Nickel Plate Arts is welcoming artist Craig Mullins among its four artists of the month in August. Details on Mullins as well as information on the August artist exhibit dates and receptions are available below.
Stephenson House
Craig Mullins
Craig Mullins discovered his natural talent for drawing at an early age. Encouraged by his friends, teachers, and family to pursue his talent in some way, Mullins attended and later taught at the College of Architecture and Planning at Ball State University. For most of his career, he worked as a professional architect in Indianapolis. Now retired, Mullins is drawing on those same architectural skills that were inherent in his profession as an artist, thus identifying as an architect-artist.
“One of the goals in my work is to capture the memory of a place, then creatively enhance it to inspire the viewer to see more than the original experience,” Mullins said. “My paintings are not a literal or impressionistic translation of what I see, but more of a composition that explores and enhances an image through my personal artistic style and color.”
Mullins’s artistic attention to detail and precision shines through his work in the landscapes, barnscapes, floral, and wildlife images that he paints with acrylic and pastel mediums on canvas.
“Many of the elements in my paintings become architecture, literally and figuratively,” Mullins said. “My landscape paintings become spaces that direct your eyes through the composition of the space. Colors in the paintings are bold and complementary; buildings, barns, canoes, and animals are focal points that draw your attention.”
Mullins’s exhibit for this year, Favorite Subjects and Special Places, features current works that are predominantly landscape paintings. Many of the paintings are large pieces that can serve as a strong focal point in a room, and he encourages anyone who loves to hike and travel or has a strong affinity for striking landscapes to check out the exhibit.
“Even if there is not a particular landscape painting in the show that you are drawn to, maybe you have a special place that you are drawn to or that you remember in recent travels that you would like to have painted as a commissioned work,” Mullins said.
You can visit Mullins’ website, cwmullinsart.com, to see examples of his commissioned paintings.
The full Favorite Subjects and Special Places exhibit can be seen in the Stephenson House starting Aug. 4 through Aug. 26, Wednesday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. You can meet Mullins during his free public reception at the August First Friday event from 6 to 9 p.m. on Aug. 4 in the Stephenson House on Nickel Plate Arts campus.
Meyer Najem
John Dierdorf
See Dierdorf’s full exhibit, Floral Celebration, now through Sept. 29, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Meyer Najem second floor gallery, located at 11787 Lantern Road, Fishers.
Four Day Ray
Chris & Amie Knuckles
The Knuckles’ full exhibit, The Artwork of Vintage Adventures, can be seen at Four Day Ray Brewing, 11671 Lantern Road, Fishers. The exhibit is open now through Sept. 29, Sunday and Monday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
About Nickel Plate Arts
Nickel Plate Arts is an umbrella nonprofit organization that creates and coordinates arts and cultural experiences across communities in eastern Hamilton County and the surrounding areas to improve the quality of life for residents, strengthen local economies and enrich experiences for visitors. Nickel Plate Arts is a project of Hamilton County Tourism, Inc. Learn more at NickelPlateArts.org.