By AUSTIN MORTON, Senior Reporter
Slim roads going nowhere for miles, vast empty plains stretching even further and the inability to see one’s family.
These were the inspirations for Kyle Larson’s latest painting, titled “The Road Home,” which can be seen on his website, www.kyle-larson.com.
Larson has been an associate professor of art at Northwestern since 2015. He lived in Boston, Massachusetts, and moved to Alva after working with the campus artist-in-residence program.
Larson’s time with art started when he was young and needed quiet time away from his siblings.
It allowed him to be immersed in himself, his imagination and his surroundings, he said.
He uses painting as a way to express his self-image, creating works that reflect his thoughts on his world and how the world affects him.
“To me, drawing and painting is thinking,” Larson said.
Larson said he takes his passion for art and uses it when teaching his students.
He said he believes everyone has artistic talent, no matter their background with art.
He wants to show students that art has deeper meaning, and that it’s an exploratory medium.
Larson said art is a way for people to find themselves with their own media – a way to slow down and sharpen one’s eyes.
He still thinks this way and attempts to put this focus on his own works.
All of his pieces hold value to him, but he has trouble picking a favorite – other than whatever work was done most recently.
His works evolve and change just like any person does through the years, and he can see these changes in his art.
“I feel like a snake shedding its skin, and I can see my old work in my new work,” Larson said.