Oil paintings by local artist Joseph Loganbill can be seen from now until November 30 in the Hesston College Gallery located in Smith Center.

Loganbill, a native of Harvey County, spent hours roaming the tall grasses and woods alongside the Sand Creek home north of Newton where he grew up.

“As a boy, I also loved to draw and I think it became natural for me to first pursue landscape in my paintings,” he said. “I have gradually added more figurative topics, but the joy of painting outdoors lures me back to diverse scenes such as the Flint Hills (Kansas), urban architecture, and the mountain west. I hope to convey in my paintings that in every circumstance, life has a beauty to discover-if we pursue it.”

Loganbill defines “the mountain west” as mountainous areas in Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, and Wyoming.

A graduate of Hesston High School, Loganbill studied art at Bethel College, North Newton, Kan., with professors Robert Regier and Paul Friesen.

Recognition for Loganbill’s works include a juried show at the 2008 National Small Oil Exhibit at the Wichita Center for the Arts. His juror was Daniel Sprick, a nationally-known artist from Denver, Colo.

He received second place in the 2006 National Oil and Acrylic Paint Out in the Flint Hills (based in Cottonwood Falls), and received the 2004 William Dickerson Award of Merit from the Wichita Center for the Arts.

Loganbill and his wife Marilyn co-own Cobalt Gallery and Studio with Hannah Eastin, artist-in-residence at Hesston College. He teaches oil painting one day a week at the studio, located at 605 North Main in Newton.