“Billboard” by Kasten Searles, 2018, watercolor, ink and acrylic on watercolor paper, 12×12.
ABOUT THE PIECE
“This watercolor painting was inspired by an old billboard in Hot Springs Village. I’m often drawn to old signs and find beauty in the way they weather and fade over time.”
ARTIST BIO
Kasten McClellan Searles is an illustrator, painter, designer and art educator. She is known for her works of illustration and painting that depict true stories and scenes.
Her work is exhibited widely, and she was granted an individual artist fellowship from the Arkansas Arts Council for her narrative art. Her illustrations have been published widely, reviewed by the Huffington Post and have appeared on magazine covers.
Searles serves as the head of the art department at Arkansas Tech University where she teaches illustration, design and studio art.
She received her BFA in design from the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University and her MA and MFA in painting from the University of Dallas.
See Searles’ work as part of the Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts 2025-2027 Juried Artist Registry, on display at Gallery 26 next summer, on her website kasten.studio and on Instagram.