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KEOKUK, IA. -- The following is a press release from the Keokuk Art Center:

During the month of June, the Keokuk Art Center will be displaying a collection of pastels by Illinois folk artist, George Colin.

The twenty pieces being shown are part of a much larger collection of George Colin's work that is owned by Duane and Joyce Taylor of Warsaw, Illinois.

The Taylor's discoverd Mr. Colin's pastels in the late 1980's and been avid collectors ever since. 

George Colin's art career is as colorful as the work that he produces.

The self-taught artist began painting and drawing during the 1950's after subscribing to a Norman Rockwell correspondence course, and amassed a collection of over 7,000 pieces before being "discovered" in the mid-1980's by a Chicago photographer.

The retired flour mill worker now has a body of work which includes over 10,000 drawings and painting as well as more than 4,000 pieces of wooden folk art and sculpture.

Producing his work under the name of Georgeart, George Colin completes two to ten pieces a day at his Salisbury Illinois studio which is open from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. seven days a week.

To date his work can be found in the Museum of American Folk Art in New York City, within the private collections of both President George Bush and Oprah Winfrey, and within shops and restaurants throughout Chicago.

Articles on Mr. Colin have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, North Shore Magazine, as well as on ABC News and NBC's "Weekends Away".

Whether it's labeled as "Primative", "Post-Naive" or "Folk Art", George Colin's work is fresh, colorful and very original. 

The pastels of George Colin can be seen throughout the month at the Keokuk Art Center's Round Room Gallery located at 210 North 5th Street in Keokuk.

In addition to allowing the Art Center to display their collection, Duane and Joyce Taylor have also generously donated a piece of George Colin's work to the Keokuk Art Center's Permanent Collection.