Granite City artist honored at Edwardsville Art Fair

A Granite City artist was named best of show at the second annual Edwardsville Art Fair this weekend.

Lon Brauer of Granite City is an impressionistic painter who has shown his work at many other art shows, including the inaugural Edwardsville Art Fair last year, and was chosen by the fair committee as this year’s best of show. The new art fair is a juried fine-art show that debuted last year in City Park, on the grounds of the Edwardsville Public Library. The fair included about 100 artists as well as local food vendors and live music from the band shell, with a “create it and take it” tent for young people to paint on canvas or ceramic and take their works with them. Crowds were thick especially on Saturday night, with many people milling between the white tents set up across the park.

Hosted by the Edwardsville Arts Center, the artists included many metro-east and St. Louis artisans, as well as artists from Michigan, Georgia, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Iowa. They showcased work in photography, ceramics, digital and graphic design, drawing and printmaking, fine craft, glass, jewelry, mixed media, oil and acrylic painting, sculpture, wood, tempera, botanical, gouache or watercolor. Each artist also donated a piece of art to the children’s auction, where young people could buy an original piece of art for $50.

This story was originally published September 27, 2015 at 4:09 PM with the headline "Granite City artist honored at Edwardsville Art Fair."