First Friday Art Walk – February 2026
Experience watercolor paintings that celebrate nature, travel, and quiet moments of beauty. Naomi’s work invites viewers to slow down and notice fine details, shifting light, and the mood of a place. Each painting reflects a lifetime of careful observation and a deep love of the natural world.
Naomi has always felt a strong pull toward making art. Before becoming a watercolor painter, she spent nearly 20 years carving waterfowl sculptures from wood. She shaped each piece by hand, adding fine textures and painting them with oil pigments to create a realistic, lifelike finish. Her sculptures earned both regional and national awards and were featured in a special exhibit at the Dyche Natural History Museum at the University of Kansas in 1996.
In 2008, Naomi turned her focus to watercolor painting and began exhibiting her work. While she has no formal art degree, she has studied with respected local and national artists to develop her skills. She paints a wide range of subjects, often inspired by the outdoors, changing seasons, and the feeling of a place. Photographs taken on her travels frequently spark new ideas for her paintings.
Naomi brings the same careful attention to detail to her watercolors that once defined her wood sculptures. Her work has been juried into exhibits in Topeka and nearby cities, including the Kansas Watercolor National Exhibit in Wichita. Her art was selected for the 2015 Sunflower Music Festival program cover and has been featured in Topeka Magazine. She is an active member of the Topeka Art Guild, where she volunteers, as well as the Lawrence Art Guild. Naomi has also received multiple awards for her watercolor paintings in juried shows at the Topeka Art Guild.
Artist Image Gallery
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Our History
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NexLynx Gallery of Arts started in 2010, after being selected as one of the venues for the ReThink Topeka Exhibition and Art Walk that same year and each year after. The Re-Think Topeka Art Walk was a movement to spur re-building community awareness through art and cultural events. NexLynx continues to be a proud supporter of the art community with our monthly exhibits and opening receptions. We worked with the former Arts Council of Topeka, and now ArtsConnect to promote art in the community as a premier downtown gallery on the Downtown Topeka Art Walk.
The Gallery is located on the 2nd floor of the historic downtown Bates Building. Walter L. Bates' (1859-1903) last business enterprise was the building of the structures on the corner of Sixth Avenue and Jackson Streets, known as the Bates Block, which includes the I.O.O.F. Hall (117 W. 6th - c. 1910) and 123 W. 6th (c. 1902).
NexLynx Gallery was voted a Finalist for both 2016 and 2017 People's Choice Awards, nominated by people in the Topeka Community as their favorite stop on the First Friday Art Walk, a program of ArtsConnect.
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NexLynx Gallery of Arts