Greenwall’s faith inspires art

Steve Greenwall’s faith, rooted deep in his Mormon upbringing, is often incorporated into his landscape paintings.
“I am a very religious person and believe God created the Earth. Nature is His handiwork and the inspiration for my artwork,” said Greenwall, art instructor at Allen County Community College.
Artworks of Greenwall, 61, are being displayed through March 10 at the Walter Yost Art Gallery at Highland Community College. Highland is a community of not quite 1,000 in the northeast corner of the state.
Greenwall’s landscapes exhibited at the Yost Gallery suggest the feeling of seclusion and quiet. The light in his pieces serves to represent a divine presence, he said.
Greenwall was also invited to exhibit his work this month at the Japan-U.S. art exchange exhibition, Works on Paper 2011, at the Bunkyo Civic Center Art Salon in Tokyo.
His contribution to the Japan exhibit is a portrait of a young man with head bowed as if he is asleep in a chair.
While Greenwall is known for his representational art, he often incorporates abstraction to enhance his designs as he did with the portrait for the Japanese exhibit.
Also among the exhibitors in Tokyo are Greenwall’s son, Nathan, and son-in-law, Glenn McMillan.
Nathan is a graphic artist whose images are computer-generated. He is contracted to generate art for video games, Steve Greenwall said. His art piece for the exhibit is a cartoonish portrait of a woman.
McMillan’s selection for the Japan show is a side-view portrait of a woman. McMillan teaches art in the elementary school in Russell.
 
GREENWALL SAID he has been drawing since he was old enough to hold a Crayon.
“I remember when I was about 4 my mom would sit with me for hours while I would draw,” Greenwall said.
Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, he received a bachelor of arts degree, with a major in art education, from Brigham Young University in 1976. He taught for 10 years in public schools in Utah and Wyoming before returning to Utah State University where he earned a master of fine arts with an emphasis in drawing and painting prior to his move to Kansas.
Throughout the years Greenwall has exhibited his work throughout the United States and received numerous awards for his pastels, oil paintings and watercolors.
He has taught art at ACCC for 24 years.