the area around his home in rural Jackson County, Missouri, landscape painter Keith Kavanaugh began his creative pursuits as a musician, completing a degree in Jazz Performance at Bostons Berklee College of Music. It was at the prestigious Museum of Fine Arts that he realized a connection between the spontaneity of improvisation and the act of painting.

Returning to Kansas City in 1987 to play music, he began studying visual art at Park College in Parkville, Missouri in 1988, with additional course work at the Kansas City Art Institute. Finishing an Art degree in 1990, Kavanaugh began working as an illustrator, graphic designer and art director in the magazine publishing business, eventually striking out on his own and forming BauWau Design. While he never put down the brush during those years, he returned seriously to painting in 2001.
A longtime interest in the natural world led Kavanaugh to the genre of landscape painting and to the unique medium of encaustic, or pigmented beeswax. Greek for to heat, encaustic is an ancient medium dating back to the fifth century B.C. The word describes the necessity of working with the pigmented wax in its heated, or liquid state. As a material which itself comes from nature, beeswax is a fitting medium for landscape painting. Its translucent and three-dimensional qualities allow for some beautiful techniques that set it apart from traditional media.

2010 Garment District Boutique, Kansas City, Mo. (solo)
2010 ARTichokes, Leawood, Kan. (group)
2009 WestPatrons Gallery, Overland Park, Kan. (solo)
2008 ARTichokes, Leawood, Kan. (group)
2008 Shirley Stiles Gallery, Westwood, Kan. (solo)
2007 The Late Show Gallery, Kansas City, Mo. (group)
2007 Kansas City, Kan. Public Library, West Wyandotte branch (solo)
2007 Bulldog Restaurant, Kansas City, Mo. (solo)

2007 Steve Nuss Ltd, Westwood, Kan. (duo)
2006-2007 The Cross Gallery , Kansas City, Mo. (group)
2006 The Late Show Gallery, Kansas City, Mo. (solo)
2006 Kansas City, Kan. Public Library, Main branch (solo)
2006 Kansas City, Kan. Public Library, Mr. & Mrs. F.L. Schlagle branch (solo)
2005 The Late Show Gallery, Kansas City, Mo. (solo)
2003-present The Late Show Gallery, Kansas City, Mo. (group)
2000-present Hobbs Building Open Studios, Kansas City, Mo. (group)
2004 Muddys Coffeehouse, Kansas City, Mo. (solo)
2001 Cultures Without Borders, Kansas City, Mo. (group)
2001 Muddys Coffeehouse, Kansas City, Mo. (solo)
2000 The Grand Nude, Kansas City, Mo. (group)
1991 Art in the Woods, Overland Park, Kan. (group; Phillip Pearlstein, juror)

H&R Block Art Collection, Kansas City, Mo.
Sprint Corporation Art Collection, Overland Park, Kan.
Heartland Spine and Specialty Hospital, Overland Park, Kan.

1996-present Numerous CD, DVD and video package designs, national
1998-present JAM Magazine covers, Kansas City, Mo.
1991 Pitch Magazine covers, Kansas City, Mo.
1991 Kansas City Star advertising, Kansas City, Mo.
1991 Popular Gardening, national

1996-present Owner, BauWau Design (album cover and web design)
1993-1996 Producer/Editor, Video University Productions (special interest video)
1991-1993 Art Director, Group III Communications (magazine publisher)
1987-present Musician, freelance drummer in jazz idiom

1990 B.S., Art and Design, Park College, Parkville, Mo.
1989-1990 Course work, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, Mo.
1987 B.M., Jazz Performance, Berklee College of Music, Boston, Mass.