Hundreds of residents of Galesburg will soon be part of a large art project. While he's an artist in residence this fall at Knox College, John Bakker plans to paint more than 300 individual people for a "portrait" of the city.
Ten years ago he was hired to paint hundreds of neighborhood residents to help decorate the lobby of a new police station in Chicago where he lives.
And since then he's done several similar projects, including all the students at Wheaton College.
Bakker says in the past only very important people had their portraits painted.
Since he arrived in Galesburg, Bakker has been talking to local organizations and churches, and setting up his easel at a farmers market, to spread the word about his project, and ask people to submit photographs.
Each portrait will be painted on a separate wooden panel, so the panels can be arranged and re-arranged to fit different exhibit spaces. (www.johnbakker.info)
