"Born an artist" is how Jim answers those who ask when he began drawing and painting. Both his parents were artists. His dad was a jeweler by profession and his mother was a school teacher. All four of Jim's children are artists though they are pursuing studies in the sciences, philosophy and music.

Jim was in and out of the graphics profession for years "to pay the bills." His commercial art career was broken up at times with stints as a combine operator, truck driver, theatre manager and newspaper writer/illustrator for the Air Force during the Vietnam War. In the evenings after work Jim would frequently make acrylic wash paintings and write stories.

Jim's interest in commercial art was starting to wane in the mid '80s. Then the industry changed overnight with introduction of the Macintosh. The graphics computer made commercial art a whole new ball game with the capacity and quality of desktop publishing hardware and software growing rapidly as the industry evolved. When desktop publishing started to get old a decade later, the internet arrived. It was a long, interesting ride for Jim in computer graphics, but the urge to "get his hands dirty" with traditional media was ever present.

Jim has now left the computer graphics field and devotes full time to fine art - - oil pastel drawing, watercolor, photography and sculpture. He considers art in all its rich forms to be a spiritual endeavor - - one of the most important activities that man can pursue. His work can be viewed on the website: JimGrinter.com.

David Gross

After more than thirty years of artistic experience, David Gross continues to approach each new canvas as a pristine world in which to place his mark. Just as a writer faces a blank page, an artist faces a blank canvas, and according to Gross, “There is nothing more terrifying or exciting than this blank space.”
With an BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute, an MFA from Indiana University, and subsequent studies at the Skowhegan School of Painting in Maine, David prefers to paint straightforward subjects—landscapes, still life studies, floral landscapes---in a visually simplified manner, striving for clarity and exquisite color. Strongly influenced by the Fauve movement of the turn of the century; Gross journeys into the world of abstract expressionism creating in his works a balance between the organic reality of the “place” and “non-representation” by juxtaposition of geometric shapes, layers of texture and bold color.
David's early life was spent on a farm in Southeast Missouri, where an interest in oil painting developed at a young age. Working directly from nature, his paintings radiate a vitality and eloquence. “My work is a journey,” Gross explains, “ I paint to explore color, space and composition. It is a search, an exploration.

Peter Brunke

Born 1945 in Berlin, Germany, and later growing up in Munich, Peter attended the University of Munich and discovered the world of fine arts. Soon after, destiny would place him in Dayton, Ohio, to study at the Dayton Art Institute. During his studies, Peter worked for the Dayton Daily News as a Political Cartoonist.
Graduating from Dayton Art Institute with a degree in Commercial Art, Peter landed a position with the well known giant, Hallmark Cards Inc., and began a career that would take him through many exciting and challenging positions over his next 30 years. As Artist, Writer, Art Director, then Creative Manager for the Hallmark International Division, Peter was assigned the tasks of creating, developing, and maintaining new and unique product lines for foreign markets which included France, Germany, England, and Australia. His ingenious works have been successfully published, over and over, worldwide.
Now retired, he continues to freelance his work with european and domestic publishers. During his spare time, Peter continues to draw, paint, and whatever he feels like doing.
Lucky Peter!

Sonia Reeder-Jones

Al Zielowsky

I am primarily a self-taught artist who loves Impressionism and Contemporary art. I love color and texture, which give my works a "unique look". I choose not to name my paintings, since I want to allow the individual to "see what they want to see". I work in acrylics, use diffeent texture mediums, and create some with pen and ink.

Rita Lohr

Art has always been an important
part of Rita’s life. She graduated from Central Missouri State University with a double major in fine art and art education. She taught both elementary and high school art and went on to
work as a technical illustrator for an engineering firm.

For the last several years she has focused her creative energy on
watercolors, finding she enjoys their freedom, flow and spontaneity. The
result is a work of art that has a touch of impressionism blended with the realism of the subject matter. Her goal
is to draw the viewer into the painting. She wants them to see the subject
matter as she saw it, as a place of beauty or joy, rather than drawing
attention to the style or technique in which it was created.

Troy Swangstu

Trained at the Kansas City Art Institute, Troy is one of several family members working in visual art and art education. Troy is a veteran of the Kansas City West Bottoms art scene and was one of the artists represented by Tom Deatherage in the early days of his Late Show gallery. Formerly co-owner and operator of DalArts gallery in the East Crossroads Arts District of Kansas City, he recently relocated to Osawatomie, Kansas. His work has been in numerous group shows across the region which includes shows at the Cross gallery and Wichita Center for the Arts, with solo exhibits at the late Mot-ley's MOMO gallery, DalArts, and the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center. Troy exhibits at D’Marie gallery of fine art in Paola Kansas, the Leedy-Voulkos Art Center in the heart of the Crossroads Arts District Kansas City, Missouri and with the on-line gallery Midwest-paint-group.org beta studio site as an associate member.

Alex Whitney

Alex Whitney is no novice to Kansas City’s art scene. A pioneer of Kansas City’s Crossroads Eastside where she was formerly the owner/gallery director of DalArts, and a resident artist of the downtown KCMO location during 2002 through 2007. She was the earliest artist at the late Mott-ly’s MoMO gallery, with a solo exhibit in March of 2002. Alex was also the debut artist with a solo exhibit at the arts venue, red-light. She has been part of the artist stable of Tom Deatherage’s Late Show, and most recently is part of The Leedy-Voulkos Art Center group shows. Alex now lives and has a studio on her 20 acre farm about an hour south of Kansas City.

Marilyn York

Marilyn's paintings are primarily transparent watercolor - which means that no white paint is used. Any white in the painting is the paper showing through. Marilyn likes to paint wherever she happens to be and so many of her paintings are of places in the Kansas City area. Marilyn's favorite subject is people. Marilyn has been accepted to many shows including: 2008 Watercolor USA , 2008 Watercolor Missouri National, 2008 Overland Park Art in the Center, and the Heartland Artisit Exhibition from 2002-2007.

Donna Yeager

The artwork of Donna Yeager is well known in her hometown of Kansas City, MO, as well as across the country. Her landscapes, portraits, and city scenes are exhibited locally, nationally, and internationally. Donna works primarily in pastel and oil. She has exhibited in local prestigious art shows such as the Country Club Plaza Art Fair, the Westport Art Show, and the Brookside Art Show.
"I love to paint and I love to teach - they really go hand in hand. Painting makes me a better teacher and teaching makes me a better painter. I enjoy painting on location as well as from photos in my studio. I especially enjoy working from a live model. My children as well as the neighborhood children have served as an endless resource." Donna had been teaching classes to adults and children since 1987, when she served as the Educational Director of the Art Center of Kansas City.

Barbara Cleary

The no-nonsense personality of Barbara Cleary is aptly demonstrated in her straightforeward paintings. No artiface, no gimmicks, just pure, exquisite landscapes. A great admirer of Monet, and some of the California plein air painters, Cleary says "I try to push the color, and some of the principles involved in color theory, in the direction that I think these artists would have if they were still painting today."
Barbara received her BA from University of Oklahoma and her Masters from Central University of Oklahoma. She has operated a gallery and art supply business, taught art to all ages, and was co-founder of Art Adventures, an educational and working tour program for professional artists.

Rita Beckford

Claud Davis

As a young boy it was my dad who awakened in me my love for art. Drawing on the back pages of a calendar is my first memory of what would become my way of life. While in school my art teacher, Mrs. Simmons, introduced me to wonderful stories she told. After the story it was our assignment to put the stories into visual form on paper. I so enjoyed the process of transposing my thoughts to paper.

In early adulthood I hand made all the advertisements for 27 Dillon's grocery stores. then, in 1960, I had my first experience as an engraver for Hal-Mark. During this time I was involved with the making of President Kennedy's gift wrapping paper for the holiday season.

When I settled in Paola in 1973 I started Claud Davis Engraving.

While never formally trained my love of art has been a large part of my 68 years.