Artist Louis Copt was born January 29, 1949, in Emporia, Kansas. Spending time on a farm as a child and growing up near the Kansas Flint Hills had a profound effect on Copt and has translated into his passion for landscape painting.
He graduated from Emporia State University in 1971, with a degree in art. Copt began his career as a full-time artist in 1985, after returning from a summer of study at the Art Students League in New York City. He has worked with some of Kansas’ most notable artists including Jim Brothers, Robert Sudlow, Robert Green, Robert Brawley and Stan Herd.
Louis’ current work focuses on the prairie in just about every season, but particularly the annual spring burn-off in the Flint Hills. His primary medium is oil on canvas which allows him to work on a larger scale and provides the depth and color that best translates his particular vision. He is fascinated by the challenge of capturing the force of nature as the fires race across the prairie renewing the landscape for yet another season.
Through painting, Copt inspires viewers to see the landscape in ways they may not think about. By isolating images often taken for granted, viewers see the landscape in new and different ways and find new appreciation for what surrounds them. In 2016, Louis was the featured artist in the Lawrence Arts Center’s Annual Benefit Auction. His one-person exhibition showcased a series of new works featuring contemporary paintings and cast glass sculptures of Kansas barns. He has recently completed several large mural painting in Lawrence and Manhattan, Kansas.
Louis’ work has been featured three times in The Artist’s Magazine, and three times he has won its award for Top Finalist in the Landscape Division. He has also been featured in American Artist Magazine. His work has also been featured in the scholarly publication American Art Review. In 2011, he was named Kansas Governor’s Artist. His work is owned by private collectors nationally, and he has executed several regional, public commissions as well as having his work included in the Kansas State University’s Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art in St. Joseph, and the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas.
Louis has taught at the Lawrence Arts Center for over 30 years and has led travel and painting workshops to France, Spain and Italy. He occasionally teaches drawing and painting classes at the University of Kansas. Louis has served on many arts organizations boards and is active in several community service projects.
