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Frankie Kellum, right, is pictured with Sen. Vickie Sawyer as she displays her acrylic painting titled, “Changes in Latitude.”

Sen. Vickie Sawyer holds a watercolor painting by Ellen Patterson, entitled “Blue Girl,” which she will take to Raleigh.

Brenda Pokorny holds one of her mosiacs, entitled “May,” which will go to Raleigh.

Craig Tinder shows his piece of artwork, titled “Old Glory,” that is to be displayed in the senator’s office.

On Aug. 5, a commitment to highlight the works of the local art community continued as state Sen. Vickie Sawyer received several pieces of artwork from four artists to be placed in her Raleigh office.

To be displayed will be works by Craig Tinder, Brenda Pokorny and Ellen Patterson, all of Mooresville, and Frankie Kellum of Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Sawyer began hanging this artwork in her office in early 2019 as a way to honor her grandmother, an artist herself, and to feature the artists here as well.

“For nearly three years now, it has been my great honor to display local artists’ work in my office in Raleigh. It is a true joy to be able to bring these talented artists’ work from our area and showcase their work in Raleigh,” Sawyer said.

Craig Tinder of Mooresville is a full-time aviation and military artist who embeds relic treasures from the past with his artwork.

It was noted in his biography that his passion for military history began while hanging on the fences at the Reno Air Races in the 1980s. Having an opportunity each year to meet great aviators sparked a lifelong interest in aviation and military history. With a global career in user-interface design engineering, digital illustration, and product management, Tinder began illustrating aircraft in 2002 on the side.

His early aircraft illustrations were noticed, and he created artwork for heroes such as World War II Medal of Honor Recipient James E. Swett, Clarence ‘Bud’ Anderson, Archie Donahue, Dean Caswell, Chuck Yeager, Robert Wright, and many others. While residing in Houston, Texas, he became a part of the warbird restoration community and served with the Commemorative Air Force as a certified loadmaster and maintenance operator on one of only four B-17 Flying Fortresses still flying.

Tinder specializes in combining his highly detailed illustrations with a historical fragment of an aircraft, ship, or vehicle to create artwork that is educational and highly collectible, his biography notes, and he works closely with museums, restoration shops, and private collectors around the world to locate and certify the provenance of the various artifacts he includes in his work.

He utilizes sophisticated, cutting-edge technology. His illustration technique shifted from traditional acrylic and oils years ago to a fully-digital painting process that incorporates a drawing tablet and painting software instead of a paintbrush.

To mount the relic and depict the story behind the artwork, he designs high-resolution, metallic foil “data plates” which often include detailed map illustrations and images regarding the origins of each relic. Even the Limited Edition Certificates of Authenticity he mounts to the back of each art piece are crafted using a high-powered laser engraving machine. The resulting art pieces he creates are completely hand-crafted and are often limited to less than 30 in the edition.

“My objective is to educate my audience by sharing those sacrifices made throughout history,” Tinder said.

“I attempt to express this by creating artwork that draws a viewer in, includes a story they can learn from, and embeds a relic from history they can physically touch. It really is history shared through art.”

When asked what it means to have his work taken to Raleigh, Tinder said, “It’s a huge honor, absolutely, especially since the type of work that I do is to honor our men and women in service.

And to be chosen to have my artwork hung up in that type of location is a very important thing for the type of work that I’m trying to convey here with historical representation of parts of history that we should not forget.

“We need to always remember and that’s the key,” Tinder continued. “And it’s for me is to tell the story that’s depicted in the artwork, it’s to share the history, which is written on the front and then let people actually feel the relic. Those are the three things I try to put in there.”

Frankie Kellum of Rock Hill, South Carolina, graduated from Winthrop University, earning a Bachelor of Visual Arts.

In her biography, it was noted that over the past 30 years, she has worn many creative hats including graphic designer, art director and interior decorator.

However, her real passion has always been fine arts. Recently, she decided it was time to get back to painting and became inspired by the great outdoors.

Describing herself as a landscape artist, the two pieces that will be hanging in Sawyer’s office are in that category. Titled, “”Changes in Latitude” and “Rollin’ on the River,” are both acrylic paintings, which is her preferred medium.

However, it was noted, she loves other mediums as well, including watercolor, pastels, oils, graphite and charcoal.

Having her artwork taken to be placed in Sawyer’s office “it’s a great thrill,” she said. “Anytime that I can show a piece in another environment, I’m all for it. I just hope it brings joy or happiness to whoever sees it.”

Referring to her interior design background as it relates to her artwork, Kellum said, “I really love it when you walk into a room and a piece of art pretty much dictates the environment. So that’s pretty much my goal.”

Brenda Pokorny, of Mooresville, is a mosaic artist, and two of her pieces of artwork, entitled, “April” and “May,” which can also be found as illustrations for a children’s book she wrote, will be on the walls of Sawyer’s Raleigh office.

Pokorny received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Miami University with a concentration in textile design and began her career in the design studio of the largest wallpaper manufacturer in the United States.

After five years there and 10 years managing her own textile design business, she noted that she started playing around with mosaics, and was an instant convert.

“I find inspiration in gardens and nature, mazes, labyrinths, and mandalas and meditation,” she said. “These interests have taken me around the globe exploring gardens, hedge mazes, labyrinths, gothic and renaissance cathedrals, and the mosaics of the Byzantine and ancient Greek and Roman worlds.

“In my mosaics, I use color boldly, and I tend to have strong andamento — the line, or flow of a line of tesserae.

My goal in creating mosaics is to produce art that adds beauty and brings joy,” Pokorny shared.

A watercolor, titled “Blue Girl” by artist Ellen Patterson will also be placed in Sawyer’s office.

Patterson has mostly worked with watercolor, having studied watercolor and mixed media with artists of national and international reputation, it was shared in a previous article.

A past board member of the Watercolor Society of North Carolina and member of Mooresville Arts, Patterson has also chaired the American Watercolor Society Travel Exhibits which have been featured at Mooresville Arts three times and chaired the WSNC’s annual convention in Mooresville.

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Frankie Kellum, right, is pictured with Sen. Vickie Sawyer as she displays her acrylic painting titled, “Changes in Latitude.”

Sen. Vickie Sawyer holds a watercolor painting by Ellen Patterson, entitled “Blue Girl,” which she will take to Raleigh.

Brenda Pokorny holds one of her mosiacs, entitled “May,” which will go to Raleigh.

Craig Tinder shows his piece of artwork, titled “Old Glory,” that is to be displayed in the senator’s office.