Area Kansas City artists stepped up to the plate to support a cause for which they have a personal interest, our beautiful Kansas City Fountains. In June, the Save the Fountains organization launched a "Save the Fountains" campaign, as many of our fountains are in need of repair. They set up trolley tours for the public to view many of our fountains and learn of their needs. Local artists were invited to paint the fountains on the day of the tours. Earlier paintings were displayed at the site of the trolley tours at Union Staion where $2000 of paintings were sold. Artists agreed to donate 50% of their sales to the Fountain cause.
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| Tent gallery set up at Union Station |
Artists were invited to continue painting the local fountains all summer. At the end of August, they were asked to submit their "best" fountain painting to an online auction. The paintings on the auction were displayed at the Mid-America Arts Alliance on Baltimore for bidders to see them in person. There were 49 paintings submitted, and from September 2-16, 38 paintings received bids! $4000 was raised for the fountains! What a huges success!
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"Fountain Paintings" on dispaly at the MAAA.
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I was privileged to serve as an art advisor with Joanie Shields and her "Save the Fountains" committee. We worked to get the word out to local art groups and organizations. We also worked with Stacey McBride of O'Neill Advertising, to set-up of the art auction (similar to an E-Bay type auction). This was the first auction of this type in the KC area. Several paintings received 2 or more bids, so competetion helped raise the price of the paintings. Artists submitted a minimum bid for starting the bids and settled on half of the final bid as their payment. I was thrilled to have my entry selected for an article in the KC Star in promoting the auction. I painted the Meyer Circle Fountain on Ward Parkway. My painting received 3 bids and ended up selling at $479.00!
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| "Dancing Waters" 10x20 oil |
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Painted "Plein air" (on site) at Meyer Circle
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