A little girl dressed in white holds a small American flag in her dainty hand. Ruffles touch her elbows, and the hem of her dress falls to her knees,

She is the “4th of July Girl’ and is one of artist John Vanderpool’s favorite paintings. She was one of several people in an old photo, circa 1912, but it was her face that captured Vanderpool’s attention.

“I look at a photo and see something there,” he says.

Visitors to the Muchnic Gallery in Atchison, Kan., can take a look of Vanderpool’s paintings and see what they see there because the gallery is showcasing an exhibit of his work through June 29. An opening reception for the artist, who resides in Erie, Colo., will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. tonight at the gallery at 704 N. Fourth St. in Atchison.

“I keep an eye out for unusual things,” says Gloria Davis, the gallery’s executive director.

The layering and the color in Vanderpool’s paintings seem to leap off the canvas and dare one to touch, she says. It was that texturing and color that impressed Davis.

She says, “It will be a new experience” for those who attend the exhibit.

Vanderpool’s style has been compared to batik, a wax-like drying method used to create textiles, thus the layering effect. The vibrant color, he says, comes from not going with a white canvas. He paints the entire canvas black.

“If I worked on a white canvas,” he says, “the colors wouldn’t pop.”

The artist’s inspiration comes from a variety of sources, including his iris garden (he loves the color and the structure of the flowers), scrapbooks and old postcards. Old family photos, which he and his wife purchase, also provide inspiration for the artist. The fanciful clothing often catches his eye, as well as the setting.

“I sometimes wonder if the people I’m painting are still alive,” he says.

If not, they, like the little girl in the white dress, live on in Vanderpool’s paintings.

Learn More

For more information about John Vanderpool, log on to www.john vanderpool.com. For more information about the Muchnic Gallery, log on to www.atchhison-art.org or call (913) 367-4278.

Lifestyles reporter Cathy Woolridge can be reached at cathyw@npgco.com