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Local artist blends various media in paintings

Artist Ron Morgan of Marquette enjoys a treat at Babycakes where his artwork had been displayed recently. Morgan specializes in watercolor acrylics. (Journal photo by Christie Bleck)

MARQUETTE — Mixing watercolors and acrylics is no great artistic transgression.

At least it isn’t to Ron Morgan.

Morgan, 68, of Marquette, mixes those two media.

He acknowledges watercolor bleeds a bit. However, it has its good points.

“With watercolor, you get more detail with your brush, but I just like that blend of both,” Morgan said.

Ron Morgan's painting, “Marquette Lighthouse — Sunrise.” (Photo courtesy of Ron Morgan)

In his artist statement on the website of Marquette’s Zero Degrees Art Gallery, which has some of his work, he said that when he was in junior high school, he noticed the detail his art teacher used in drawing the scales of a rainbow trout.

“I was really into pencil drawings and I loved his detail,” the statement read. “He was my first inspiration.”

Since then, he has worked at his art, with his work considered good enough to have been displayed recently at Babycakes, a Marquette bakery/restaurant on Washington Street, where he sat down with The Mining Journal for a Wednesday interview.

Morgan started to focus more on his art following his retirement as a department head from the now-closed Bunny Bread/Sara Lee bakery in Marquette where he worked for 35 years.

“So I wanted to do something, and I was thinking maybe tattooing,” Morgan said. “And my wife didn’t want me to do that. She wanted me to just pursue art, and so I did.”

At right, top, Morgan’s look at Presque Isle, Ron Morgan's “Island View,” makes for a decorative notecard. (Photo courtesy of Ron Morgan)

Thus, in 2009 he began to paint in earnest.

What might surprise some people who view his art that, despite its professionalism, Morgan is self-taught.

“I always did pencil work before, and I just started incorporating the watercolor, and then I added the acrylic with it,” Morgan said. “It’s my technique.”

Since he likes to paint old buildings around town, Marquette probably is a great place for an artist with that inclination to live.

“Marquette offers a lot of scenery,” Morgan said. “Their buildings are old, sandstone. The Ore Dock, I painted that.”

He later evolved into painting landscapes, and, like his mix of watercolors and acrylics, those landscapes can be mixed with something else.

One example is his “Marquette Lighthouse – Sunrise,” which depicts just what its title says.

“So many paintings (are) out there of the lighthouse, I just thought maybe an early morning one would be nice,” Morgan said.

Michigan Fair on Washington Street in Marquette sells his cards, plus he’s a member of Zero Degrees Artist Gallery on Third Street, also in Marquette. He said his art also might again be on display in January at Babycakes.

He too sells work at the Downtown Marquette Farmers Market and at the Outback Art Fair.

That work can come in the form of cards, prints and originals.

Morgan has a lot of creative company in town. Visitors to a local art fair, Zero Degrees or the SmallWorks Gallery at the Marquette Arts and Culture Center, for example, can see the vast representation of talented artists in the region.

“A lot of us around here,” Morgan said. “They all offer different techniques. It’s pretty cool.”

Zero Degrees, for example, offers a variety of different artists and media, including wood carvings, paintings and jewelry, he said.

So, how does an artist stand out? Again, it might be the subject matter that appeals to people.

Morgan has started to paint camps, including deer camps or whatever camp it may be.

However, there’s one common thread in all his work.

“I like to keep it local,” Morgan said. “I like the scenery around here. You capture something around here, it’s easy to sell.”

Sales, though, might not be his driving force.

“I like being creative,” Morgan said. “I just enjoy doing it.”

Christie Bleck can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 250.

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