Air Force artist shows work

  • Published
  • By Journalist 3rd Class Amanda Hotz
  • Naval Station Rota Public Affairs
ROTA, Spain (AFPN) --  At work, Master Sgt. Jeffery Kunkle is the quality assurance inspector for the 725th Air Mobility Squadron here. To friends and family, he is an aspiring artist.

Sergeant Kunkle has been drawing since he was 8 years old, and recently showed his work at Peña Chuscho, a local art gallery located in Chipiona.

The Peña Chuscho gallery has been showing art for nearly two decades, and has earned quite a reputation as the place to show in Andalucía, Sergeant Kunkle said. Although it is a small venue, it is highly sought after by artists from all over Spain to show their work, he said.

“It took me three years of convincing to get a show there,” Sergeant Kunkle said. “It doesn’t seem like much, but this is kind of like an ‘off Broadway.’ If you make it here, the doors start opening up in the bigger galleries.”

The show ran Jan. 9 to 20. Sergeant Kunkle said he was very impressed by the warm reception he received from the local art community.

“We sold nine paintings within the first hour and a half -- far better than anticipated,” Sergeant Kunkle said. “I know most of the people in town, and I think most of them are a bit surprised. The out-of-towners were a little surprised that an American was showing [at the Peña Chuscho].”

“It is hard for an artist to part with work they pour their hearts into,” Sergeant Kunkle said. “After years of doing commission work, you paint a piece and it goes off to hang in someone’s living room and you never see it again. But, to get this sort of public exposure is a reward.”

Showing his art in a gallery with a reputation such as the Peña Chuscho has opened doors for him to be accepted into the Spanish art world.

“You spend your whole life honing skills, and you kind of keep it to yourself in the closet and amongst your friends and family,” Sergeant Kunkle said. “To be recognized by your peers, other artists, is the ultimate compliment.”

He started out with portraits and has done commission work for the last 15 to 20 years. Sergeant Kunkle began challenging himself with more difficult projects about a year ago in hopes of showing his work in a gallery and producing more commercial work.

“I guess I had a knack for it and [my parents] started getting me the paint by numbers sets,” he said. “I couldn’t stay in the lines and the coloring books limited me too much, so I started to do my own drawings and it just took off from there. By the time I was 8 or 9 years old I was sitting with a pad and pencil while the other kids were outside playing.”

Sergeant Kunkle said his new bride, Maria Del Carmen, originally from Chipiona, is the best motivation he has ever had.

“I am so pleased with him,” Ms. Carmen said. “He is very intelligent, and the way he paints -- he captures the moment.”

“This show wouldn’t have happened without her, there is no way,” Sergeant Kunkle said. “Between her motivation, her contacts and prodding me along the way, it probably wouldn’t have happened.”

Ms. Carmen explained her motivational tactics.

“He has been painting all of his life, but he would paint one picture and then in a few weeks he would paint another,” she said. “I have been pushing him, I tell him he needs to paint a picture this week and I’ll say, ‘OK this week you aren’t painting but next week you have to start another painting!’ He is proud of his paintings when he is done, but sometimes he needs a little push.”

Sergeant Kunkle spends a lot of time on the streets with a camera in hand, taking pictures of things he might be interested in painting later. He uses everything from conté, a very traditional renaissance style, to oil, pastel and watercolor.

“I have come to know a lot of the families here in town,” Sergeant Kunkle said. “It is a pretty endless source of inspiration and subject matter. My contacts with other artists, dance troops and some of the equestrians, provide a kaleidoscope of color that you can see throughout my pieces.”

Sergeant Kunkle said Europe has been a great inspiration to his artistry because of the different cultures found here. Including his military career, as well as having been raised in a military family, he has been overseas nearly 32 years.

“There is a lot of history here,” Sergeant Kunkle said. “You are stepping on stones that were laid hundreds of years ago. In the states it just doesn’t lend itself to that kind of architecture or richness in culture. You don’t find Faria in Chicago, or equestrians in New York City. This sort of thing is unique to this area and their pride shows and provides endless motivation.”

Sergeant Kunkle said everyone, including the Air Force and his family, has been very supportive of him as he pursues his artistic endeavors.

“I love the community and the military for giving me the opportunity I wouldn’t have had otherwise,” he said. “I know a lot of artists around the world (who) would give their eyeteeth to see the things and meet the people I have.”

“We support Jeff by allowing him the time and the effort and anything he needs to keep his artwork going,” said Capt. Bill Triche, 725th Air Mobility Squadron maintenance officer. “He has been a great asset to our squadron and this just attests to the amount of high skills and ability that our enlisted corps (has) in the Air Force.”

Sergeant Kunkle said there is definitely a contrast between what he does in the Air Force and what he does on his off time, but even with the differences come similarities.

“Being a mechanic requires a lot of visualization,” he said. “You have to be able to see and hear what you are doing. The same skills that I use when I put something on paper and that power of observation are what I use as an inspector of personnel. The whole object is to see things that other people didn’t and these are skills that are honed over years of doing what I do.”

Sergeant Kunkle said he believes his subordinates are also artists.

“In my job … I watch mechanics and technicians perform amazing feats everyday,” he said. “Many of them are undoubtedly artists in their own right. Unfortunately they rarely, if ever, get the public recognition they deserve. I dabble in color, fabric and paper. Their canvas consists of incredibly complex aircraft and the precious souls they carry.”