Oil Painter Adam Turner to return to Art Fair Under the Bridge in its Second Year

By Sophie Horgan | Editor

Adam Turner has been an artist for as long as he can remember.
“I was drawing before I was walking or talking,” Turner explained. “There was never a moment in my life where I didn't know I was going to be an artist of some sort.”
Turner took this confidence of his path with him all through childhood and into adulthood, carrying him from the West Coast of California all the way to Minnesota, where he pursued a fine art degree at Bethel College. Though after college, when it came time to begin his career, Adam turned to what he saw as the more practical path: commercial art.
He went on to spend much of his career as a graphic designer and illustrator, building experience in everything from composition and color to marketing and merchandising. It wasn’t until about three years ago, at age 54, that Turner made the decision to follow his true purpose and pursue fine art full time.
Now, Turner is preparing to return to Wabasha for the second annual Art Fair Under the Bridge, where he was one of three artists to receive a first-place, “Best in Show” award at last year's inaugural event.
For Turner, returning to a small community art fair is about more than simply adding another show to his schedule. Since beginning his career as a professional fine artist, he estimates he will have participated in about 50 art fairs by the end of 2026. Yet despite qualifying for larger, higher-profile shows, he continues to make room for smaller events such as Wabasha’s.
“I love the vibe of the community,” Turner said. “There’s a kind of connected-ness here,” he explained, comparing the atmosphere to the famous fictional small town of Mayberry, with a sense that everyone knows everyone. He described how that supportive, more interpersonal feel that smaller communities tend to offer can make artists feel more appreciated than they sometimes are at larger shows. Viewers can expect to see reproductions making up much of his selection at this year’s fair, though he does plan to include pieces that were not yet seen last year.
Turner's presence at the fair also reflects the relatively recent transformation of his career. Although art was always an essential part of his life, Turner spent decades working in commercial illustration rather than pursuing his own fine-art practice. He had long planned to paint after retirement, but that timeline changed when his brother visited him about three years ago and asked him a simple question: “What are you waiting for?”
At the same time, Turner was seeing changes in the commercial art industry, including an overtaking fresh perspective from younger generations and the growing role of artificial intelligence. He began to view starting over as a fine artist not so much as a risk, but as an opportunity to build something that could grow with time.
“The idea of starting from scratch, although it was scary, looked at the time to me as an upward curve,” Turner said.
His commercial background shines through still in his current work, particularly in his use of color, which remains a standout in how viewers appreciate his work. Turner said his preference for bright, jewel-toned colors mixed with earthy tones developed during his years as an illustrator, in addition to his refined understanding of composition and value.
Today, Turner primarily works with oil paints, focusing his public work on landscapes while also painting wildlife and figures. His paintings use a technique he calls “mosaic impressionism,” a term he developed to describe the short, integrated brushstrokes that make up his work. Viewed up close, individual marks and colors can seem disconnected; from a distance, they form a cohesive landscape.
“When you look at it close, it doesn't make sense,” Turner said. “You see a red dot and you see a blue dot. When you get back, you see a purple landscape because they all blend together to create a new thing.”
His creative process often begins outside rather than in the studio. Turner looks for natural areas while traveling, taking back roads whenever possible and stopping at state parks or other places that catch his attention. He photographs potential subjects, then reviews the images later to decide which ones might become paintings. This approach roots from Turner's lifelong connection to the outdoors. His youth was filled with memories of camping and traveling the wondrous outdoors with his family, giving him an early appreciation for wildlife and landscapes—a strong influence that can be seen throughout his current work.
When he first began painting seriously, he assumed he would become a realist because he believed realism was a measure of good art. He soon realized, however, the contradiction of that perspective. “The problem with that [perspective] is, if there's a measurement already in place, it means it's already been done a million times, and so people are tired of realism.”
This change in mindset became central to Turner's development as a fine artist. Rather than trying to reproduce what he believed art was supposed to look like or what others would want to see, he began allowing his own personality and working habits to shape the paintings and his style.
He referenced a quote that spoke to him in the earlier years of his career. “Until you create art the way you create life, you will not be able to sustain the joy of what you're doing in order to sustain the career.”
This concept is one that Turner now connects to the broader challenge of making a living as an artist. He acknowledges that there is no simple formula for turning creative work into a career, and that luck can certainly play a role. However, he believes artists ultimately need to find a way to create work that is genuinely their own in order to stand out.
As Art Fair Under the Bridge enters its second year on Sept. 12, Turner will be among the returning artists helping establish what the event can become—this time with another year of experience, a growing fine art business, and a body of work built around a style he has made distinctly his own. Alongside Adam and his oil paintings, vendors will fill Heritage Park with other fine art, pottery, photography, and more, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Last year's fair gave visitors their first opportunity to encounter the fair and its artists; this year will offer another step toward setting a high standard of what this annual gathering will become.