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Bubba VonMax Art

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Bubba VonMax Art

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Bubba VonMax (aka Max Kidwell) is an award winning artist whose creativity covers a broad range of artistic endeavors.

Whether painting with an assortment of objects, blasting paint with 60 psi of air, transferring photographs to glass, doodling or building Cigar Box Guitars, Bubba VonMax is constantly seeking new ways to express himself with his art. We hope that you will enjoy viewing his works here.

09/21/2026

It looks like old Woody's hittin' the sauce again.

09/13/2026

"Angry Dog" (c1938 - 1943) - Edvard Munch

Have you ever had a neighbor with an aggressive dog? Not just one that barks when you pass by their home, but one that makes you worry about getting off of it's leash or coming over the fence to attach?

Well, it appears that Munch did. Although known for his unsettling, anxiety-provoking paintings. However, there is more to Munch than grief and uneasiness. Some of his weird artworks show much more mundane subjects, such as a

"Rolle," the dog, belonged to Munch’s neighbor who fell ill and neglected the dog which resulted in its aggressive behavior. It wasn't long afterwards when another neighbor adopted the animal. Although Rolle seemed to grow attached to his new owner, it soon became obvious that the neighbor was the only human Rolle agreed to tolerate.

According to Munch’s notes, the dog had zero patience for postmen, ripping off trousers from at least five of them. The dog also attacked the locals, including Munch himself. While other neighbors gradually grew attached and sympathetic to the poor creature, Munch kept writing petty notes to it's owner and complained to the police, before finally giving up. He made several drawings of Rolle including the grotesque Angry Dog, which, in a way, demonstrates his weird and perhaps unconscious degree of attachment to the animal.

Man, that really is one ugly dog that old Ed painted.

09/12/2026

"The Scream" - (1893) - Edvard Munch

The significance of Munch's The Scream with regards to modern art cannot be overstated. It stands among an exclusive group, including Van Gogh's Starry Night (1889), Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907), and Matisse's Red Studio (1911), comprising the quintessential (I love that word - gonna have to start using it more) works of modernist experiment and lasting innovation. The fluidity of Munch's lateral and vertical brushwork is evident in the sky and clouds in "Starry Night", yet one may also find the aesthetic elements of Fauvism, Expressionism, and perhaps even Surrealism arising from this same surface.

The setting of The Scream was suggested to the artist by a walk along a road overlooking the city of Oslo, apparently upon Munch's arrival at, or departure from, a mental hospital where his sister, Laura Catherine, had been interned. It is unknown whether the artist observed an actual person in anguish, but this seems unlikely; as Munch later recalled, "I was walking down the road with two friends when the sun set; suddenly, the sky turned as red as blood. I stopped and leaned against the fence … shivering with fear. Then I heard the enormous, infinite scream of nature."

I have to admit that if were the one walking at sunset and heard a scream, a painting would be the last thing I would have thought of.

09/11/2026

"Tribute To 9/11" - J R Seymour - 2018
In the memory of the pilots, passengers, Tower workers and the First Responders.

I still remember being glued to the television when the second aircraft hit the Twin Towers. I remember the stunned silence of George Bush's face when an aide told him of the tragedy.

Let us never forget of those who needlessly perished and those who are still suffering and dying from the toxins in the air from the tragedy.

In a brief bio, M. Seymour writes that; "I took basic art classes from Jr. High to college. After that I guess I'm self-taught. I'm more comfortable working in abstracts whenever possible, applying an impressionist/expressionist hard edged style to my works.
Jackson Po***ck has inspired my drip and pour method. I use this style to include subject matter. Some are rather obvious, while others make you look closer. I use mixed media for effects and like to keep a good contrast in colors and composition. I'm retired and haven't felt motivated to produce anything lately, due to my stage 4 bone cancer.
I hope that you can appreciate my style of dripping and drawing, when I am pouring the paints to create shape and form."

For me, I think this painting says it all. My prayers to all who perished, their families and who have and are still suffering from the effects of that horrible day.

09/10/2026

“Anxiety” (1894), Edvard Munch - (1863 - 1944)

Edvard Munch was a prolific yet perpetually troubled artist, preoccupied with matters of human mortality such as chronic illness, sexual liberation, and religious aspiration. He expressed these obsessions through works of intense color, semi-abstraction, and mysterious subject matter. Following the great triumph of French Impressionism, Munch took up the more graphic, Symbolist sensibility of the influential Paul Gauguin, and in turn became one of the most controversial and eventually renowned artists among a new generation of Expressionist and Symbolist painters. Munch came of age in the first decade of the 20th century, during the peak of the Art Nouveau movement and its characteristic focus on all things organic, evolutionary, and mysteriously instinctual. In keeping with these motifs, but moving decidedly away from their decorative applications, and also informed by mysticism and Theosophy, Munch came to treat the visible world as a window into an often-disturbing psychological landscape.

09/09/2026

"Introspective - The Me You Don't See" (2010) - Bubba VonMax

I am frequently asked at the gallery, on social media, e-mails and texts about what I think are the strangest paintings that I have ever seen. Webster's defines strange as: different from the ordinary in a way that causes curiosity or suspicion, excitingly or mysteriously unusual, or not known or experienced before, or noticeably different from what is generally found or experienced. It might even be considered eccentric.

This piece, although strange to you, was a tremendous relief for me. This work was a deep dive into who I was and who I am; all of my faults an foibles painted on canvas. For me, it was an incredible experience painting this. Almost six months of sitting with this canvas duct taped to on the floor of my studio and me letting it all out.

You see that often in art, especially in abstract, impressionism and expressionism. What might appear to others as eccentricity to some is truly nothing more than an artist

For some artists, that feeling of expression, the freedom that allows one to break away from the norm; to experiment with colors, thoughts and imagination while allowing their brushes to work as their guides.

We are going to look at a some of my favorite expressionist and impressionist artist's works for the remainder of the month, so sit back and hopefully enjoy the show.

09/07/2026

"Labor Day" (1946) - Joseph Christian (JC) Leyendecker - (1874 - 1951)

Leyendecker was born in Montabaur Germany. He and his family emigrated to Chicago in 1882. After studying drawing and anatomy at the Chicago Art Institute, J.C. and his younger brother Frank enrolled at the Academie Julian in Paris, which they attended for a year.

Leyendecker virtually invented the whole idea of modern magazine design: he literally broke with the rectangular format and the lettering, which used to be on the top, was replaced by circular characters that he borrowed from Japanese design. No other artist, except Norman Rockwell (who used J.C. as an example) two decades later, has been so firmly identified with the idea of art in the publication. Rockwell, with his iconic images of America linked to the values of the God, country and family, made both Americans and the rest of the world dream, Leyendecker produced only for the Saturday Evening Post 323 covers in a collaboration with the magazine that lasted for 44 years.

The Saturday Evening Post cover by J.C. Leyendecker.
After all, Norman Rockwell, born two decades after Leyendecker, when he started his career as an illustrator, took him as example: the proof is the representation of “Interwoven Socks” by J.C.Leyendecker, 1921 and “Willie Gillie in College” by Norman Rockwell, 1946.

Among his memorable creations, in addition to the advertising images related to collars and fashion, the collaboration with the Saturday Evening Post and Collier’s, there are the first covers dedicated to Mother’s Day created for the Post that kicked off the flower delivery industry for the occasion, just as he invented the American tradition of the fireworks blast on July 4th, American Independence Day. Between 1896 and 1950, Leyendecker painted more than 400 magazine covers and 60 biblical illustrations for the Powers Brothers Company.

09/05/2026

Art by Joeni Fragadakis

I know that I have been a bit lax in my daily posts. I usually spend a couple of days planning and writing a month at a time. However, I have had a few distractions this past month as my son, his wife, and my three grandchildren have moved to Kansas from Australia. The last time I saw the eldest, Serenity, she was a year old. The other two, Skylar and Stalley Gem, I have only seen through video chats with my son. I cannot express just how happy I am to have my family here in Kansas, but it has been a slight distraction.

For those of you who might not be aware, I manage the Gallery 1001 and Bubba VonMax Art websites as well as Facebook and Instagram accounts. I also write the Gallery 1001's monthly newsletter (54 editions and counting). It is a free newsletter so if you'd like to receive a copy, just message me with your email address and I'll be happy to include you on our sending list. There is no obligation, no purchase, and NO SELLING of information. Just a monthly 6 to 8 page newsletter about the Gallery 1001; our artists, events and guest artists, and occasionally some brief thoughts from me.

09/04/2026

'METAMORPHOSIS" (2026) - Joeni Fragadakis
For those of you unfamiliar with this talented artist, Joeni has painted two of the Gallery 1001 Murals on the north (10th Street) side of the gallery. Metamorphosis will be her latest mural that will soon appear on the building. However, you can see it first inside the gallery as she is Septembers "Featured Artist."

Joeni has spent years perfecting her one-stroke, abstract impressionist style, and it shows. However, you will also see that she is an incredible portrait artist and sculptor as well. I have had the pleasure of being in the gallery as she has been setting up and have been impressed with each art work that she has brought in.

She will be at the Gallery the entire month of September, however, to night being the First Friday of the month, Gallery 1001 will be open from 5 to 7PM with treats, drinks, charcuterie and all the good stuff that a Grand Exhibit should have. I know that I'll be there (however, my wife, who also loves art, will be there as well which makes me very afraid that we'll be bringing home some new artworks that will go on the "Art That Is Not Bubba's" wall.

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1322 Hackney Street
Winfield, KS
67156

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