When he moved to Fayetteville in 1996, he restored a
building downtown at 238 Hay St., where Bob and Sheree's Beer & Wine Shoppe is now. While restoring the building, King filled up the brick walls with his paintings. "As a property owner, I've always thought downtown is a
really special place," King said. "That's why I bought a build- ing and restored it." When Christmas loſt tours started in downtown around
2000, people came into King's house and saw his paintings on the wall. King said, "They were like, 'Who did that? These are great!' That's when I realized that people liked them. People started asking me if they could buy them, or would I paint this for them, so then I started getting a lot of commissions." In time he was approached by Circa 1800 owner Kirk
"I love all the architecture and the old buildings in downtown . . . I like to focus on a section of architecture, like a window, the cupola on the Market House or a sign on a building, to try to enhance it and make it larger than life."
deViere about putting his artwork in the restaurant. "Kirk and I have been friends for many years," King said. "I
gave him a painting one year, because I like to give paintings for Christmas and birthdays. Kirk asked me if I would be in- terested in putting paintings in his restaurant that represent Fayetteville and I really wanted that restaurant to succeed." The paintings that hang in Circa 1800 feature downtown
architecture, to include: "The Cupola" of the Market House, the Capitol building, several different views of the Market
32 | January/February • 2012
