Presented by Mena Art Gallery

Painting: Restoration. John Cole won an award from Plein Air Magazine in the 2015 Art of the Heartland competition. Artist's statement: Discovering Material Identity is a journey. Sometimes it happens in fits and starts, sometimes in phases as a hobby, passion or job, and often through years of trial and error. Over time, individuals may be able to focus on their most important, meaningful activities & passions; frequently becoming “known” for this special interest and defined for the public by that material identity. My paintings follow this journey into material identity by exploring the costuming efforts & experimentation of the young to middle age, where focus is often grounded in an occupation, and on through the deep-rooted passions of a lifetime. The people I portray in my paintings have a connection to items and skills of ages past: skills that risk being lost in the modern-day world. In an effort to preserve these traditions, I am the storyteller immortalizing moments of an everyday life, nestled among personal artifacts of material identity, to celebrate the remarkable life and stories contained within them.