Artworks of John Lennon will be on display this weekend at the InterContinental Hotel
By Timothy Finn: The Kansas City Star

When music took a back seat in his life to fatherhood, John Lennon expressed himself through his first love: visual art.

"He was a very talented guy," Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono, said recently. "I think (art) was kind of a security blanket for him. He was just always doing it, doing it... even if he was talking in a meeting he was doing it. Afterward some lawyer would say, 'What are you doing?' Then he'd say, 'Oh, wow, that's great. Can I have this?' And John was very generous. He'd say, 'OK, fine.'"

In the mid-1970s many of those drawings were created in the couple's kitchen at the Dakota in New York City, where Lennon spent lots of time amusing his young son Sean. A group of those drawings, "Real Love," will be on display this weekend at the InterContinental Hotel as part of "So This Is Xmas: The Artwork of John Lennon."

"He started doing the 'Real Love' late in his life," Ono said. "Sean was like 4. John was very proud when he was doing that with Sean. They would be sitting in our kitchen and John would be drawing and it was, 'what's it going to be, Sean? What's it going to be?' And Sean would say, 'It's going to be an elephant.' And then he would kid Sean, 'No. It's not an elephant. It turns out to be a 'cat.' And they would be laughing."

"So This Is Xmas" will be the third showing of Lennon artwork in Kansas City since October 1988. Like the previous two exhibits, "Xmas" will give fans a chance to see dozens of Lennon's line drawings, which combine Lennon's background in Asian brushstrokes and the whimsy of a cartoonist like James Thurber. Fans will also have a chance to buy lithographs of the artwork, some of which bear Ono's touch: With much respect for his work, she hand-colored some of the original drawings.

"When you see the drawings, it looks like they are easy to do but they're not,' she said. "He's expressing his beautiful spirit, which is about love and also lots of humor."



From somewhere in Brazil, Ono spoke about the exhibit and the enduring spirit of the man who created it.

Some of these drawings, like 'The Camel Danced,' tap into his sentiments as a father. What do you remember about those years after Sean was born?
I was amazed how John turned into a good father. I know him as a very political figure and everything. I just didn't think he'd be like that, but he was. It was very touching.

Is Sean much like his father?
He has grown up into a very talented and intelligent musician. He's a bit more mercurial than his father. But he's OK.

What does his artwork say about him that his music might not express so clearly?
I think that even now fans who come to see John's work know that it's not just a clever John showing his sense of humor. He had to have relief in his life. In real life he was being followed by (government) agents; that was a very hard time. So when you see his artwork from that point of view it is incredible that he even had a sense of humor. John had a very difficult childhood, and he survived by having a sense of humor, and it became a big part of him.

But he is also strongly associated with all the virtues he stood for as an artist and musician, true?
Oh yes. When we unveiled the "Imagine Peace" light tower in Iceland (on Oct. 9, Lennon's birthday), so many people wrote me about that: "We're so happy there's a peace tower." Because John was dedicated to that; that was what we did together.

What's it like for you to see these drawings?
I'm blocking my private emotions when I do this. The day he passed away I had to take responsibility to make sure John's stuff is out there in the right way.
I was so proud that he did all of this and proud that they are a really popular project. The other thing is I did it in the right way. I made sure they're not very expensive and that people who are interested in John's work can buy them. Also in each city I make sure to work with some charity. It goes with John's spirit.

The 27th anniversary of his death is nearly upon us. Does it seem that long ago?
I don't feel like it was that long ago. I see Sean, even today, and I feel like Sean is still only 5 years old. Lots of people say that about Sean.