The Art of Snoopy Finds a New Home in Las Vegas

Published on Sun, May 12, 2013 (6:46 p.m.)

Submitted by AFA Gallery in The Venetian

Does This Make Me Look Fat

Acrylic & varnish on canvas

84" x 128"

2007-2009



Las Vegas: Tom Everhart, 21st Century interpreter of the Charles Schulz's iconic PEANUTS characters is now being represented exclusively in Las Vegas by AFA in The Grand Canal Shoppes at the Venetian. This new gallery is located next to Barney's and the exhibition is free, and open to the public 7 days a week, 10AM-11:00PM, and until Midnight on Friday & Saturdays.

For more information call 702-998-6975 or log onto afanyc.com.



One of the few living artists to be exhibited in the Louvre, Everhart is reknown for his PEANUTS Paintings, some as large as 20 feet long and 7 feet high. Currently on exhibit at AFA, a collection of more than 20 small paintings as well as 3 large canvases and 12 new graphics from the artist's current body of work entitled "Rollin With The Homies" :



Everhart says of his evolution as a painter and his current exhibition,



"It seems that I am more easily explained by what I don't have than what I do. The most misunderstood thinking about my work is that I am licensed to create the images that include the copyrighted subject matter that has so influenced me through the teachings of my greatest friend Charles Schulz. I do not have a license, and have never had one. But Sparky did make certain to arrange a contact early in the development of the work that permitted me to use the subject for the "term of my life". This show, "Rollin With The Homies", was constructed on the sources of inspiration, creative thought and influences. It is a confession of creative thinking and where it comes from. It examines academics, social interactions, and the traditions of painting to produce work that does not look like traditional paintings".



Tom Everhart began his journey as a serious painter in 1980, and shortly thereafter was introduced to cartoonist Charles M. Schulz for a freelance project that required him to draw and present PEANUTS renderings to Charles M. Schulz Creative Associates. This was a complete departure for Everhart, whose artistic experience was as a landscape painter. He blew up some of the cartoonist's strips on a twenty-five foot wall in his studio which eliminated the perimeter lines of the cartoon box, leaving only the stark outlining marks of Schulz.



The vibrant pen strokes of Schulz translated into painterly brush strokes and into a language that overwhelmingly connected to Everhart's own form of expression and communication. Completely impressed with Schulz's line, he was able to reproduce the emotion in it almost exactly, which in turn impressed Schulz. This was the beginning of a friendship that lasted a lifetime. For decades, Everhart painted alongside the legendary Schulz and is the only fine artist to have studied with Schultz personally.



In 1988, Schulz encouraged Everhart to carry forward his comic strip images into the realm of fine art and the results have proven extraordinary. Everhart's "Peanuts Paintings" have been exhibited at museums around the globe, and his fine art prints published by the ICONIX division of PWW (PEANUTS Worldwide) are collected by fans on every continent.



About Charles Schulz: The Peanuts comic strip was syndicated in over 2,600 newspapers worldwide, with book collections translated in over 25 languages. He has been awarded with the highest honors from his fellow cartoonists, received Emmy Awards for his animated specials, been recognized and lauded by the U.S. and foreign governments, had NASA spacecraft named after his characters, and inspired a concert performance at Carnegie Hall. PEANUTS is the most popular and influential in the history of the comic strip, with 17,897 strips published in all, October 2, 1950, to February 13, 2000, the same day that the cartoonist passed away, ironically.



About AFA: With galleries in SoHo, Las Vegas, New Orleans and France, AFA (Animazing Fine Arts) is inspired by wildly imaginative artwork that indulges the senses and engages the emotions with layers of symbolism and dark complexity. AFA exhibits paintings, drawings and sculptures created by extraordinary established artists who have a unique vision and are highly skilled.


Video: Tom Everhart, Rolling With the Homies
Video: The Tom Everhart Story by Dreamworks
Upcoming Event: Press Release
Full Bio: Tom Everhart
Artist Bio: Charles Schulz