Kuki Hargrave

Artist Bio

Kuki Hargrave is an award-winning Arizona artist living and working in Prescott, Arizona. Born in Hollywood, California in 1949 and raised on a small ranch in San Bernardino, the artist grew up loving art, history, western movies and the great outdoors. Creative from an early age, Kuki began showing her original oils and watercolors in art galleries and shows in Orange County when she was 15 years old. Her family supported and encouraged her artistic endeavors. She has been a working artist for over 50 years.

Kuki attended Orange Coast College and the University of California Irvine in Southern California. An avid history buff and western reenactor, Kuki and a companion packed up on two burros and in 1983 completed a 2000+ mile walk from Big Bear, California to Trout Lake, Washington. Dressed in handmade buckskins and carrying black powder guns, tipi and accessories from the 1820 Fur Trade Era, the artist traveled the highways and backcountry of California, Oregon and Washington State. The trip provided the research and inspiration for numerous paintings exhibited and sold in the Columbia River Gorge Region. In 1993, she released “Wagons at South Pass,” a limited-edition print for Oregon’s Oregon Trail Sesquicentennial Celebration.

An Arizona resident for 26 years, Kuki and her husband Tom moved to Prescott in 2010. Kuki is an active artist, with shows at The Mountain Artists Guild, Prescott Center for the Arts, ‘Tis Gallery, and is presently represented by the Ian Russell Gallery on Whiskey Row.

In 2019, her work “Fab Town” appeared on the cover of Prescott Living Magazine. In 2020, the City of Prescott purchased her work “Homeward Bound” which was presented to the hotel owners during the ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of the new Hilton Garden Inn in Prescott.

In 2021, her work “Monsoon” was selected as the official poster for the Arizona Cowboy Poets Gathering for 2023.

Artist Statement

My Thoughts on Art

Art doesn’t sell itself. It is part of one’s job as an artist to make it accessible and desirable.
By supporting and promoting other artists and other forms of art, the artist can help enrich the lives of a world starving for Beauty.
Pay it forward by giving back to one’s Community.
Push the boundaries, challenge one’s self to learn, take risks, seek new vistas, and grow as an artist.
Be lighthearted, but stay passionate.
Be thankful for the opportunity to create.

kukihargravefineart.com

I am a proud sponsor of the Granite Creek Trail Mural Project 2023, and my sponsorship supports the Bald Eagle.

Bev Allisone

Raised in a military family, I had the opportunity to travel across the country and to Europe. At a young age, the exposure to art, architecture, and different cultures influenced her life as she became an adult.  I developed a gregarious personality and a sense of wonder at all the possibilities and expressions of life.

My family moved to Mesa when my father retired. I graduated high school and attended Mesa Community College with a double major in fine art and psychology. The lack of integration of the creative mind in psychology was disappointing so I put my energy into the arts curriculum.

I took a hiatus from college and art when I married, had a daughter and son, and found myself a single mother five years later. I worked in factories, retail, and offices. I felt a deep need to
return to college and kept taking classes part-time. This was a hugely busy time in my life. I filled my time with friends, trips, creative pursuits, and spiritual studies, along with raising two
children.  I met the right people to reignite my love of art. This helped me get connected and attend college full time.

I became fully focused on all aspects of art. Early in the semester, my favorite art instructor had a serious discussion about the success of fine artists and gave a list of hundreds of art-related jobs. On reviewing the list, I selected illustration jobs and asked, “You know how I draw. What do you think I should be doing?” The instructor said outright that I should be in commercial art. The following semester I signed up for those classes…and found my home.

I took illustration commission jobs then landed work in print shops where I learned the trade. When the economy took a downturn, I found myself unemployed. In a chat with a neighbor, she suggested I apply at the senior apartment complex where she was employed. I was hired. The job opened up many other positions. Soon I was working as a cook, another love of mine that I could share. I felt this was a career path to follow, and in a few years became a banquet chef for a downtown Phoenix hotel. Unfortunately, this was not to be. A car accident left me with a neck and back injury, unemployed, and unable to work as a chef again. So, I fell back on graphic design.

In 1986 I moved to Prescott because I wanted my children to live closer to nature and enjoy a slower pace of life. I was hired by a local newspaper, which put my skills and creativity to good use. I loved my years with the newspaper. I also worked for another print shop for several years. I decided to take a chance and opened my own graphic design business. I’ve enjoyed doing graphic design for over 25 years.

Prescott is my home where I’ve flourished in community, beautiful friendships, astonishing adventures, and profound awakenings. I’ve met the love of her life and we’ve enjoyed 28 amazing years together.

With all life’s detours and great revelations, I’ve found the most amazing collaborations have been with artists… painters, illustrators, writers, and poets. I’ve found our connection is the visionary process of translating their craft to graphic art for promotional materials. I’m winding down my commercial clients. The timing could not be better for me to join Prescott Arts Journey.  PAJ’s mission to weave together the creative community is the culmination of
my goal to bring the arts into everyone’s lives from the place I know best…graphic design.

Artist Statement

In a world where life takes on a racing pace, art is a refuge, a perception shift, a moment of peace, and a refreshing infusion of energy to the soul.  Art is an inspiration that prompts vision and possibility in those who are ready to find their expression. I see this as the goal of Prescott Arts Journey and am delighted to be invited to add my love of art toward networking artists to share their art, techniques, and philosophies with our community. With life’s detours and great revelations, I’ve found that the most amazing collaborations have been with the artists, whether painters, illustrators, writers, or poets. Our connection is in the visionary translation of their craft into graphic art for their promotional materials. As I wind down my commercial commitments, the timing could not have been better to join Prescott Arts Journey. PAJ’s mission of weaving together the creative community is the culmination of my goal to bring the arts into everyone’s lives from the place I know best…graphic design.

Breeanya Hinkel

Born and raised in Prescott, Breeanya has worked within the arts community as a graphic and website designer. She serves on the Prescott Center for the Arts board and owns both BJH Designs and Prescott Woman Magazine.