Allen Kriegshauser is returning to Heartland Art Club for a two-day event next month designed to help artists strengthen their skills and explore the process of painting.
By Kara Dicker
Several years ago, Mary Drastal was painting Plein Air at the Kirkwood Farmer’s Market with a group of friends. It was there that she had her first encounter with landscape and figure artist Allen Kriegshauser. “He walked by and abruptly demanded, ‘Use a bigger brush,’” she recalls. Initially, she said she was a little intimidated. “However, the next time we met, he was very kind. I quickly learned that Allen is a remarkably generous man, crusty on the outside and warm on the interior.”
Today, Allen is a familiar face at Heartland Art Club, where his paintings have won numerous awards at HAC shows, and his popular workshops, which tackle the bones of painting, appeal to artists of all levels. His upcoming “Painting Skills” workshop, Feb. 21-22, is no exception. Through demonstration, practice, and one-on-one instruction, Allen will discuss color, composition, visual interest, and how to simplify complex subjects. In the months following the workshop, he invites participants to send him images of their work for feedback on their progress.
“I like to give them the tools to deliver their own goods,” he says. That includes addressing core drawing principles, such as perspective. Allen says that while there’s no lack of “really good artists out there,” he finds that foundational drawing is often an underdeveloped skill. “I was amazed that so few people have an academic understanding of perspective.”
A graduate of the Kansas City Art Institute, Allen has been painting oil landscapes and figures since the 1970s. His professional career in insurance, advertising, medical software, and database development took him outside his native Missouri.“I got to travel a lot,” he says. He lived in Chicago, London, and California. As an artist, the opportunity to explore different environments helped further shape his understanding of color, texture, and sense of space. Revisiting La Jolla, a recently completed seascape, echoes the softer hues of the West Coast. “California is a different experience, a whole different color palette.” Additionally, the piece reflects Allen’s sense of spatial awareness. “I purposely expanded the beach area to give it a resting place to emphasize all the activity of the waves and the foliage.”
Upon returning to the St. Louis area in the early 1990s, Allen began investing in rehabbing old homes and buildings, incorporating the structural background he had gained from his father, an architect. It was during that time that Allen discovered the difficulty in painting Plein Air in nearby locales. “I find Missouri challenging,” he says. “You can get lost in the foliage. I’ve worked a lot on greens to make them more interesting.” Drawing from his work as a builder, Allen began incorporating hardscape into his paintings. “I typically will try to find an architectural element. I think it breaks up masses of foliage.”
Revisiting La Jolla, oil, 24 x 24, by Allen Kriegshauser.
These days, Allen is working more inside his studio, a welcome retreat after years of painting in Plein Air. “I’m appreciating more and more painting comfortably,” he says, noting multiple works in progress, including a figurative piece he’s been working on and off for some time. “I’ve found it very educational.” The slowed-down pace affords him the time to focus on his process. “I don’t generally have a hard drawing or template when I lay things down. I have a sense of where I’m going by looking at the shade and shadows.”
At his workshop, Allen says he wishes to encourage this type of exploration of process, reminding participants that art is ultimately about abstraction. “Just take a still life,” he says. “It’s not replicating the apple; it’s the color choices. I’m always looking for a good shadow line to give it depth.”
As the Gallery’s educational director, Mary says she couldn’t be more thrilled to have Allen on this year’s workshop presenter lineup. “He is a great communicator; he can talk about his process in understandable ways. I am thrilled to bring him back to HAC for a workshop in 2026.
Allen Kriegshauser has been instructing workshops for more than twenty years. At Heartland Art Club, his paintings have won numerous awards.