Brian Kuehn

After a long career in graphic design & illustration I am now focusing all my creative energies into fine art. Although I have worked with many different mediums my most recent works are in soft pastels and I find that they lend themselves perfectly to my bold and gestural style. All my paintings are created using soft pastels on a black textured surface. I am continually fascinated with the struggles and hard work of the generations who came before us. I often reflect on the fact that my grandmother grew up at the turn of the last century living in a sod house on the North Dakota prairie. It was a hard yet beautiful life and part of the inspiration for my “Farmers Series.” Among the images you will see are people picking crops or working the farm. Many times these images are a result of old photographs I have found while searching archives, as well as my own personal experience growing up in rural America. Ultimately it is about telling a story, in as true a visual voice as I can.