Show runs through Aug. 29 at Preston Arts Center
Artist J. Shea Stanley doesn’t really remember NOT creating art.
His mom Pat was an artist, and as he and his siblings were growing up both she and their dad Jim “always encouraged us to be creative,” Shea said.
In his youth he regularly sketched and drew pieces inspired by a love of Disney characters, Jim Henson’s muppets, George Lucas films, Looney Tunes cartoons and television commercials before graduating to new tools, such as his first air brush when he was 15.
Then he went about mastering screen printing, PhotoShop and graphic design. Much of it was self-taught.
And though he’s now teaching other new artists as an assistant professor of graphic design at Kentucky Wesleyan College in Owensboro, Shea is also still teaching himself.
Some of the self-teaching is visible in a newly opened solo art exhibition—his first ever—at Preston Arts Center through Aug. 29. A reception is set for 2 p.m. Sunday, June 15.
“It’s just stuff I like,” he said. “I wanted to spend eight or nine months having fun, and for it to turn out as more of a fun experience than just a bunch of artwork.
“(But) I also wanted to push myself to see what I can do,” the artist added. “It was relaxed, and stressed, but much more a fun kind of stress. It was an opportunity.”
Shea started working in graphic design right out of high school, gathering design experience at Sights Denim, as an illustrator and specialist in The Gleaner’s production department, in software development and in the screen printing business.
The exhibit pulls all of those experiences together and includes all-original work, some traditional and some digital in 2-D and 3-D.
“It’s meant to be a very light-hearted show, with works to appeal to viewers of all ages,” the artist said. “It’s a really fun show, highlighting types of work not typical associated with the Henderson art scene.”
The viewer will see influences from pop culture to toys to robots to monsters depicted on fabric, digital on plywood with resin, 3-D printed sculptures, acrylic, gel print, block print and more.
There’s even a piece with iron-infused 3-D printing to make the sculpture look rusted.
You’ll see cartoon portraits of pets (including his own Great Dane/Labradoodle mix “Nixie”), a pet dinosaur, a sad robot, mermaidens, portraits of people-and-pet look-a likes and the artist’s self-portraits from 1971 (his birth year) and 2025 displayed in juxtaposition.
Shea said much of the work was created over the past nine months especially for this show, which brings us back to the “self-teaching.”
“Many pieces are works with unfamiliar techniques, mediums, processes and presentation techniques that I had not worked with before,” he said. “Some have their imperfections. That is fine. Some show the artifacts of failing at a new technique and putting in the work to recover.”
After the show was hung, Shea said, seeing it all in one place revealed “much more storytelling than I initially thought would be there.”
“My hope was to create a bright experience,” he said. “If your mood needs lightening or you need a respite from the weight of your days, I hope you find a bit of that from these works.
“This exhibition is meant to … elicit a smile, or serve as a subtle reminder to be open to joyfulness, and accept it from whatever ridiculous source it may come.”
Other current art exhibits to see:
- “Ex Libra’s Et Cetera,” artist Curtis R. Uebelhor, Dick & Sheila Beaven Gallery, Henderson County Public Library, presented by Ohio Valley Art League. A collection of shadow box collage with artifacts and found objects offering themes of famous cities, travel, vintage photos and “drive-by archaeology.” Through July 11.
- “Filling The Void With Color,” artist Lesley Nelson, Gallery 101, 101 N. Water St., presented by Ohio Valley Art League. Vivid works exploring themes of color, self-discovery and healing in paintings, textiles, multi-media and more, inspired by the artist’s mission “to find peace through artistic expression.” Through June 28.
- “W.C. Handy Art Exhibit,” various artists interpreting the local blues music festival, Citi-Center office building foyer gallery.
