Author Archives: Pete Dulin

Sunlight and plants … these two elements are essential to the creativity of artist Anne Garney in her studio space to her bright, white living room and bedroom.

Imagine emerald palm tree fronds as they form a tropical curtain against the backdrop of crisp blue skies in Isla du Mujeres, Mexico. Sparkling ultramarine waves gently wash onto a sun-kissed beach of gold. Beach umbrellas dot the scene like fanciful yellow mushroom caps. Garney visited this beach, started painting the picturesque scene on-site, and returned to her home where she completed the artwork.
The full-time professional artist has lived in Briarcliff since January 2008. She regularly visits exotic settings in Mexico, Italy, St. John’s, Monaco, Costa Rica, or wherever her heart desires to reside in sunny climes from a few days to several weeks.

Garney’s Northland home in Kansas City serves as her base, where she takes advantage of brilliant pools of sunlight from the north and east streaming through expansive windows into her luxury condo. Her studio, tucked into a corner where oil paints, brushes, and canvases are stored, is perfectly positioned in full natural light.

“When I get up, I go straight to my easel and paint. I avoid the computer,” says Garney. “I do the same after lunch.”

Each sitting runs 2-4 hours. A single painting takes several days of work.
While at home, roughly half her day is spent painting to finish work started overseas or other canvases of Midwestern scenes. “I love to paint on site and have a direct connection with my environment,” Garney says. She photographs each scene for reference in order to complete paintings at home, but prefers working on location. “I can see details much better with my eyes. I try to capture the light in the sky and water.”

The condo’s spacious floor plan in the main room creates an effortless transition from studio to a nearby desk where she conducts business »»
on her computer. She allots part of her work day to marketing, sales, correspondence, and teaching. Garney teaches a plein air class and figure painting class at the Kansas City Art Institute.

A lush wall of tropical plants and trees establishes a natural border from the office to the main room. A tray on an ottoman holds white coral, seashells, stones, and pieces of driftwood. White furniture, beige carpets, and light hardwood floors in the dining and greatroom are a tonal counterpoint to her brightly-colored art.

The compact kitchen is adjacent to the main room, office, and studio. The interior layout is smartly designed and constructed for comfortable living and entertaining. Ten-foot ceilings with crown moldings reinforce a sense of openness. Uplifting reggae music underscores the relaxed feel of the home.

Garney, who sports a lightly bronzed tan from her equatorial adventures, keeps the heat in the condo set at a balmy temperature. She loves the heat, the light, the relaxed spirit of warmer climates. Stepping onto the covered outdoor balcony, a gentle but brisk spring breeze and view of rolling hills is a reminder of the distance from sunny seaside vistas. Indoors, painted scenes from around the world conjure memories of slow-paced life in Costa Rica and verdant hills overlooking Maho Bay beach in St. John. Better than postcards, for sure. Her oil paintings, each tagged with a description and price, line the hallway and every room in the house. In effect, she has a ready-made gallery to host an open house once or twice a year. Fans, friends, and neighbors visit to see new work and snap up a colorful painting.

Garney began oil painting in the 1990s. Her representational style as a landscape painter draws from contemporary Fauve Expressionism.

“The Fauves, a group of French artists in the early 1900s, painted with brilliant, luminous colors expressing a joyful passion for life,” says Garney. One of her favorite artists from the Fauve movement is Henri Matisse. “Of the Impressionists, I admire Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, each having a unique use of color and expressive style.”

Garney majored in art while studying at the University of Kansas, but her immediate career veered in another direction. After college, she trained with a contractor and eventually launched her own company as a home builder and designer.

She designed homes to fit the needs of a particular site and family. »»
Meanwhile, she never stopped painting. In June 1999, she pursued painting full-time. Garney accepted an offer for a free place to stay in Monaco for 10 weeks, sold her house, lived abroad, and painted for a summer.

Garney held her first art show the following spring in Kansas City. She sold 50 prints and several paintings that night and validated her career choice as an artist. Garney recalls thinking, “This is what I wanted to do.”

Tropical plants in every room of the condo are like visual props from distant lands. Blooming fuschia, white, and purple orchids in her main bedroom echo the floral painting above her headboard. Walk-in closets and a spacious bathroom with a grand walk-in shower feel as luxurious as a stay at a W Hotel. A Rand McNally world map posted on a side wall is pierced with two dozen pins marking Garney’s global exploits.

Arched doorways to each room are an architectural nod to The Ravello’s namesake. Ravello is a town situated above the Amalfi Coast in southern Italy. The condo’s amenities include a laundry washer/dryer, parking spaces in a heating garage, and custom cabinetry. Garney’s home is also situated near Briarcliff’s shops and restaurants, downtown KC, and the airport.

That last feature comes in handy when you’re an artist on the go, jetting to the islands for creative inspiration and oil painting. Once Garney’s frequent flier miles are logged, it’s a comfort to return to The Ravello and work further on her canvases. After all, home is where the art is.

Gallery:

Crooked Road leads away from downtown Parkville and the Missouri River bottoms and snakes upward through tree-lined hills. A canopy of tree leaves in warm weather form a “tunnel of trees” over the road. Ten-year-old Peyton Wiewel says the scenic view “looks like Narnia when it snows.” Her parents, Sabrina and Matt, moved to their home in River Hills Estates a decade ago precisely for the natural setting of the area.

“The tree-covered lots, the hills, and the closeness to downtown Parkville reminded me of Idaho Springs, a small town in Colorado,” says Matt, who once lived in Denver. “In winter, driving through the snow and trees is a great way to decompress from work.”

Matt and Sabrina met on a blind date set up by a friend 13 years ago. After the initial sparks led to marriage, they settled in Brookside. They discovered River Hills Estates a few years later and knew they had found their true home to raise a family.

Sabrina, a vice president of general merchandising at Hallmark, grew up in the suburbs of Blue Springs. She also prefers the proximity to Parkville’s local shops and the scenic drive to the family abode.

Matt, a full-time voice actor, works from home primarily. He built a soundproof studio in a spare upstairs room. Recording equipment, a desktop computer, and editing software enable him to work for clients on the East and West Coast and overseas in New Zealand and China. Ten agents help manage and book his work, mostly non-broadcast assignments for e-learning and training.

For a personal touch, framed wall art in the room holds pieces of the Berlin Wall, rebar, and photographs from Matt’s 1984 and 1990 trips to Germany.

“I used to be stressed all the time,” says Matt of 60-hour work weeks at his former computer tech job at Cerner. The difference between his old and current creative career is day and night. “It’s not work. It’s fun.”

Matt and Sabrina strike a balance between work and home life. They take an active role with Peyton’s school curriculum and extracurricular activities such as ice skating and swimming. Their daughter started skating at four years old and still practices many hours each week for competitive events.

“I enjoy being with my friends at skating,” says Peyton, who has earned more than 300 medals during her young career. Skating has its challenges too. “I don’t like the pressure of competing or falling on the ice.”

Edward and Bella, a sibling pair of Shelties named after, you guessed it, Twilight characters, scoot about the household to keep an eye on the coming and going of their masters.

The family’s love of U2 is evident from clues around the house from an artist’s rendering of the band to a framed collection of backstage passes on the stairway wall leading to the basement. “Achtung Baby is my favorite U2 album,” Matt confirms.

“I met Bono in New York once,” Sabrina mentions fondly. “He kissed me on the cheek.”

Kiss-and-tell stories aside …

The downstairs theater features a massive television screen, a comfortable blue sectional with dark orange pillows and blankets, a fireplace, and a bar area for entertaining guests. Entertainment options besides movies include Kinect for Xbox 360 and Just Dance, the video game.

“We let our hair down here and relax,” says Sabrina.

Matt points out a purple glass vase on a shelf. “I sold my Levi jeans to a concierge in Prague and later used the money to buy the vase,” he says. Matt couldn’t declare the property when he left the country because customs authorities would have wondered where he got the currency. “So, I smuggled the vase out of Czechoslovakia in a car seat.”

A nearby doorway leads from the theater room to Peyton’s Place and the Wiewel Theater. This brightly painted pastel room is an open play space and stores costumes and props for dress up. Peyton and her friends sequester themselves in this colorful wonderland while adults solve the world’s problems.

Upstairs, a harlequin theme gives a playful flair to Peyton’s bedroom. Fanciful jesters painted on several walls pose against backdrops of lime, chiffon, and pink. Her bubblegum pink bathroom is all girl. Filled bookshelves are a tip-off to her voracious reading appetite. Peyton’s assortment of stuffed animals and dozen American Girl dolls clearly mark her territory.

Peyton also collects snow globes to remind her of family travels and adventures. Her collection numbers more than 100. With a shake of her hand, simulated snow swirls in water and evokes memories of zip-lining over the Royal Gorge, white water rafting, seeing The Lion King in New York, and visiting Mount Fuji, Japan.

“Some of my favorites memories of Japan are seeing my cousins, going up Mount Fuji, riding the bullet train, and eating ramen,” says Peyton. »»

Sabrina’s mother Sachiko Miyazaki died in 2006 and was cremated in Japan, where members of the family still live. Sabrina, an only child, visited the cemetery near the fishing village in southern Japan where the remains of her family have rested for 400 years.

She says, “When I went to Japan for her funeral, I learned so much about the culture and the ceremony for her death.”

To honor her mother, Sabrina created a shrine in a quiet sitting area at home where offerings are made in the Buddhist tradition. A 200-year-old Japanese vase, black with floral etching, and a small enclosed samurai figurine in the house are other reminders of her Japanese heritage.

On the main floor, black counter tops and a cherry finish on kitchen cabinets create a striking contrast. A ceramic trivet on the stove bears the Japanese character for happiness. A dining room outfitted in black furniture with walls painted in “China Silk” gold exudes understated elegance.

When meals are being prepared, family and guests typically convene on tall stools facing the kitchen or at a nearby table for four. The hearth room’s red upholstered furniture adds pop to the walls faux painted a greenish-gray marble.

Nearby, purple reigns in the room where a Kimball piano is parked. Soothing periwinkle walls complement hints of purple in five framed prints that Sabrina and Matt purchased at the Plaza Art Fair years ago. Dramatic curtains in a darker tint offset the neutral tone of the carpet. »»

Sabrina sought inspiration from the West Indies for the master bedroom and bath. Gold textiles and bedding, wicker baskets, treasure chests, palm trees, walls faux finished with a leather appearance, and elephant figurines round out the motif. Large bedroom windows allow afternoon light to enhance the island attitude. A framed series of Peyton’s baby photos add charm to the room.

Wall Worx in Parkville painted the faux finish in multiple rooms throughout the house. A number of furnishings and decor were sourced at Parmida Home.

The open floor plan of the Wiewel’s home is conducive to casual socializing. Thoughtful color choice and understated decor give personality to each room. Abundant seating options in the kitchen, surrounding rooms, and the theater room downstairs offer the family and occasional guests places to gravitate for relaxation and togetherness. In warm weather, gatherings and grilling take place on the sizable outdoor deck. The home is a short commute to the ice rink at Line Creek for Peyton’s skating practice and to Sabrina’s office at Hallmark.

Functionally and aesthetically, the home serves the needs of the Wiewel family as a welcome retreat in the hills of Parkville.