Renaissance Man
By Natalie McQuilkin
For the past two years, The Venue at Lenoir City has supported local artists by featuring their works to recognize the creative minds that live within the community. This ongoing project is curated on a volunteer basis by Evelyn Murphy of downtown Lenoir City’s The Backdoor Gallery.
This quarter, The Venue is showcasing a unique collection of Steven McQuilkin’s vibrant watercolor, acrylic, sand painting, and digital artworks. McQuilkin’s constant themes of natural scenes, portraits, and abstract designs constitute a fulfilling contribution to The Venue exhibit line-up.
McQuilkin’s artistic abilities were apparent in his childhood when he and his brother would draw inspiration from their favorite cartoons. “My brother and I would draw all the time. Before VCR, we would watch cartoons, and we would draw those hours later without any reference photos or anything like that. We just got pretty good at recreating what we saw, so I’ve always done some kind of artwork,” he said.
Though McQuilkin’s homemade talent was evident throughout his childhood, he chose to keep painting as a hobby and pursue a career in the family business instead. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in Business from the University of Tennessee as well as a Master of Business Administration from Carson-Newman University. Keeping painting as a close hobby allowed for McQuilkin to follow a variety of artistic styles and routes. Most notably, he learned how to create Native American-style sand paintings. Much like in his childhood, his ability to recreate images was integral to the process for McQuilkin to master sand painting.
“I got started with sand painting when my globetrotting parents brought home some sand paintings. They love Native American art. They bought three sand paintings, and I looked at those for years when I would go to their house. I would try to figure out how the technique was done,” he said. “I just didn’t know anybody else that did it, so I wanted to try.”
Because sand painting is a unique artform, McQuilkin had to thoroughly research sand painting origins to learn more about how it can be properly executed. He found that sand art was intrinsic to many cultures across the world— even along the English coasts—but he was most drawn to the Native American sand paintings.
“I decided I wanted to give sand painting a shot to see if I could do it, so I called the Chamber of Commerce in New Mexico because the sand paintings were from the New Mexico area, and they gave me an idea of someone to call to get actual crushed-up turquoise, which is the light greens and blues that I use in my paintings,” he said. “I learned the Navajo Indian medicine men would originally paint on a floor of a hogan for over eight hours, then wipe out the drawing. Then, there were some artists in the 50s who started making permanent sand paintings that were done on boards with a special mixture of glue.”
After nearly two years of experimentation, McQuilkin learned how to mix the glue and sand to recreate elaborate Native American designs. Over time, he branched out from the Native American style to produce an array of his own designs, from grazing buffalo to portraits of his wife. More recently, McQuilkin began producing digital art on his iPad. Much like in his early life, he and his brother, Kent McQuilkin, who is a digital artist, continued to work on different art pieces together. However, this time around, neither cartoons nor pen and paper were involved. The combined projects only used a Cintiq tablet, which sparked a new inspiration for McQuilkin. Now, he uses his iPad to make new creations.
“I thought you can get more creative in a shorter amount of time doing it on an iPad, and you’re not wasting material through time and buying materials because, usually, if you don’t like it, you just throw it out,” he said. “It’s definitely still art, and I think it’s the wave of the future.” Like his individualized sand paintings, McQuilkin always throws his own twist on his works, whether they are watercolor, acrylic, sand, or digital. If one observes his pieces, it becomes clear that lines and texture guide his style.
“I like lines, which means I either need to have lines, or if lines aren’t in the work, then I need hard edges. I also like texture. With the sand painting, of course, you can feel the texture, but with some of my other paintings, you can’t feel it, but there is an illusion of texture,” he said.
McQuilkin’s textural works have been showcased in a slew of local art shows, including the Dogwood Arts Festival, the Dogwood Arts Chalk Walk, the Knoxville Arts & Culture Alliance at the Emporium Center Gallery, the Oak Ridge Art Center, and the Farragut Arts & Culture Center. Beyond local engagements, he also has pieces in private collections in New York City, South Carolina, and Australia.
The Venue at Lenoir City is McQuilkin’s first collection exhibit. “Having my first featured exhibit is great, especially since it’s in my hometown. I just do it for fun, but if somebody comes in and sees the art and likes it, that makes it all the better.”
The Venue is open for office hours from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays. It is located at 7690 Creekwood Park Boulevard in Lenoir City, three miles directly west of Farragut off Kingston Pike/Hwy. 70. For more information, call 865-986-8340.
This quarter, The Venue is showcasing a unique collection of Steven McQuilkin’s vibrant watercolor, acrylic, sand painting, and digital artworks. McQuilkin’s constant themes of natural scenes, portraits, and abstract designs constitute a fulfilling contribution to The Venue exhibit line-up.
McQuilkin’s artistic abilities were apparent in his childhood when he and his brother would draw inspiration from their favorite cartoons. “My brother and I would draw all the time. Before VCR, we would watch cartoons, and we would draw those hours later without any reference photos or anything like that. We just got pretty good at recreating what we saw, so I’ve always done some kind of artwork,” he said.
Though McQuilkin’s homemade talent was evident throughout his childhood, he chose to keep painting as a hobby and pursue a career in the family business instead. He obtained a Bachelor of Science in Business from the University of Tennessee as well as a Master of Business Administration from Carson-Newman University. Keeping painting as a close hobby allowed for McQuilkin to follow a variety of artistic styles and routes. Most notably, he learned how to create Native American-style sand paintings. Much like in his childhood, his ability to recreate images was integral to the process for McQuilkin to master sand painting.
“I got started with sand painting when my globetrotting parents brought home some sand paintings. They love Native American art. They bought three sand paintings, and I looked at those for years when I would go to their house. I would try to figure out how the technique was done,” he said. “I just didn’t know anybody else that did it, so I wanted to try.”
Because sand painting is a unique artform, McQuilkin had to thoroughly research sand painting origins to learn more about how it can be properly executed. He found that sand art was intrinsic to many cultures across the world— even along the English coasts—but he was most drawn to the Native American sand paintings.
“I decided I wanted to give sand painting a shot to see if I could do it, so I called the Chamber of Commerce in New Mexico because the sand paintings were from the New Mexico area, and they gave me an idea of someone to call to get actual crushed-up turquoise, which is the light greens and blues that I use in my paintings,” he said. “I learned the Navajo Indian medicine men would originally paint on a floor of a hogan for over eight hours, then wipe out the drawing. Then, there were some artists in the 50s who started making permanent sand paintings that were done on boards with a special mixture of glue.”
After nearly two years of experimentation, McQuilkin learned how to mix the glue and sand to recreate elaborate Native American designs. Over time, he branched out from the Native American style to produce an array of his own designs, from grazing buffalo to portraits of his wife. More recently, McQuilkin began producing digital art on his iPad. Much like in his early life, he and his brother, Kent McQuilkin, who is a digital artist, continued to work on different art pieces together. However, this time around, neither cartoons nor pen and paper were involved. The combined projects only used a Cintiq tablet, which sparked a new inspiration for McQuilkin. Now, he uses his iPad to make new creations.
“I thought you can get more creative in a shorter amount of time doing it on an iPad, and you’re not wasting material through time and buying materials because, usually, if you don’t like it, you just throw it out,” he said. “It’s definitely still art, and I think it’s the wave of the future.” Like his individualized sand paintings, McQuilkin always throws his own twist on his works, whether they are watercolor, acrylic, sand, or digital. If one observes his pieces, it becomes clear that lines and texture guide his style.
“I like lines, which means I either need to have lines, or if lines aren’t in the work, then I need hard edges. I also like texture. With the sand painting, of course, you can feel the texture, but with some of my other paintings, you can’t feel it, but there is an illusion of texture,” he said.
McQuilkin’s textural works have been showcased in a slew of local art shows, including the Dogwood Arts Festival, the Dogwood Arts Chalk Walk, the Knoxville Arts & Culture Alliance at the Emporium Center Gallery, the Oak Ridge Art Center, and the Farragut Arts & Culture Center. Beyond local engagements, he also has pieces in private collections in New York City, South Carolina, and Australia.
The Venue at Lenoir City is McQuilkin’s first collection exhibit. “Having my first featured exhibit is great, especially since it’s in my hometown. I just do it for fun, but if somebody comes in and sees the art and likes it, that makes it all the better.”
The Venue is open for office hours from 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays. It is located at 7690 Creekwood Park Boulevard in Lenoir City, three miles directly west of Farragut off Kingston Pike/Hwy. 70. For more information, call 865-986-8340.