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Kevin P. Heaney
Kevin portrays the magic of the Western landscape, its people, the mystery of its ghost towns and its beautiful old architecture. Fifth generation Montanan born in Butte, raised and educated in Deer Lodge comes from a pioneer background with a strong mining influence. He attended college at Montana State University, Bozeman and Western Montana College, Dillon where he received a B.S. Degree with an Art Major. He has taught art fifteen years at the secondary level in Montana and Nevada. Has taught art classes at Western Montana College and Northeastern Nevada college.
Kevin's paintings and drawings capture the memories of his Montana roots. His work has been featured in many one-man exhibits including a show at the Montana Historical Society and the Northeastern Nevada Museum. He has participated in the C.M. Russell Art Show in Great Falls, Montana. The Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada. He did the poster for Bannack Day 1994, 1995 and 1996 and presented them to the Governor of Montana. Artwork has been exhibited in the National Rodeo Finals. His work is represented in the Neocon World Trade Fair in Chicago through Art-Exchange. He participated in the Buffalo Roams project at West Yellowstone. Juried International Railroad Expo, Carson City, Nevada 2008.
Kevin has been capturing ghost towns of the West for over 30 years in his paintings and drawings. He has traveled all over in the western states. Presently, he is working on a traveling art exhibit of watercolors of Ghost Towns of the West. There will be 25 watercolors that will be exhibited in museums and art galleries for the next 12 years. The exhibit will be completed by 2010.
His work was in several issues of the Montana Outdoors Magazine. He has done covers for several magazines. Has illustrated for other magazines and sevaral books.
Has won awards and has been selected in many juried shows. His work is included in permanent collections of libraries, colleges, schools and offices throughout Montana and Nevada. Works hang in private collections throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, China and Europe. He maintains a studio in Gallatin Gateway, Montana. He was Artist in Residence at the Old Montana Prison Museum in Deer Lodge from 2003 -2009. His artwork is exhibited at Madison Crossing in West Yellowtone, Montana and Artencounter in Las Vegas, Nevada. Work Juried in International Railway Expo in Carson City, Nevada 2008.
ARTIST STATEMENT
I have been drawing ever since I can remember. I portray the magic of the Montana and West's landscape, its people, its wildlife, the mystery of its ghost towns and beautiful old architecture.
Fifth generation Montanan born in Butte, raised and educated in Southwestern Montana, coming from a pioneer background with a strong homesteading and mining influence, my paintings and drawings capture the memories of my Montana upbringing.
I became very interested in ghost towns at an early age and from, then on my art has evolved in capturing a part of our history that is fading. Much of the West's history is stored in its ghost towns. Strolling through empty streets past ruined buildings and deserted mining structures one easily realizes how hard those pioneer families had to work to survive. They built those towns their mines with pick and shovels. They built the west.
In my paintings and drawings I capture the most unusual and unforgettable events in all of American history which took place during the bonanza mining years in the West. With my art I capture these events. The Ghost Towns, old mills and mines as mute testimony to the rowdy, reckless, raucous boom years that opened up our West and changed the charactor forever.
Growing up in a time when there were numerous ghost towns I have been able to capture these in my artwork. I have had the opportunity to travel to many ghost towns throughout Montana and the West.
