Norman Bannister Art

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Lees Summit, MO
Norman Bannister Art

Welcome to Norman Bannister's Art. I am a Fine Art Oil Painter who lives in the Kansas City area, but grew up in Hawaii.

I'm excited to share my journey of painting and illustration with you.

12/13/2023

The poster for the National Museum of Transportation in St. Louis that I recently created was an image I reinterpreted from my original painting “Star & Stripes”. The reference photo I used to make the painting of the C-47 airplane was taken on the grounds of the museum. The same airplane was also used as reference for my original painting “Yellow J”.

12/11/2023

On particularly tough days I have this sign in my studio to recalibrate my attitude.

12/09/2023

INSPIRATION!
Frank Newbould was an early 20th Century English poster artist. His sense of composition, scale and overall design are elements that immediately grab my attention. I tend to get “fussy” with my art and I often overwork pieces by putting in too much detail. I’m learning sometimes less is more. There’s not a lot of detail in his work and I believe it’s his simplicity that draws me in.

12/07/2023

DOODLES!
This is what I (we) did in our staff meetings when I worked at Hallmark. About half of the artists in these meetings would be drawing while our managers conducted their meetings. It’s crazy but I would remember more of what they were talking about when I was sketching than I would if I just listend. I would also come up with some cool drawings. I’ll share more as I come across them. Fun times! — Aloha!

12/06/2023

My sister owns a couple of coffe shops in the Kansas City area called Gusto Coffe Shop. In her Lee’s Summit location I have the privilege of creating chalkboard art about 6-8 times a year. They’re usually holiday or event themes. This is the design for the Christmas and Holiday Season 2023. — Aloha!

12/05/2023

In Steven Pressfields book, “The War of Art”, he writes about resistance as being the voices in your head telling you: “you’re not good enough; you’ll never make it as an artist; why even try; you’re not worthy; you can’t paint like so-and-so; that’s already been done”; and so on. I’ve been hearing those voices all of my life but they’ve never been louder and more pronounced since I tried to get my art business going two years ago. Pressfield also writes that the way you begin to silence those voices is to just show up and do the work in spite of resistance. One of the ways I “show up” is to put my work out for all to see.

I made my first FB post in almost two years 6 days ago. Resistance was so strong that I only viewed the comments this morning. Thank you for your kind words of encouragement and for my wife replying to the requests on how to get to my website. I will post something everyday! Todays image is my version of the Western Auto building, one of the six posters I designed recently. Thank you again for your support — Aloha!

11/30/2023

Hello friends! I’m still here. I know It’s been a while since my last post. A lot has happened since then and I’ll fill you in on the details in the days and weeks to come. Suffice to say that I am creating again and it feels like home. I’ll continue my paintings but I wanted to share some poster designs that I produced for our recent Holiday Boutique show. They are mostly of Kansas City area places of interest.

I needed something to occupy my time for the twelve weeks I was off work while I nursed my broken foot and ankle (more on that later). Sketching seemed to be a logical thing for an artist so I started doodling on discarded envelopes. It rekindled a joy that I somehow lost somewhere along the way. I realized that art or the need to create is an inexplicable part of my being. These posters are the result after that recognized fact. All of these posters are available on my site. Comment below and I’ll get you the information. There’s more to come! — Aloha!

02/18/2022

For all you "Creatives" out there...saw this on another artists post and thought it was very apropos for us.

02/17/2022

WEDNESDAY PORTRAIT SKETCH

Two portrait drawings...one done today from an online resource, the other from life, in our Wednesday Noon Sketch Group at Hallmark Cards almost 20 years ago. I prefer to draw from life because the finished piece usually has a certain "energy" that the online photo reference drawing does not.

02/14/2022

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!

This is a chalk drawing I did last week in my sister's coffee shop, Gusto Coffee in Lee's Summit, MO. Some of you were asking for the name of my sister's coffee shop that will open in Parkville, MO in a few months, where my paintings will be displayed. That shop will be called Gusto Creekside, in Parkville MO.

02/10/2022

WEDNESDAY PORTRAIT SKETCH

Melissa was a Hallmark employee who sat for our Noon Sketch Group in 2005. I vaguely remember completing my drawing of her back in the day. About 50% or more of the sketches I did in the group I was not happy with and would discard the drawing. This might have been the fate of my original portrait of Melissa. I took photos of her pose for reference which is how I completed this piece. The drawing feels a little stiff but as I get back into the practice of working on portraits I'm confident the looseness I desire will come.

ALOHA, FRIENDS!

02/08/2022

I’m starting a collection of 10-12 paintings that will be displayed in my sister’s coffee shop in Parkville, MO. Her shop’s grand opening will be in April-May timeframe. These are a line drawing and value study for the first painting. These drawings are 6 x 6 inches. The final painting will be much larger. Perhaps 32 x 32 inches. Got a lot to do in a short period of time!

Address

Lees Summit, MO

Website

http://www.normanbannister.com/

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