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By DAN PODEHL dpodehl@leader.net
Sunday, March 09, 2003 Page: 1E
In the summer of 1982, Keith Hunter sat in a Palmyra loan office
waiting on approval of a car loan.
Hunter knew he was in for all of the excitement that goes with owning your
first car.
What the Dallas attorney didn’t realize at the time was that he’d be
driving home with a new-found hobby.
While Hunter waited for the paperwork to be completed, his wandering eyes
came across a painting by Pennsylvania artist Andrew Wyeth.
The watercolor artwork that captured Hunter’s attention is “Evening at
Kuerners” a farmhouse scene in southeastern Pennsylvania. The setting is a
hillside in Chadds Ford. It’s springtime, the ground is muddy and trodden by
cows, and a light that shines from a downstairs window reflects off a nearby
stream, Hunter said.
“The man that owned the farm (Karl Kuerner) was dying of cancer, and
couldn’t get up and down the steps anymore, so they had set up his bedroom
downstairs,” he said.
Hunter, who works at the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of
Pennsylvania, Scranton, and his wife, Ellen, have three sons who share their
father’s interest in art.
“The artist knew the farmer was on his deathbed, really. It’s a very sad
painting for the artist, but to me, it was a very warm story.
“I saw that painting, and it just reminded me of my youth and spending my
vacation time on my grandparents’ farm,” Hunter said. “I conjured up this
whole image with the farmer and his wife sitting there and wondering how many
head of cattle they had, how many acres of soy beans. It was just
unbelievable.”
That’s when Hunter experienced his first appreciation for art.
“And I thought, what an incredible thing for a painting to make me live
this whole story in my head.”
At the time Hunter didn’t know much about Wyeth or his style, so he began
researching other works by the artist. As he became familiar with Wyeth,
Hunter flirted with the idea of purchasing an original work.
However, a hefty price tag prohibited it.
Not to be deterred, Hunter became interested in painting with watercolors.
“I wanted to get that look on my walls,” Hunter said.
It wasn’t until Hunter moved to the Wyoming Valley in 1986 that he began
producing artwork on a consistent basis and was introduced to the Wyoming
Valley Art League in Kingston.
Hunter’s interest in art became so dynamic that at the end of the league’s
season in 1987, he paid a full season’s fee to become a member and have the
opportunity to participate in a presentation given by Bruce Johnson, a
signature member of the American Watercolor Society.
Since then, Hunter has produced more than 200 paintings, sold more than 50
pieces of artwork, one of which sold for $1,700, and has garnered many awards.
Hunter is the president of the Wyoming Valley Art League, a life member of
the MacDonald Art Gallery at College Misericordia, an advisory commission
member of the Sordoni Art Gallery at Wilkes University, a member of the
Pennsylvania Watercolor Society and a sustaining associate of the American
Watercolor Society.
His work can be seen in collections of the Department of Veterans Affairs
Medical Center in Plains Township, the Osterhout Free Library in Wilkes-Barre
and the Federal Courthouse in Scranton.
Hunter’s hobby has also piqued the interests of his three sons: Daniel, 14,
David, 12, and Kevin, 9.
“When (Daniel) was 3 years old he was watching me paint one night,” Hunter
said. “I’d take a brush, put it in the water and put it in the paint, and
apply it to the paper.
“I kind of got so focused that I didn’t realize he had grabbed his own
paint brush, put it in the water, dipped it into the paint and started
painting on my paint box.”
The green splotch remains on Hunter’s paint box.
“I will never get rid of it,” said Hunter. “It’s his first painting.”
While Daniel, David and Kevin appreciate artwork, each brother has his
favorite forum.
Daniel enjoys drawing with pencils and colored markers, David delights in
photography and fiction writing, and Kevin likes painting and photography.
“I like seeing the paintings being built,” said Kevin who loves soccer.
Although the brothers differ a bit on which art form to use to express
themselves, they share an emotional attachment to one of their father’s
favorite paintings titled “Spike.”
“Spike” is a painting of a dog the Hunters adoptedMD from the SPCA. They
named it after the canine featured in the popular children’s animated show,
“Rugrats.”
“One day he was sitting on the bed where he wasn’t supposed to be,” said
Hunter who is remodeling his second 100-year-old house. “He kind of slumped
down trying to make himself invisible, so I took a photograph of him and
worked a painting from it.”
Hunter also created several paintings from last year’s family trip to
Europe. He’s working on a painting titled “Eight Twenty-One (Vatican
Fountain.)”
So far, he’s pleased with the results, despite the challenge watercolor
presents.
“It’s very difficult to control and there are certain things you have to
know,” said Hunter who also enjoys building wooden model ships. “Water spreads
very easily when applied on paper and trying to keep the colors even … it’s
very unruly.
“I like to work tight and detailed and controlled, not free-flowing.”
Occasional frustration aside, Hunter hopes his works can inspire a
stranger, just like Wyeth did for him.
“It’s thrilling,” Hunter said. “I remember what that painting did for me.
“If I could do that for one person, just imagine what kind of thrill that
would be to cause somebody else to pick up a paint brush and start painting.”