Artworks by Stephen Kline, who designed Florida's license plate touting the arts, reflect his varied interests.
By BARBARA L. FREDRICKSEN
Published November 7, 2003
Not many artists can say that one of their creations has raised nearly $6-million for the arts.
But Stephen Kline can.
Kline created the popular "Florida-State of the Arts" vehicle license plate design, which 94,271 Floridians have purchased since it went on sale in February 1995.
Twenty-one of Kline's other works will be on exhibit at the Pasco-Hernando Community College's Pottberg Library through Dec. 14.
"I treated that license plate as a canvas," Kline said of the blue, pink and aqua abstract. "There are no icons or logos. I wanted this to be a splash of color, something that would appeal to everyone - you wouldn't necessarily have to have a love of art. I've seen (the plate) on pickups, trucks, just about every kind of car."
That something-for-everyone attitude shows up throughout Kline's wide-ranging work. Almost anyone will be able to find a "favorite" or two somewhere in the three alcoves of display space in this exhibit.
History buff?
Visit the presidents' alcove. There, you'll find Richard Nixon with his beloved violin at age 13, done in shades of black and gray. The lacy marks on the dark lapels are actually script, telling a story from Nixon's youth.
"Through the open window, Nixon could hear the whistle of a train, taking him away from home and to new thoughts," Kline's mini-essay says, and goes from there.
Nearby, a portrait of a masculine-looking woman is the wife of Millard Fillmore holding a painting of her husband. On her bonnet brim is written her own history. Facing her are portraits of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt as children.
"What I'm trying to do is get them in a different mindset: Fillmore (is) a portrait within a portrait; Grant, with the drizzling rain behind him; (Teddy) Roosevelt, as he looks on Mount Rushmore."
Kline often blends his paints with his finger and water to make the paints bleed and run to create new hues and colors.
Dog lover?
An altogether different side of Kline's artistic bent is the pen and ink drawings of dogs. There is one in this exhibit, but he has done 90 different dog breeds - everything from Afghans to whippets.
"The drawings are made out of the words themselves," he explains. The greyhound's image is created by writing "greyhound" in different styles, sizes and curvatures.
The images are made into limited edition lithographs, which Kline personalizes with added words, even the name of a particular dog itself if buyers request it. The images are sold both on Kline's Web site (www.gallerynow.com/kline) and through the American Kennel Club (www.akc.org)
Enjoy whimsy?
Still other facets of Kline's work are the caricaturelike portraits of such characters as the Theatrical Agent, a pompous, neckless man; The Professional, a wildly red-haired prostitute; Last Call, a sad-sack drunk drooped over his drink; and balding corporate types. The colors are sometimes vivide, sometimes muted. His clientele is as varied as his subjects, Kline said.
Kline was born in Iowa 59 years ago, moved to New Jersey for 10 years, then came to Florida in 1991 to buy his in-laws' home on the Manatee River when they decided to move to Georgia. Since then, he and his wife, Kris, a book and magazine writer, have moved to Hyde Park, where he has one of his two studios.
He has been an art director for an advertising agency and a commercial photographer, but serious art has always been his focus.
Kline sells his work from his studios and on the Internet, where he also sells works by more than 100 other artists from 25 states and 14 foreign countries.
"What makes an artist is that we see things differently," Kline said. "Like playing music by ear, it's absorbing life, listening to life and an interpretation that comes through these feelings. It's something you bring to the table that nobody else can or might even want to."
At a glance
WHAT: Artist Stephen Kline
WHERE: Pottberg Library, Pasco-Hernando Community College, 10230 Ridge Road, New Port Richey
WHEN: Through Dec. 14. Hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Sat., and 2-4 p.m. Sun.
