When April King found out the Logan County Art League wanted her to be a contestant in this year’s Not So Bad Art by Good People contest, she made a quick decision about her submission based on one simple reality — she’s not an artist.
“I cannot draw a stick figure correctly, let alone anything amazing,” King confessed. “So something abstract would be right up my alley.”
Using acrylic paint and plastic wrap, King created something she could be proud of—so much so that she would display it in her office, if she could. But the activity was not without its snags.
For instance, after finishing her first painting, King left it to dry on a table at home. Then “a little coffee incident” ruined that work, forcing her to start over again. Fortunately, she feels the second effort came out even better.
And then there was the family response.
“My daughter watched me make the second rendering of my art and made fun of me the entire time,” she said. Emma, who’s 19, even sent photos of her mom’s painting to an art teacher friend. Still, King admitted, she enjoyed the process.
That process involved putting blobs of paint on the canvas and covering it with plastic wrap. She smeared the paint, lifted the wrap off, then balled up more plastic wrap and dabbed it on the canvas. After the first coat dried, King applied white paint, which she also let dry before adding the gold streak.
King is a lifelong Logan County resident and still lives on her family farm outside Huntsville. After graduating from Indian Lake High School, she worked in education for the Indian Lake School district as well as at Noah’s Ark preschool and Adriel School. King has been employed as the news director for V-Teck Communications since August 2023.
In addition to their daughter, King and her husband of 22 years, Doug, have a son, Jacob (21), who is the new agriculture and natural resources educator for The Ohio State University Extension Office in Logan County. Emma, a sophomore at Miami University, is pursuing a political science degree.
Overall, King is happy with the piece she created and honored to have been asked to participate.
“The Art League is such a vital part of our community,” she concluded.
The Not So Bad Art by Good People contest once again gathered art work by local celebrities to raise money for the Logan County Art League. Each piece will be on display at Citizens Federal Savings & Loan, 100 N. Main Street, Bellefontaine, weekdays during bank lobby hours until Friday, Jan. 31. People can vote on their favorite(s) by putting money ($1=one vote) in the artist’s box next to the particular piece.
This year’s winner will be announced at the celebration event and dinner, which starts at 5 p.m. on Jan. 31 at Honey Birch Farm, 550 E. Township Road 30, West Liberty. After the dinner, each of the works of art will be auctioned off. All proceeds from the votes and the auction will go to the art league.
Anyone in the community can attend. Tickets for food and drinks, including dinner at 6 p.m., can be purchased online for $30. Reservations are due by Friday, Jan. 24. You can find the form at logancountyartleague.org or by emailing [email protected].