Pencil artist draws line between professional, personal works

Travis Bailey realized his passion for art when he was in the eighth grade. Bailey’s older brother was baby-sitting and took Bailey to his college art class. Bailey sat in the back of the class listening and learning.

Artist Travis Bailey is pictured with Taryn Manning holding an illustration Bailey made of the actress. Bailey will be having a show of his work a the Lumberyard Arts Center called “From LA to LAC” starting Friday in Baldwin City.

Travis Bailey, a pencil illustrator living in Baldwin City, has been commissioned in the past to do illustrations of celebrities, such as John Stamos in this illustration by Bailey.

Lumberyard Art Walk

In coordination with the artist reception for “From LA to LAC,” the Lumberyard Arts Center, 718 High St. in Baldwin City, also has two other events scheduled from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday.

There will be an Art Walk on Eighth and High streets with an ice cream social to benefit the Baldwin Community Emergency Fund.

The Baldwin City Recreation Commission will host the Baldwin Wine and Brew Festival inside the LAC, with the proceeds going toward the BCRC scholarship fund, which allows children financially unable to pay to participate in BCRC programs and activities for free. The cost for the festival is $8 in advance and $10 at the door, and those attending must be 21 years old.

The art walk and artist reception are free and open to the public.

The class sparked his interest, and now at age 30, if Bailey hasn’t touched a colored pencil for the day, he goes to sleep thinking “I should’ve drawn.”

“I feel like it’s almost, to a degree, some sort of a weird addiction,” Bailey says.

His upcoming show at the Lumberyard Arts Center, “From LA to the LAC,” is comprised of the past 10 years of his work. Bailey says it is a mismatch of portraits as well as personal drawings, and there is absolutely no theme.

Bailey, a native of Dodge City, went to college in Oklahoma. After getting his degree, he went to visit family in California, and, a few days after a trip to the beach, was packed and ready to move there.

“One visit to the beach was enough … it was all the motivation I needed,” Bailey says.

As a college student, he was commissioned by MCA Records, and after moving to the Los Angeles area, he used the college experience as a stepping stone for more work. Bailey had kept in contact with some of his clients, and they helped him to create more contacts and receive more commissions.

Many of his commissions are colored pencil illustrations of celebrities, including Paris Hilton, Christina Milian, Lindsay Lohan, Taryn Manning and Robin Williams. His works hang in the offices of agents and managers and sometimes the homes of the celebrities themselves.

During that time right after college, Bailey worked on commissions nonstop, leading him to getting burnt out and to stop drawing for almost eight months. He learned his lesson and now spaces commissions out, taking one commission every two or three months.

“I’ve kind of kept a slower rhythm now,” Bailey says. “Every three or four commissions, I do something for myself or someone close to me.”

Bailey almost always works with colored pencils and currently enjoys combining different media, like spray paint and pencils, to create one piece. When making a personal piece, he prefers to create drawings of things created in his mind rather than re-create a photo like he does for most of his commissions.

“When I am doing my own stuff, I like to just draw,” Bailey says.

After leading the fast-paced, hectic lifestyle that comes with a busy city such as Los Angeles, Bailey decided it was time to recharge and relax. In December, he moved to Baldwin City for a break from constantly being on the go. Now he works from home doing animation for a firm.

The show at the LAC is a way for him to keep busy in his new, slowed-down life. Bailey plans on staying in Baldwin City until December, and has yet to create plans past then.

There will be an artist’s reception for Bailey from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday at the Lumberyard Arts Center, 718 High St in Baldwin City. “From LA to LAC” will run until Aug. 11 and will be available for viewing during regular gallery hours. Admission is free and open to the public.