Junior men’s basketball forward Jeremy Evans is probably used to having his picture taken, with his face having been featured in magazines and newspapers in the Bowling Green area.

But because of his unique talents, the city can now go from seeing pictures of Evans to seeing Evans’ pictures.

Until the end of this month, Evans’ artwork is on display at the Warren County Public Library. His artwork shows that his talents extend off the court.

But this isn’t simply a foray into unfamiliar territory. It’s far from it.

Growing up in Crossett, Ark., Evans has been drawing since he was 5 years old, recalling when he traced a picture of a cartoon character.

“I lied and told everybody that I drew it,” Evans said. “I really didn’t know what I did wasn’t drawing at the time. My mom told me that I traced it pretty good.”

Pairing his talent on the canvas with his talent on the hardwood, Evans came to Western to pursue an interdisciplinary studies degree because of his time constraints with the basketball team. He selected art as his minor.

After witnessing Evans’ skills first-hand, the idea for displaying his art was brought to him by his girlfriend’s mother, Deloris Walters. Talks about displaying his art were moved on to Jayne Pelaski, the library’s marketing manager, who set up the gallery.

“He has a great talent,” Pelaski said. “You see the pencils and the charcoal (drawings), but he also does the painting with landscapes. I think he’s very good at doing physical features.”

Evans uses his art to connect with others. Last year, he drew avatars of some of the children associated with the library which served as the initial point that Evans’ talent surfaced publicly.

“I’m impressed with Jeremy’s art,” Walters said. “I like that fact that he really takes his time with it – he tries to perfect it. He carries his art book everywhere – he can’t even come over for Sunday dinners without bringing his art pad.”

Evans prefers to draw portraits, with drawings of athletes Kevin Garnett and Dwyane Wade and celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez, Aaliyah and Tupac Shakur giving evidence to that. But his talent is vast, with the gallery also featuring color landscapes of meadows and lakes.

The method to Evans’ works could lie in his patience with every piece of art he creates. He spends an hour or two hours on each drawing, a time span he would like to increase.

“Right now, the pictures I’ve created didn’t take long,” he said. “I’ve never spent more than two or three hours on a picture. It’s not my best, I still don’t think I’ve done my best in art. But one day when I can just sit down and focus on the details and plan on it, I think it will be a lot better.”

Before this exhibit opened, the world got to see exactly what Walters and others around Evans have been talking about when CBS approached him to draw a picture of college basketball commentator Dan Bonner before the Topper’s second round game against Gonzaga. It was featured in a segment during the game.

Art isn’t just an interest for Evans – it’s a passion. He is currently writing a research paper for an English class on his theory that anyone can learn to draw, and after his basketball career, he would like to pursue a career in the field.

“You can only play basketball for so long,” Evans said. “Drawing, I can do until my hands give out.”