A Very Big Thanks from Kevin Bickle!!!!!!!
Once again I would like to say thank you for another great art show at the Upstairs Gallery for the Hear The Cry Benefit show. I think they raised close to $2,000 that will go to support and help HiV and Aids patients in Africa. I really love to see the use of art to help others and to show God's love through our God given need to create. I was honored and loved being a part of it through my piece that I donated. I am looking forward to see you all out again. At this time my next show is going to be on April 28th. I will keep you up to date as I find out more! Thanks again!

Kevin J. Bickle
Contemporary Urban Artist

Kevin Bickle is an artist on a mission not just to make it big in the art world, but in his own words, “to change the world with my art”. He has been doing art of all different forms for most of his 33 years, and in many ways varying from the performing arts in the way of BMX trick bike riding, to exploring and dabbling in the music world, to most recently finding his niche as a painter.
In his career as a bike rider he has had the opportunities to work with many big names including, Stephen Baldwin, Luis Palau, Toby Mac, and many others. Kevin has been used in his Christian walk to have many opportunities for public speaking, performing, and sharing his love of Christ with thousands of people nationwide. Kevin has gone from doing shows in front of twenty people to crowds of 20,000 on the National Mall for the DC Festival in 2005, with Luis Palau and the Livin’ It stunt team. He has also shared stages with OSU football coach Jim Tressel, Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, NBA greats Allan Houston and Michael Redd as well as others at the Jammin’ Against the Darkness event held at the Schottenstein Arena in August, 2005. Kevin has also performed with the Chaos on Wheels bmx team doing shows for youth across the nation. As well, Kevin has performed charity bike shows including a performance on the main stage for the Coalition Against Family Violence at the 2005 New Albany Classic. Kevin is a native central Ohioan and supports some local causes along with doing performances through out the nation.

In the past year, Kevin feels he has been called to use his artistic talents in the form of painting to put together a style of Christian art that he feels has never been done before. In his paintings he has taken modern, contemporary, urban, old world religious art, the tattoo, and xgames scene, and melded them together, while at the same time keeping within a distinctive respect to uphold the image of Jesus Christ and the Bible.
Kevin recently did missionary work in Benin, Africa and came back changed with a vision that with his art, he wants to not only show the entire art world the true love of Christ, but he has also been moved to start a foundation called Art In Action International. Through this foundation, he wants to utilize art to aid the less fortunate in Benin, Africa as well as locally in his own hometown Ohio. He has a heart to help other artists through the foundation in the way of giving them a platform to propel their art to the next level, and hopes that as this dream grows, he will be able to aid local artists in many ways. As he says, “it’s not easy getting started in the fine art world let alone making it.” Kevin is a self- taught painter with only attending the School of Advertising Art in Kettering, Ohio for a year and a half in 1993-94. He is on a mission and feels like he is truly using his God given gift of painting to not only give people great pieces of art to hang on the wall, but through lots of hard work and support let God use something like a painting to give the gift of life in aiding other people with their needs. Another big area of life and inspiration for Kevin is family with wife, Jillian of ten years and his one son Brayden, four years old. Kevin is available for speaking engagements, and for more information visit: www.kevinbickle.com
www.artinactioninternational.org

Thanks

Thanks to all for coming out to my art show. I was truly blown away! With God all is possible. I could have done nothing with out H.I.M. Seeing all of you and meeting all the new faces was truly a blessing to me and my wife. All of the hard work she put in to it paid off by all of you coming out. This will be the first of many shows so keep on checking my web page for upcoming news and new paintings. Right now, I am still selling the available pieces of art that are left and will be adding pictures of them soon to my web page, or come and see them in person until the end of February at Q10 Gallery. Drop me an email if you are interested. As well, I am working on some commissioned work and soon will be starting a new body of work! I love you all and want to thank each and every one of you for helping to make my first art show such a great success!! I will keep you posted and will see you soon! Blessings, Kevin

Art Show: Xtreme Compassion

Q10 Gallery Opening:

This will be my premier art show as a painter as well as a solo exhibition. I have all new pieces that I have been working on for the past four months! At this show we are having steel drums played live by the Ark Band! Catering by the famous Beninese chef Emmanuel Stotonji, featuring French-African cuisine, as well as, wine and cheese. Coffee will be provided by Heavenly Cup of Uptown Westerville, voted best coffee!
My art in this show is ranging from the abstract, to urban realism. I really pride myself in keeping that hand-done, aspect in all my work. I feel we live in an age where so much is done by computer or with cameras that it is refreshing to see someone's brush strokes or slight imperfections in the paint. My art is real, and raw. Nothing is hidden in the process or the subject matter! I hope this show will not only be a great experience for me, but for you as well. Once again, thank you all for your support and prayers. See you at Q10 Gallery, January 13th, 2007 from 7pm-10pm!!

Some of my art explained...

Please scroll down to my other posts to read my artist statement...
If you've looked at any of the paintings on my website in the past and are now looking at it again, you will notice that I've started to add the medium of painting on wood, instead of only cardboard, and the usage of mfb (fiber) board. This isn't to say that I've given up on the use of cardboard altogether, instead I'm going to combine the two to come up with a more sophistocated use of my work. I plan on still using the bolts as a finishing touch to all my paintings as I've gotten some positive and negative feedback for using them. I was asked why don't I use a more aged or antiqued looking bolt that would fit into my old world religious style on some of my paintings, and in response I said that I chose to get my bolts from the local Home Depot. store because I'm trying to speak and bring God into a Home Depot. world. I feel that the bolts speak to today and are right now and God is not this old, rusty, dirty bolt that I would have to dig up to find. He's right here and right now on the shelves of everyday life, shining and new and still at work here today. I just wanted to as well, at this moment to thank everyone who has been supporting me today and early on in my art career. Especially, the Blacksheep Board and Skate, Westerville Bike Shop, and all of the people at my church the Vineyard Church of Columbus who have been praying for me. Get ready for a new batch of paintings because I feel really motivated to start exploring a whole new area in my art coming soon, so keep checking back for updates.

Ressurrection Revealed

This painting is titled 'Ressurection Revealed' inspired by an old Catholic image I had on my wall as a kid. It's acrylic on cardboard, completed July 3, 2006.

Artist Statement: Kevin Bickle

Artist Statement:
My art is a total reflection of what and who I am and how the things that God has done, and will continue to do in my life forever.
I feel that when God came into this world as a man in Jesus Christ, that He had lain out and had everything perfect in how one would come to know Him on a very personal level. Over the years since He left us on this earth, men and women have done a lot to mess up everything he has done and is still continuing to do.
The vision that I had is as if someone kicked over a dirty mop bucket of water in a perfectly clean room and it is my job as an artistic, spiritual janitor to clean it up. I feel called through my art to clean up all the things that have been done to defile and ruin my God’s name through my paintbrush, my person, and the Holy Spirit in me. I want to take back the slander of my God’s name and to share the Real Jesus with the world. I feel I am like no other painter you have ever met. I am on a mission and will stop at nothing until my last breath to bring honor and glory to my God with my art and my actions.
My art is unique in the fact that I paint with acrylic on cardboard, and use things that people would discard, and turn them into something new. I take things that are totally me as in, reggae music, the tattoo world, as well as influences of the great masters of classical religious artwork and use it as part of my own unique style of artistic expression. Over the years many people have depicted Christ and images of the bible through their art, but in my art, and with me, one thing is true and that is that I really, really believe that Christ is my Lord, and Savior.
Kevin Bickle, age 32, Urban American painter
Married to wife, Jillian, with one son, Brayden
Other areas of interest include: Traveling doing trick bike riding, accomplished public speaker, and missions.