and Wyold Aspen Studio
by Dave Klein
His passion for the outdoors and transferring what he sees to canvas is apparent as Kevin O’Brien applies acrylics, oils and pastels in his Saratoga, Wyoming studio and gallery. Kevin, like most artists, is an entrepreneur. He has taken it a step further than most artists though. As founder and owner of Wyold Aspen Studios, he has taken steps to promote his work along with other artists in a unique way.
With a degree in art education, Kevin started his career as an artist teaching art to children in Yuma, Colorado, and continued it with his move to Saratoga where he taught children of all ages. During his tenure as a teacher, he continually painted on his own and earned commissions painting for Colorado State University, the University of Wyoming and the University of Nebraska, painting athletic scenes for the respective athletic departments. Wanting to “explore and paint” what he sees, he turned his passion into a full time job.
“My blue ribbon is a bank deposit,” says Kevin, relaxing in the gallery after working on a painting in his studio that is open to the gallery. “I’m always working, but it’s never work.”
He spends as much time outdoors as he can, exploring and remembering things for his paintings. He paints en plein-air, meaning he paints outside in the setting he wants to portray on canvas. He also paints from memory and photos. Recently, he has taken commissions to paint people into moments they want to commemorate with a painting.
“I have had people ask for paintings of their hunts or fishing trips. So I take their photos, go to the place they were, like the meadow they were in, or the river they were on, get a feel for it, experience it, and then start painting.” Kevin grins, “I also paint pet portraits.”
His passion for scenery and wildlife has pushed him in different directions as well. “I paint cityscapes as well as landscapes. But my cityscapes all have an element of nature in them,” he points out as he shows me a painting of a Chicago scene. “And I am working on a series of scratchboards of each species in Wyoming.” He has finished about 75% of the scratchboards, which look as though gold is bleeding through a black canvas to produce the images on them.
Passion and emotion are prevalent in Kevin’s work and perhaps that is most apparent in his newest project, Capitol Canvas. Kevin recently lost his father, who suffered from Alzheimer’s. He is painting every Capitol in the United States, from which half of the proceeds will go to Alzheimer’s research in honor of his father.
Always looking for new ways to express his passion, he has taken up painting on different objects. “I have painted rocks, but now I’m painting on wine glasses. They go really well with our quarterly cocktail parties.”
The gallery/studio he has developed is clearly one more of his passions. A cooperative between multiple artists, the gallery hosts work from six other artists that work in different mediums and they offer custom framing.
“The local joke is that I have the police department working for me,” he says. In fact, three local police officers are part of the cooperative, showing diverse work from photography to woodwork. “We have something for everyone.”
Kevin describes the gallery as “a cooperative energy that promotes their art in their area. It’s owned and operated by artists. It’s an interactive gallery… the whole experience.”
When asked about the future, he laughs, “I want to paint. I want another gallery like this in a warm place so I can go there in the winter.” Saratoga has been good to him though. “I love it here. I found a town I knew I could make it in.”
People have been filtering through the gallery during our conversation and photo session. Some are buying, some are looking, all of them are impressed. “I just love this place,” says one woman. Kevin, the consummate host, has them all laughing and talking. Clearly enjoying himself, he says, “meeting people is great. Knowing my art is hanging in some of their homes… that is really rewarding.”
Nick Finer, the photographer-policeman, has come into the gallery now. As he and Kevin banter back and forth, it is easy to see what draws people into the gallery. Taking a moment to really look around the gallery, I am struck by the quality of what I see. Brett Deacon, a photographer who is also a professor at the University of Wyoming, has his photography in the studio along with Nick’s. Many of his spectacular photos are of the nearby Snowy Range.
Trisha Kauffman’s stained glass casts color around the gallery. Pat Malone’s incredible antler carvings make me wonder how someone can carve in such detail. Tom Knickerbocker’s woodwork is a testament to the quality that Kevin demands of the artists allowed to participate in the cooperative.
“I hate telling artists no,” says Kevin. But there is only so much room in a gallery and he wants to keep a balance between mediums. He adds, “I just want to continue making a living with my paint brush.”
