Scott McQueen's exhibition, Selections from Scott is on view at Kentuck's Gallery at Hotel Indigo until January 28, 2024. Raised in Fayette, Alabama, Scott was surrounded by folk art, including such great artists as Jimmy Lee Sudduth and Benjamin Franklin Perkins who was known affectionately by many as “Brother Ben.” Scott fondly recollects times during his childhood when he observed Sudduth create his now-famous mud paintings. However, he did not consider art as a career until much later.
"I never knew what I wanted to do in life but always felt I should be helping somebody."
Scott is a graduate of Samford University (B.A.), New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div). For 35 years, Scott worked as a Baptist pastor, dabbling in folk art as a creative outlet in spare time. Using slices of car tags, found items, and imaginative paintings of animals and people— Scott creates a colorful world full of nostalgia, life lessons, and a lot of humor.
“Instead of taking notes in algebra, I would draw faces in the margins. When I was in church, I painted a lot for the church bulletins or the holiday backdrops. I did folk art on kids’ birthdays. I’d draw them a card with a chicken or a dog.” - Scott McQueen
Scott McQueen did not fully pursue art as more than a hobby until after he made the bold and personal decision to support his 17-year-old son who had recently came out as gay.
For Scott, allowing his son to live truthfully meant questioning and challenging his own beliefs to their core, and it resulted in better understandings of theological text and a big career change. He did extensive research on the interpretation and translations of Greek and Hebrew biblical text, and came to his conclusion: love is love. He did so much research, he authored a book: Reasonable Doubt — A Case for LGBTQ Inclusion in the Institutions of Marriage and Church.
After leaving his career in the Baptist Church, Scott served as a Hospice Chaplain for several years and devoted all his free time to creating folk art. Eventually, he became a full time artist and opened his art studio at Kentuck Art Center in 2018. He uses his mixed media art to spread a message of love, joy, and imagination. He attends 20 art festivals within a calendar year, including Kentuck Festival of the Arts, and his pieces are in many collections around the country, including Kentuck Art Center's Permanent Collection.
"I take something broken that no one wants and recreate it into something new and fresh because that is what happened to me."
While he may no longer work as a pastor, his faith still remains evident in his work. On the back of each piece, Scott paints "Matthew 22:36", which he believes is a message that we’re supposed to love God, and the way that we love God is by loving others.
Available Work:
Please call Kentuck at 205-758-1257 to inquire about purchasing Scott's work.
