WEST LIBERTY, Iowa — Marty Kiser has dipped his brush into acrylic, smoothed graphite onto paper, formed clay with his hands and sanded wood to an even finish.

“I’ve dabbled a bit in everything that has to do with art,” said Kiser, a 45-year-old frame maker and artist from West Liberty.

The self-described surrealist-at-heart finds inspiration in the work of one of his favorite artists, Salvador Dali, most widely known for images of melting clocks and as the leader of the surrealist movement. He works acrylic paint like some work oil paints. He layers and adds coatings until he gets the desired appearance.

Kiser created a tribute to Dali called “Time Dragging Ass and Running Amok,” which demonstrates the thoughtful detail behind his work as well as an expression of feeling.

The painting depicts a bull, which represents time, with a stopwatch draped over its back, a button on its head and a decorative watch ring through its nose. The bull is literally dragging human buttocks through a desert-like setting and knocking people over, spilling their briefcases and leaving them bewildered. 

“I used wooden mannequins for the people. It shows the ‘I don’t care, don’t bother me today’ attitude that people have,” Kiser said.” It’s more of a social statement than anything.”

Kiser also works with graphite, colored pencils and watercolors to create contrasting backgrounds and depth in his designs.

One of his pieces is a graphite drawing called “The Greenman” that is based on the Green Man wall sculpture created by artist Michelangelo in the 1500s. The statue was carved by Michelangelo as part of his design for the Laurentian Library in Florence, Italy. The green man is sort of a protector of the forests in Celtic mythology, Kiser said. Kiser drew the green man’s face with a tear coming from its eye.

“That is an ecological statement. If the Green Man were real and alive he would be very sad about deforestation, pollution and the way we handle the earth today,” Kiser said.

Kiser also creates pieces by firing clay using a method called Raku. It’s an ancient Japanese technique and Kiser has converted an electric kiln to gas in order to fire the clay.

“After firing a piece of clay I place it in a metal trash can filled full of saw dust. That creates a texture but also introduces carbon smoke into the glaze body and creates a different look,” Kiser said.

This variety of art is created at his West Liberty home, where he and his wife, Dauna, have lived for five years. Kiser, who was raised in Arizona, also runs a framing business from his house. He cuts the glass, does mat work and creates box frames by hand.

“I use rough-sawn lumber that is kiln dried and comes straight from the saw mill,” Kiser said. He can match most decors and even create new looks for interested buyers.

As a fulltime artist, Kiser said promoting the arts is very important to him. He is on the board of the West Liberty Arts Council. He is also one of its founding members.

“The Council was a way to place an emphasis on arts locally and continue to encourage the arts to those in the area,” Kiser said.

He also hopes to offer art classes to the community sometime in the future.