Two brothers share single passion of painting
by Sara Schafer | sschafer@ruralmissouri.coop
The shelves explode with color — rows of artillery shells, sparklers, smoke bombs, parachutes and fountains are waiting for a match and the ultimate small-town celebration. American flags, streamers and hand-drawn signs spackle nearly every inch of wall space. Amid the fireworks stand’s sensory overload, smooth jazz hums through the speakers. Each armed with brushes and paints, two brothers create magic on canvas.
One brother, Jon, wields his brush with precision, layering oil paints into lifelike portraits that could be mistaken for photographs. The other, Mike, heads for outer space, stretching limbs, and exploring color and crafting surreal dreamscapes. Their styles couldn’t be more different — order versus imagination — but their brotherly bond and incredible talent run deep.
Raised in Moberly, Mike and Jon Wolf have used their Midwestern roots to make their artistic mark on everything from paintings that will pass through generations to book covers to beer labels. Whether painting in the open air by the ocean or beside a table of sparklers in their family’s fireworks stand, the two make art that pops.
Mike and Jon grew up in an artistic family. Their father, Gayle, was a hobby painter and their mother, Mary Ellen, was a craft artist. “My dad taught me one-point perspective when I was 6,” Jon recalls. Mike was inspired at an equally young age, as he can remember standing in front of Picasso’s “Woman with Yellow Hair” in Chicago when he was 7. Based on their exposure to art, it’s no surprise Jon drifted toward impressionism and realism while Mike pursued pop surrealism.
The brothers studied art in high school with teacher Ed Miller, and they both won the state art competition. They considered nonartistic occupations but have each spent the last several decades as professional painters. “I cannot not be doing this,” Jon says of painting. “That’s why if I go on vacation, I’ll take my sketchbook. My motto is ‘Always be drawing — ABD.’ ”
Both brothers, members of Macon Electric Cooperative, spent decades out west in California but now spend more time back in Moberly to be near their parents. Each summer they manage the fireworks business, Boomers, which has been owned by their family since 1987.
Jon leans into elements of design, such as line, form, color, texture, space, variety, rhythm, balance, unity and emphasis. Then he adds his own flair. “I would go to a gallery and study brush strokes from one painting to the next, trying to figure out how to reverse engineer it,” he says.
In Jon’s portfolio, you’ll find paintings and sketches of city landmarks, memorable faces, frothy oceans, fields with cows, bright yellow ginkgo trees and whiskey on ice. “I’m more apt to paint what I’m around,” he says. “In California I’ll paint seascapes and cityscapes and then when I’m back home, my paintings are very Missouri-ish.”
Mike’s creative journey centers on wild and unexpected subjects. One painting features a striking monkey in heart-shaped glasses, another showcases three bees slurping from a martini glass and another captures a levitating Mark Twain in neon hues.
“They say every painting is somewhat a self-portrait, and there is always something of me in every painting — even if it’s hard to see,” Mike says. “In the late ’80s and early ’90s, my work seemed really weird. At that time, it was extreme. Now it doesn’t seem so weird.”
Mike says his art draws inspiration from both his rural upbringing and his city living experiences, often juxtaposing the two and highlighting humor. This unique perspective of art is what led Mike’s art to be featured on hundreds of thousands of cans of beer brewed by Logboat Brewing Co. Mike and Jon have been longtime friends with the founders of the Columbia-based brewery. When the group started brainstorming the business idea back in the mid-2010s, they asked Mike to create a logo.
Mike sketched the logo featuring passengers in a dugout canoe on a bar napkin. That led to Mike and Jon investing in the brewery and Mike’s artwork being showcased in the brewery and on its wide offerings of craft beers.
“The brewers would flip through my old sketchbook, and then they’d make up a beer name to go with it,” Mike says. “Snapper and Lookout were our first names for beers.” Snapper is an American IPA that has a can design adorned with a green snapping turtle, while Lookout is an American pale ale featuring a frazzled and colorful owl.
Another customer favorite is Shiphead, an American wheat illustrated with a woman whose hair forms a ship with yellow sails. “I lost the original painting of ‘Shiphead’ in a fire, along with 28 other pieces,” Mike says. “But one of the managing partners, Andrew, just loved that painting and told me to redo it. So, I did and it became one of the core brands of beer.”
Now the Logboat crew may suggest a subject, such as the golden ale, Stormin’ Norman. For that Mike created a watercolor-type portrait of the famed Mizzou basketball coach. “There’s a lot of sketches that wouldn’t have even become paintings if it wasn’t discussed as being a label,” Mike says. “So working with Logboat has been a good stimulator for new paintings.”
Both brothers sell their art through their personal websites and promote it on their social media channels. They will do commissions, and they encourage people to stop by Boomers to peruse art as they buy fireworks. Overall, seeing their art in person is the best experience.
“When I take a photograph of a painting, it doesn’t come out nearly as accurate,” Jon says. “With landscapes, there’s no character to convey, so you rely on the colors and texture. When people pick up a painting, they are often surprised by how much better it looks in real life.”
Mike and Jon say they are each other’s biggest artistic influences. When in the studio together, they share inside jokes as they create masterpieces that will grace everything from a new brew to a gallery wall. “Paintings are historical vestiges you can physically touch,” Jon says. “They’re handmade; they’re emotional. Paintings are items you pass down to your children.”
To see more artwork by Mike and Jon Wolf, visit www.mikewolfart.com and www.wolfoilpaintings.com or follow them on Instagram at @mikewolfart and
@superbrotherx. You can buy prints from Mike at Logboat’s birthday celebration on May 7 in Columbia.