Florals

March through April 2025 at the Overland Park Arboretum and Botanical Gardens

Longhouse Community Gallery (OP Arboretum) 9209 W 179th St, Bucyrus, KS 66013

J.R. ‘Jim’ Hamil was a nationally recognized watercolor artist; prolific in his efforts to reflect the beauty of our rural Midwest for over 50 years. With the release of his Plaza series beginning in the late 70’s; as print works these were highly affordable and popular with the general public. In choosing subjects like the Plaza along various Kansas City landmarks Jim’s prints offered a sense of familiarity to the place we call home and to the artist himself which led to hundreds of private commissions and encouraged the purchase of his remaining hundreds of original watercolors. These works provided for a majority of his income and ensured a Legacy of work for years to come.

Jim’s prints were his calling card but his still life paintings of florals were always a joy for him to explore due to their abundance of color. Jim bemoaned on more than one occasion that he should have painted more colorful works; but as they are displayed, Jim’s florals certainly provide us with a bounty of those colors he always hoped to sustain.

In early 2023 we were pleased to have donated a number of Jim’s floral prints to the Overland Park Arboretum. The works currently being shown include several rarely viewed originals along with several of those aforementioned prints currently available for sale in the Gift Store.

With hundreds of remaining originals; and though still numbering in the tens of thousands of prints, works being offered for sale will continue to support the maintenance of Jim’s Legacy in his 60+ years in studio and commercial art.

We encourage your contacting us with your stories of our late father and be sure to include any images of originals you’ve acquired in that we may provide some history and add to Jim’s Legacy of work. It is a goal to get Jim’s efforts recognized as one of the Midwest’s most prolific regional watercolorists. With your continued support this becomes less of a daunting task and more easily a labor of love.

Please Note: works with glass if purchased online (if being shipped) will require an additional shipping charge of typically around $100. If works can be arranged for pickup, we utilize Downtown Overland Park Art & Frame (8008 Foster St, Overland Park, KS 66204) Check out their website for hours: OverlandParkArt.com. Unframed works can be framed at this location – and these guys (and gals) are our favorite framers.

Purchases online will require an additional invoice that will confirm a shipping address or arrange for pickup which will not be available until after the show concludes in late April.