A Love Letter to Cowboy Culture

Trinity Star Arts Council teams up with Tyler Museum of Art and The Williford Foundation to unveil an upcoming solo exhibition titled Lone Star, featuring contemporary western-inspired works by re-nowned Texas artist, Jon Flaming.

The show is on view at the Williford Foundation gallery now through Nov. 12, Wednesdays – Fridays from 1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

A reception to meet Mr. Flaming will be held on Thursday, Oct 21, from 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm at the Willford Foundation (115 S. Mount, Fairfield).

In addition to the Lone Star exhibition, pieces designed by Freestone County art students in almost cub-ist style will be on view during the reception and focuses on Mr. Flaming’s ‘small Texas town’ theme.

Rounding out the evening will be music performed by classical guitarist, Stacy Arnold.

The public is invited to attend.

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Growing up in Texas, Jon Flaming (pronounced Fleming) loved watching cowboy television shows, so it’s not surprising that, as a grown-up, Flaming would become an artist who loves painting cowboys. His work modernizes the Western art genre with his colorful, bold depictions of cowboys and the west-ern lifestyle.

“Flaming was born in Wichita, Kansas, the son of two musicians. The family moved to Irving when he was five, but childhood trips to visit his grandparents’ ranch in Kansas left a mark. There, he watched his grandfather work cattle and drive tractors, and he dreamed of doing the same. ‘I didn’t think I could be a cowboy because I lived in suburbia, but then I had this realization that I’m an artist and I can be who I want to be. I’m a cowboy and even though I don’t have a real ranch and I don’t rope cattle, that’s what I love and kind of who I am,’ Flaming says.

Although he’s never branded a calf or mended a barbed wire fence, looking at his big, bold canvases featuring geometric cowboys cradling calves or crouching by a campfire, you can taste the blowing dust and smell the cow manure. At the same time, his work evokes elements of cubism, modernism and con-temporary design,” wrote Pam LeBlanc in the January, 2021 issue of Texas Monthly.

Graduating from Texas State University in 1985 with a degree in graphic design, Jon has been creating award winning images and branding campaigns for corporate clients for thirty years, including Neiman Marcus, American Airlines, Frito-Lay, Pizza Hut, the John Wayne Brand, Forbes, JC Penney, FedEx, Milton Bradley and Pepsi. His work has been recognized and published by numerous organiza-tions.

Several years ago he began painting full time and created a following for his depictions of rootsy, work-ingman western culture-dance halls, oil rigs and ranches. “My earliest memories are of rural, middle America and the images of a working ranch and a small-town farming community.” says Flaming.

“I truly want to be distinctive stylistically,” Flaming says.

Primarily self-taught, he works in oil, acrylic and also found materials. Jon’s work has been influenced by a number of artists including William Lester, Marsden Hartley and Everett Spruce and traditional Western artists, but also by Paul Cezanne, Paul Gauguin and even Pablo Picasso. I have an appreciation for the Western artist, but I want to set my work apart and do something, that in my mind, is Texas art, but is very distinct from the cliche Western art look. I want to blaze my own trail,” says Flaming.

His distinctive style has earned his fine art in a permanent collection at the Grace Museum in Abilene, Tyler Museum of Art and San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, as well as many private collections.

Jon lives in Richardson, Texas with his wife Kathy. They have 3 grown children and 4 grandchildren.

ARTISTS’ RECEPTION
Thursday, Oct. 21
5:30 – 7:30 p.m.

Williford Foundation Gallery
115 S. Mount Street, Fairfield, TX

EXHIBIT OPEN
Oct. 6 – Nov. 12
W-F | 1-3 pm