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OKM Music is gearing up for its 37th festival  as Oklahoma’s premier music festival, June 10-17, 2021. An important part of each festival  surrounds the artist and the art piece chosen to commemorate the season. This year, local  artist Ragon Steele has been specially chosen by the staff and board to be its commemorative  artist again in an effort to complete a special tribute to local landmarks and architectural works  of art. 

 

Ragon Steele’s artwork was chosen in 2019 for OKM’s 35th anniversary festival showcasing Frank Lloyd Wright’s Price Tower, where OKM hosted a special finale concert for its  patrons. Last year, the OKM staff asked Steele to create a commemorative painting of the Frank  Phillips Home, as its original concert series included a performance on the lawn.  

 

For OKM’s 2021 festival, the finale performance will feature Tulsa jazz saxophonist  Grady Nichols, as well as the Grammy award-winning group Baha Men at the Bill Doenges  Memorial Stadium in downtown Bartlesville. The stadium was chosen to be the focal point of the  artwork this year. 

 

Within a timespan of five weeks, Steele had painted an original depiction of the Bill  Doenges Memorial Stadium for the 37th OKM festival to use for promotional materials, including  note cards, invitations, T-shirts, posters and more. 

 

“He is a wonderful gift to our community and OKM is proud to showcase Steele’s talents  as an artist and a teacher,” said Mary Lynn Mihm, Chairman of the Board. 

 

Although well-known in the Bartlesville community, Steele recently answered some  questions that might provide additional insight to his character: 

 

What inspired you to be an artist? 

 

“I have always liked art and took it all through high school, although, I was not very good.  Most of my art looked like a Picasso or a Van Gogh, however, that was not always my goal.  When taking art courses at Missouri State, I asked my wrestling coach what I should major in,  his response was to ‘major in something that doesn’t require nightly grading papers if you want  to coach.” 

 

What do you enjoy painting the most and why? 

 

“I enjoy painting things that mean something to me or those around me. Bartlesville  landscapes capture feelings and emotional value to many people. I also enjoy doing portraits.  After the September 11th crash at the World Trade Center, I was commissioned to do a portrait  of a girl that was on one of those planes.”

 

Were there any challenges painting the 2021 OKM commemorative painting? 

 

“This painting had presented some unique challenges. First, this angle of the stadium  had to be taken from quite high off the ground. My brother and I went to the stadium on two  consecutive evenings to try to capture the angle that OKM wanted with the Bartlesville skyline in  the background. The original drawing took me six days working about two hours each night. The  hardest part was getting the sky the way OKM had wanted, matching their color scheme for the  festival this year. Altogether, the painting took five weeks to complete.” 

 

A commemorative poster, postcards and T-shirts of Steele’s artwork will be soon  available for purchase at the OKM Music. 

 

For ticket information and a complete list of events, times, and locations, visit okmmusic.org, or call 918-336-9900.