PLAINVIEW — Abraham Art Gallery on 猎奇重口视频 Baptist University’s Plainview campus opens the 2025-2026 season with Something Like a Hello: Celebrating the Picture Book Art of Loren Long.
The exhibit from the National Center for Children’s Illustrated Literature features 83 original acrylic paintings and colored pencil and graphite sketches is open through Sept. 27. Located on the Atrium level of the J.E. and L.E. Mabee Learning Resources Center, the Abraham Art Gallery is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday; and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday.
Illustrator and writer Loren Long grew up in Lexington, KY. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Graphic Design/Art Studio from the University of Kentucky. After graduate-level studies at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, he worked at a Cincinnati greeting card company before striking out on his own as a freelance illustrator. Long has since received many accolades for his fluid Works Progress Administration (WPA) painting style of the 1930s and 40s.
The Society of Illustrators in New York awarded him two golden medals and has frequently selected Long’s work for their annual exhibition and book. His work has appeared in many other major annual exhibitions held by prestigious journals and magazines. Some of Long’s clients include Time, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Land’s End, Sports Illustrated, and HBO. Long is the author and illustrator of the New York Times bestselling picture book series about Otis the tractor. He is the No. 1 New York Times bestselling illustrator of President Barack Obama’s picture book, “Of Thee I Sing,” the re-illustrated edition of “The Little Engine that Could” by Watty Piper, “Love” by Newberry Medalist Matt de la Peña, and “Good Day, Good Night” by Margaret Wise Brown, author of the beloved classic, “Goodnight Moon.”
During the Great Depression, the federal government implemented several agencies to act as patrons of American artists and other creatives with a wide range of experiences and perspectives. The WPA was one such relief project and sponsored more than 5,000 artists at the height of its success in 1936, and in its nearly decade-long activity, produced thousands of paintings, murals, sculptures, prints and artistic posters in a variety of experimental styles.
Holger Cahill, a museum curator at the time, said, “it is not the solitary genius but a sound general movement which maintains art as a vital, functioning part of any cultural scheme. Art is not a matter of rare occasional masterpieces.” The distinctive style that came to represent the WPA was figurative portrayals of daily life in America, and although the forms were simple, the compositions and tone of the works were dynamic, addressing themes of social realism and the working class.
The style had a great influence on subsequent American movements, and this influence is evident in the collection, Something Like a Hello. Long’s command of light, contrast and composition is energetic and engaging. His illustrations highlight the struggles and rewards of hard work and emphasize the power of connection in a community, celebrating ideals of respect and equality within the culturally diverse lineage of American generations on which our country stands. Although the featured children’s picture book illustrations depict everyday hardships, Long creates an empathetic and inviting space for an ultimate message of hope that will connect with viewers of all ages.
Long’d books will be available for purchase, and all proceeds go towards the Art Scholarship Fund. For more information about the exhibit or to schedule a tour, please call 806-291-3710.
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