Essex Garner

I was born in Kansas City, Missouri 1961. Raised by a loving grandmother a few blocks from 18th & Vine. Attended Central Jr. & Sr. High 1972–78. During the 70s & 80s my great uncle was the first Black Chief of Police of Kansas City, Kansas (Boston Daniel’s), so all my juvenile activities were conducted on the Missouri side of town.

1974-75 I was accepted into the Hallmark Cards Internship Program, and in 1976 started summer enrichment classes at the Kansas City Art Institute (Thank you Mr. Pryor). I create from a realistic perspective, periodically I've dabbled in Constructivism. There are two artist that have seriously influenced me. Henry Ossawa Tanner, and Dean L. Mitchell. I learned from studying Tanner that painting and being judged as a painter in America will have marginalization attached to the effort. I learned to circumnavigate in watercolor by studying Dean.

If the Gods give you a special intelligence; then it can't be taken from you, only hindered. If you're squandering that gift, be mindful its a gift. Gifts sometimes go unclaimed. Don't waste time describing your intelligence, just execute. Only emulate kindred intellect with more talent than you, and be mindful of whom you emulate. Then prepare yourself of criticism the rest of your days. It’s not where and how you start, only how and where you finish.

" My Grandmother gave me the best advice to date! "Boy, those folks couldn't paint or draw their way out of a paper box, even if the directions on the bottom said, "Turn it up."" For Sabee.

Central Jr. & Senior High Schools 1969-1978

Internship: Hallmark Cards 1974-1976

Summer Enrichment Programs, Kansas City Art Institute 1976-77 from internship at Hallmark Cards, Kansas City, Missouri

Penn Valley Community College, Commercial Art & Advertising 1982-1984, Kansas City, Missouri

Graduated Cum Lada, (Bachelor of Science Education K-12) Art Education, Lincoln University, 2005

National Dean's List 2004/05

Graduated Cum Lada, (Bachelor of Fine Arts) Lincoln University, 2006

Teaching Certification (Art K-12), Missouri 2005

Graduated  University of Missouri Graduate Program 2007-2012, Leadership Training and Curriculum Development, Emphasis in Art Education

Fellowship Art Research Center 1976-1996, Kansas City, Missouri

Urban Design Projects (Wall Graphic Collaborations): On-the-fly

     1976 Urban Design Award; Burt Fredericks Building, Kansas City, Missouri
     Wheeler Laboratory Building, 1983, Kansas City, Missouri (Downtown)
     U. S. Electrical Construction Inc, 1983, Kansas City, Missouri
     Big Dude's Music City, 1984, Kansas City, Missouri   
     Geometric Shapes at 14th & Walnut, 1985, Kansas City, Missouri
     Pulley Brothers, 1985, Kansas City, Missouri
     Kansas City Power and Light Electrical Substation, 1986, Kansas City, Missouri
   
Art Exhibit 1986, Euphrates Art Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri

Bruce R. Watkins Drive right-of-way Freeway Design Charrette, July 1987, Kansas City, Missouri

George Washington Carver Memorial Mural (The Life of Dr. Carver) Fulton, Missouri 1988-1990

Collected works (Military Heritage Museum) 1993, Saint Joseph, Missouri

Exhibition of Public Art, An Art Research Center 25 Year Retrospective, AIA, 1993, Kansas City

Historically Black College Literary Magazine (Under One Sun) Lincoln University 2003/2004, Jefferson City, Missouri: 7 Works

Adult Art Exhibit 2003, Jefferson City Art Club, Elizabeth Rozier Gallery

Award Art Exhibit 2003, Lincoln University,  (People Choice Award), Jefferson City, Missouri

Jefferson City Home Magazine, Fall Issue 2004, Artist Profile; (Living His Way)

Senior Art Exhibit 2004, (Dreams Not Deferred) Lincoln University Memorial Hall

Award Art Exhibit 2005, Lincoln University, (Dean's Award), A New Way of Thinking

Adult Art Exhibit 2005, Jefferson City Art Club, Elizabeth Rozier Gallery

Scholastic, News Source; Some You Should Know, Scholastics, Inc, Vol 8, Issue 1, Jan/Feb06

Public Art Exhibition, Art Inside the Park (Under the Rainbow) Balloon Structure, 2006

Art Exchange Realism Exhibition 2006

Essex Garner, (Unfinished Business), Elizabeth Rozier Gallery, Union Hotel Jefferson Landing Historical Site, Jefferson City, 4 Jan - 25 Feb 2006

Illustrator, A Children's Book of Barack Obama Our 44th President, Author (Larna S. (Neal) Garner, 2009, Published August 2009

Art Assistant, Lincoln University, 2007 - 2009

An Essay on, Public Art in Public Spaces, The Past, Present and Future, 2010

Adjunct Professor, Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Missouri Department of Fine Art, 2010 - 2024

In My Father's House 2011, A Tribute to the 62nd & 65th Colored Infantry, Sep 29-30 - Oct 1, 2011, Jefferson City Historical  Landmark, Missouri

Twenty-first National Oil & Acrylic Painters Society Best of America (NOAPS 2011) Annual Fine Art Exhibition

Faculty Art Exhibit, Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Missouri October 22, through November 12, 2010

Missouri Army National Guard Headquarters 1-29 Feb, 2012 (Black History Month) A tribute to the Colored Infantry Soldier

Gaines/Oldham Black Culture Center University of Missouri, Graduate Art Exhibit, April 2, 2012 through 31 May, 2012

(Chalk Art Demonstration) and Visiting Artist Series, The Magic House, Saint Louis, Missouri, July 14-15, 2012 & Colored Infantry Soldier

Gallery Talk, Engaging with History through Art, Missouri State Historical Society, University of Missouri, Jul 21, 2012

Faculty Art Exhibit, Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Missouri, September 28 through October 12, 2012

October 26th & 27, 2012, at the Bruce Watkins Cultural Heritage Center in Kansas City, Missouri, Commemoration
Battle of Island Mound kickoff & Bates County Historical Society & Museum African-American Civil War Symposium

Missouri Army National Guard Headquarters 1-28 February, 2013 (Black History Month) A tribute to the Buffalo Soldier

Portraits of American History, the Buffalo and Colored Infantry Soldiers, June 10 through July 31, Extended - August 2013. Memorial Hall Gallery, Lincoln University, Missouri

Twenty-third National Oil & Acrylic Painters Society Best of America (NOAPS 2013) Annual Fine Art Exhibition

2013-14 Portraits of American History, A Tribute to the Buffalo Soldier, Traveling Exhibition

Copyright Image (Dead Reckoning) Forwarded to the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History,
The 54th Massachusetts (Underground Railroad) 2014. Founded in 1965 by Detroit obstetrician Dr. Charles Wright.

Buffalo Soldier’s of the American West, Bruce R. Watkins Cultural Heritage Center and State Museum & Gallery Talk,
Kansas City, Missouri June 7 through August 30, 2014

Juneteenth Exhibition June2014 Buffalo Soldiers of the American West Saint Joseph, MO June13-15, 2014, Mini-Museum,& Gallery Talk, Sponsored by the Black Archives of Saint Joseph, Missouri

Twenty-forth National Oil & Acrylic Painters Society Best of America (NOAPS 2014) Annual Fine Art Exhibition

Missouri Army National Guard Headquarters (Fallen Soldier's Memorial) 1-29 February, 2015 (Blue on Black)

Jefferson City Art Club Adult Artist Exhibition (Best of Show) In the Sprit of the Place March 27th - May 3, 2015
Jefferson City Art Club Adult Artist Exhibition (First Place) Chalk and Pastels, 27th - May 3, 2015- May 3, 2015

Blue on Black (Five Year Retrospect) The Colored Infantry Soldier (Side B) the Buffalo Soldiers (Side A), April 1-30, 2015, Extended through June 30, 2015. Memorial Hall Gallery, Lincoln University, Missouri

Twenty-fifth National Oil & Acrylic Painters Society Best of America (NOAPS 2015) Annual Fine Art Exhibition

Missouri Army National Guard Headquarters (Fallen Soldier's Memorial) (African American Military History, Black History Month)1-28 February, 2016  

Passages of My Time Exhibition, Essex Garner September - December 2017 (MEH) Memorial Hall, Campus Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Missouri 

Inducted Signature Artist's Guild; elite sector of the National Oil & Acrylic Painters Society Best of America https://www.noaps.org/signture-artists

Passages of My Time Exhibition (cont) January - April 2017, at the Bruce Watkins Cultural Heritage Center in Kansas City, Missouri

Missouri Army National Guard Headquarters 1-28 February, 2018 (African American Military History, Black History Month) In front of the Fallen Soldier Memorial

Missouri Army National Guard Headquarters 1-28 February, 2019 (African American Military History, Black History Month) In front of the Fallen Soldier Memorial

(Time) Missouri Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) September - October 2019 Art Exhibition; featured artist (Essex Garner) Jefferson City Arts Club  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn2CSK7vXGQ 

Missouri State Highway Patrol Trooper Fund (Life to Bronze Watercolor) Philanthropy 2019 https://www.missouritrooperfund.org/  

Missouri Army National Guard Headquarters 1-29 February, 2020 (Black History Month) Colored Infantry and Buffalo Soldier's Exhibition (Legacy & Time) In front of the Fallen Soldier Memorial

On-line International National Oil & Acrylic Painters" Society (NOAPS 2019) fall Annual Fine Art Exhibition

Inaugural Exhibition Lincoln University unveils new gallery in honor of Dorothy Steward Jefferson City, March 13, 2024

Juneteenth Exhibition June2024 Buffalo Soldiers of the American West  Jefferson City, Missouri

Permanent Exhibition (Learning to Read, a Soldier's Story), a tribute the to men of the 62nd & 65th Colored Infantry of Missouri. Young Hall, Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Missouri (2010-2024)

State Historical Society of Missouri the History of African American Visual Artists in Missouri February 6–May 9, 2024

              

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 Essex Garner  "Living His Way"

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