PENDLETON — Pat Kluesner, longtime member and former president of the Art Association of Madison County, will be judge of the Pendleton Artists Association’s Summer Show, set for July 5 to 31

Kluesner, an artist with a home-based studio in Anderson, paints portraits of people and animals and outdoor scenes in Madison and surrounding counties.

His professional art career began as an illustrator in the advertising department for Payless Supermarket. During that time, he learned sign painting and computer graphics.

He retired in 2007 so he could pursue his career as a painter. In 1993 he was honored by the Indianapolis Ad Club for his mixed-media advertisement for the Indian Trails Festival “Hallowed Ground,” which depicts a Native American man above the skyline of downtown Anderson.

He went on to challenge himself using palette knives to paint his subjects.

Kluesner often takes his oils and canvas to an outdoor location to paint plein air landscapes and buildings; more impressionistic with layers, scumbles, and dabs of paint to capture the light and form and mood of his subjects.

His work has been enetered in art competitions and can be seen in galleries throughout Indiana.

Kluesner has received many awards for his paintings throughout his career.