Billy L. Keen

A native Texan, Billy Keen brings more than 30 years of artistic experience to his work. His family roots are on the high plains of North Texas near Wichita Falls. His love of the outdoors, wild places, fishing, and hunting, all influenced by a respect for our earth, played a significant role in his childhood development.

Mr. Keen attended the Wichita Falls public schools and Midwestern University, but his education continued throughout his career in the public and private sector. As an Illustrator and Art/Creative Director, his advertising work has appeared in national periodicals, on radio, on television, on compact disc sleeves, and in a variety of other media- from billboards to bumper stickers. He now paints full time.

Works by Billy Keen can be found in a number of private and public collections- notably the U.S. Air Force Art Collection and the San Antonio Art League & Museum Permanent Collection. His commissioned works include a portrait of Congresswoman Barbara Jordan for a middle school, a portrait of the Reverend John Wesley DeVilbiss commemorating United Methodism's bicentennial, a program cover for the San Antonio Fiesta Commission, and even the US Air Force logo on a NASA space shuttle.

We think that Keen's works are especially evocative, giving us a different look at the Southwest, and we are pleased to have him here at Art Gallery Prudencia

 

    A R T W O R K S    "W I L D E R N E S S   V O I C E S"

"I am honored to have one of the views in this show. Tim McMeans and I have been sharing views of nature with each other for 20 years. It is impossible to have the same point of view as another artist, but we can swim in the same water. "Wilderness voices inform who I am, and who I am informs my work. My work, then, is an attempt to tap into the universal wisdom of the natural world. I like to work with focused attention, contemplating form, space, color, and dimensionality, suspending thought about subject. I may think I know what a piece I made means, yet over time, its interpretation may change. I stop being the creator when I finish a work. Then the viewer can bring their own meaning to the piece. "We live in a world where many voices are crying in the wilderness. They are easy to hear. It’s the still, small voices around us that are sometimes drowned out. The challenge is to tune our ears and eyes to be listening and watching. Hopefully, by using these art pieces as objects of contemplation, the viewer can hear the still, small voice. "I would like to thank Prudence and the staff of Gallery Prudencia for the support and encouragement to share my work. I also thank you, the viewer, for participating in this visual dialogue with nature and me."

A Private History Billy L. Keen 48 x 24 x 3 in. Acrylic, relief sculpture, & found objects on wood panel

Connected Detachment Billy L. Keen 48 x 24 x 3 in. Acrylic, relief sculpture, & found objects on wood panel

Coreopsis Billy L. Keen 48 x 24 x 3 in. Acrylic, relief sculpture, & found objects on wood panel

Lost Maple Billy L. Keen 48 x 24 x 3 in. Acrylic, & relief sculpture on wood panel

Malevolent Deity Billy L. Keen 48 x 24 x 3 in. Acrylic, relief sculpture, & found objects on wood panel

Owl Mound Billy L. Keen 48 x 24 x 3 in. Acrylic, relief sculpture, & found objects on wood panel

Wine Cup Billy L. Keen 48 x 24 x 3 in. Acrylic, relief sculpture, & found obects on wood panel

Unseen Hands Billy L. Keen 48 x 24 x 3 in. Acrylic, relief sculpture, & found objects on wood panel

Novermber Bird Billy L. Keen 24 x 36 x 3 in. Acrylic, relief sculpture, & found objects on wood panel

Jimson Weed Billy L. Keen 24 x 36 x 3 in. Acrylic, relief sculpture, & found objects on wood panel

Stone Bird Billy L. Keen 24 x 36 x 3 in. Acrylic, relief sculpture, & found objects on wood panel

Halloween Billy L. Keen 17 x 25 x 3 in. Acrylic, & relief sculpture on wood panel

Mesquite Bird Billy L. Keen 30 x 24 x 3 in. Acrylic, relief sculpture, & found objects on wood panel

Crow Lake Billy L. Keen 15 x 9 x 2 in. Acrylic & relief sculpture on wood panel

Red Crow Billy L. Keen 15 x 9 x 2 in. Acrylic & relief sculpture on wood panel

Organ Mountain Crow Billy L. Keen 15 x 9 x 2 in. Acrylic & relief sculpture on wood panel

Crow Mountain Billy L. Keen 15 x 9 x 2 in. Acrylic & relief sculpture on wood panel

Summer Crow Billy L. Keen 15 x 9 x 2 in. Acrylic & relief sculpture on wood panel

Holy Crow Billy L. Keen 15 x 9 x 2 in. Acrylic & relief sculpture on wood panel

Sage Crow Billy L. Keen 15 x 9 x 2 in. Acrylic & relief sculpture on wood panel

Old Crow Billy L. Keen 15 x 9 x 2 in. Acrylic & relief sculpture on wood panel

Totem 25 Billy L. Keen 10 x 9 x 5 in.    Sculpture, found objects & wood

Totem 20 Billy L. Keen 12 x 18 x 7 in.    Sculpture, found objects & wood

Totem 23 Billy L. Keen 8 x 13 x 8 in. Sculpture, found objects & wood

 

    S O L D    W O R K S

Silent Beach Billy L. Keen 18 x 12 x 4 in. Acrylic, relief sculpture, on wood panel

Cowpen Daisy Billy L. Keen 25 x 12 x 2 in. Acrylic, relief sculpture, found objects on wood panel

Yucca Pallida Billy L. Keen 24 x 12 x 2 in. Acrylic, relief sculpture, found objects on wood panel

Sid's Cup Billy L. Keen 27 x 36 x 3 in. Acrylic, relief sculpture, found objects on wood panel

Totem 22 Billy L. Keen 11 x 20 x 10 in.    Sculpture & found objects

Totem 24 Billy L. Keen 10 x 10 x 10 in. Sculpture & found objects

Shore Bird Billy L. Keen 13 x 10 x 6   Acrylic, Relief Sculpture,Found Objects, Wood

Totem 18 Billy L. Keen 9 x 12 x 4   Acrylic, Relief Sculpture,Found Objects, Wood

Gold Crow Billy L. Keen 14 x 8 in. Mixed-media Collage on panel

Spirit Light Billy L. Keen 16 x 24 x 2   Acrylic and Relief Sculpture on wood panel

Sun Path Billy L. Keen 36 x 24   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

Totem #10 Billy L. Keen 7 x 9 x 3   Relief Sculpture, Wood

Daphne and Bird Billy L. Keen 24 x 12 x 3   Acrylic, sculpture on wood

Totem #13 Billy L. Keen 11 x 12 x 5   Relief Sculpture, wood

Crowned Bird Billy L. Keen 15 x 12   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

Clergy Bird Billy L. Keen 36 x 24   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

Nopal Billy L. Keen 15 x 17   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

Vantage Point Billy L. Keen 15 x 12   Mixed media

Goldfinch Billy L. Keen 24 x 48   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

Whisper on the Plains Billy L. Keen 26 x 60   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

Lucky Strike Billy L. Keen 24 x 40   Acrylic and Relief Sculpture on wood panel

 

    A R T W O R K S - PAST EXHIBITS        

Gold Wren Billy L. Keen 22 x 12 x 3 in. Acrylic & relief sculpture on wood panel

Strawberry Cactus Billy L. Keen 24 x 18 x 3 in. Acrylic & relief sculpture on wood panel

Crossing Do Not Touch Billy L. Keen 51 x 24 x 3 in. Acrylic, relief sculpture, opal stone, & found objects on wood panel

Places Billy L. Keen 30 x 24 in. Mixed-media Collage on panel

Pipe Pouch Crow Billy L. Keen 18 x 12 in. Mixed-media Collage on panel

Three Crows Billy L. Keen 18 x 12 in. Mixed-media Collage on panel

More Crow Billy L. Keen 18 x 12 in. Mixed-media Collage on panel

Saw-leaf Daisy Billy L. Keen 25 x 12 x 2 in. Acrylic, relief sculpture, found objects on wood panel

Joy Speaks Billy L. Keen 38.5 x 17.5 x 2 in. Acrylic, relief sculpture, found objects on wood panel

Rabbitbrush Billy L. Keen 12 x 24 x 2 in. Acrylic, relief sculpture, found objects, on wood panel

Paint Brush Billy L. Keen 12 x 24 x 2 in.   Acrylic, relief sculpture, found objects, on wood panel

Fence Line Billy L. Keen 24 x 48 x 2   Acrylic and Relief Sculpture, Found Objects, on wood panel

Hush of a Tortoise Passing Billy L. Keen 30 x 40 x 2   Acrylic and Relief Sculpture, Found Objects, on wood panel

Totem 2 Billy L. Keen 34 x 17 x 10   Acrylic, Relief Sculpture,Found Objects, Wood

Defiant Spirit Billy L. Keen 20 x 24 x 2   Acrylic and Relief Sculpture on wood panel

Totem 19 Billy L. Keen 18 x 20 x 9   Acrylic, Relief Sculpture,Found Objects, Wood

Totem #9 Billy L. Keen 9 x 9 x 4   Relief Sculpture, Wood

Totem #14 Billy L. Keen 25 x 17 x 7   Relief Sculpture, Wood

Totem #15 Billy L. Keen 12 x14 x 6   Relief Sculpture, Wood

Totem #17 Billy L. Keen 31 x22 x 7   Relief Sculpture, Wood

Fluid Relationship in a Dry Place Billy L. Keen 48 x 24 x 3   Acrylic and Relief Sculpture on wood panel

Bird Watching Billy L. Keen 18 x 24 x 3   Acrylic and Relif Sculpture on wood panel

Totem Billy L. Keen 23 x 16 x 6   Relief Sculpture in pecan wood

Stone Leaf Crow Billy L. Keen 40 x 30   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

Sunflower Bird Billy L. Keen 36 x 24   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

Speckled Bird Billy L. Keen 27 x 18   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

One With the Earth Billy L. Keen 20 x 20   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

Beep Beep Billy L. Keen 18 x 26   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

Ceremony Billy L. Keen 18 x 24   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

Road Bird Billy L. Keen 18 x 24   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

December Redwing Billy L. Keen 18 x 24   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

Lasts Bird Billy L. Keen 18 x 25   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

Two of a Kind Billy L. Keen 24 x 18   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

Bird Singing in the Dark Billy L. Keen 18 x 24   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

Five Points Billy L. Keen 18 x 24   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

Keys to the Blue Caracara Billy L. Keen 30 x 40   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

Bull Creek Baptism Billy L. Keen 40 x 30   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

Cholla Bird Billy L. Keen 24 x 18   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

Lamenting Here Billy L. Keen 18 x 24   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

Saguaro Bird Billy L. Keen 24 x 36   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

Sonoran Morning Billy L. Keen 24 x 18   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel

Whispers from the Water Billy L. Keen 32 x 18   Mixed media, acrylic on wood panel