It was an article in the New York Review of Books, and while it wasn’t about painting, something was triggered in the back of his mind an idea for a piece of art.
“I did my painting,” he said, “and I got an idea for another one, and then another one.”
His wife, Brigitte, a retired French teacher who paints watercolors portraits, encouraged him to enter shows, and he’s had success, having podium finishes in some competitions, and appearing in some exhibits at the Fitton Center, Middletown Arts Center and the Middletown Community Arts Center.
He said he was invited to have a show at the Oxford Community Arts Center, which opens May 9.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Cornett, who lives in St. Clair Twp., has a general practice, working cases from criminal to civil over his career, though he does more probate work now. He got into law because of politics. He’s ran and been elected to a couple of offices, including the Butler County Commission in the early 1980s.
To him, art is not unlike practicing law, which he has done in the past 47 years as an attorney from his office on Eaton Avenue across from Hamilton High School.
“Art to me is like political leadership, it’s more glandular than cerebral,” Cornett said. “But it only really obtains its apogee when you have a balance or a symbiosis between emotion and intelligence.”
His collected work on display next month is titled “Abstract Narration Through Geometric Asymmetrical Symmetry,” which he admits is “a mouthful,” but added, “It really captures what I do. Even though it’s abstract, I believe there’s a narrative to it.”
To him, “the most perfect example” is the façade of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, he said of his asymmetrical symmetry style.
At the moment, Cornett said he doesn’t have any more shows lined up at this time, but he plans to.
About the Author
