Raymond K. Kennon
Picture Bargains
Bias, March 21, 1951, page eight
"Raymond K. Kennon, Springfield’s most prolific artist, has decided to hold a 'clearance sale' of a 20-year accumulation of oil paintings, water colors and prints – not to mention hand-made frames and other objects of art.
"Raymond, quite frankly, says he is overstocked and he has a small fortune tied up in canvas, paint, frames and talent. He says, with equal frankness, that he wants to raise some money. And what does the artist want to do with the money? He wants to buy materials for more paintings. That’s the genuine artist for you!
"Kennon has been painting for 20 years and the Arts and Crafts shop which he has operated for the past 10 years at 1033 St. Louis Street bulges with his works – some of them extremely good, some just good and some of them not, by his standards, too good. Each picture reflects pretty much how and what he felt when he painted it.
"Many of his oils have taken prizes in important 
exhibits and most of these prize winners are included in the sale. Some $50 values are being priced at $5 and some nice pictures may be had at your own price, even if it’s only a dollar, or less than you’d pay for a dime store lithograph. He has some excellent landscapes, Ozarks scenes, floral excursions and flights of fancy.
"Lately the 48-year-old artist has been developing a line of hand screened linen table accessories which have proved popular in New York, Chicago and San Francisco stores. He hopes that this revenue, too, will give him more time and money for paintings.
"Raymond, himself self-taught, is proud of the prize-winning artists he has taught. An artist of great intensity, he lives to paint and he hopes, some day, to be able to paint to live. Meantime, seeing his pictures widely distributed, even at give-away prices, will give him almost as much satisfaction as he got from painting them.
"Artists, whether they work with oils or words or bricks, are strange and fascinating people."
From the Springfield Leader & Press, September 20, 1984
"Raymond K. Kennon, 81, Springfield, died at 3:43 a.m. today in Cox Medical Center after a short illness. A native of Polk County and longtime Springfield resident, Mr. Kennon was a retired artist and photographer.
"Survivors include two sons, R. Kenneth Jr., Tucson, Ariz., and Marvin, Livermore, Calif.; a daughter, Mrs. Marilyn Dickson, Lanham, Md.; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.
"The body was cremated in Greenlawn Crematory under the direction of Greenlawn Funeral Home South. Memorial services will be announced."
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