Entitled “Brian’s Bugs and Other Things,” the show features 32 paintings by the artist depicting landscapes and familiar cityscapes in the greater Mankato area. The paintings range from the early 80s to the present, and are heavily influenced by the natural and industrial surroundings.

“Nature has always intrigued me, and I am fascinated by the small seldom seen worlds I find,” McLaughlin said. “After planting a native pollinator garden, I was amazed at all the flowers, colors and the insects that came to live there.”

McLaughlin said planting the garden inspired him to return to painting after many years away while working and raising a family.

“I’ve been painting on and off most of my life and always loved it,” he said. “I retired this last year and started painting more in earnest. And I had a lot of stuff here that I started but never finished piled up at home.”

Carp over the Mill "I love the color of these lights. It reminded me of a propaganda poster form Eastern Europe during war or something really industrial looking. And then I was reading a book about the carp industry in Mankato. Canned carp. They had a big plant in Mankato and they would sell them to the navy or army."

A case in point is his painting “Dagger Moths of Fury,” which features his high school car, a green 1969 Plymouth Fury.

“So I was a kid, I’m coming down Lookout Drive, and I did the sun and the snow stars kind of coming up, and I put it away,” he said. “I started it in Germany and I took it to Colorado and added a little more. I wasn’t really happy with it. And when I started getting interested in insects, you know, like ten years later, I pulled it out. Those are dagger moths, kind of symbolizing going toward old and new for me.”

Another of the paintings, “Red Jacket Bridge,” is McLaughlin’s most recent work as well as the oldest in terms of inspiration, dating back to his middle school years. He said back in the 70s, when he was in sixth or seventh grade, he and his buddies would ride their bikes to the bridge, located south of Mankato.

“Then I went there earlier this spring. I was taking pictures, and I really liked the way the light was hitting the wood part, really interesting colors. And then I saw an admiral butterfly and put that in.”

McLaughlin said one of his favorite recent pieces, “KCS Butterflies,” took shape at Sibley Park, a setting for at least three of his paintings in the exhibition.

Dagger Moths of Fury started in 1981 and finished in 2024 depicting the artist's 1969 Plymouth Fury heading down Lookout Drive.

“There’s a train bridge and the soybean processing plant up there I thought was kind of interesting,” he said. “I wanted to paint the train because I thought the colors are cool on it. And then when I was up there to get pictures of it, I saw these sulfur butterflies. When I was a child, they were all over. Now you hardly see them, but I saw so many up there that day.”

McLaughlin said he got a starting grant for his show from Prairie Lakes Regional Arts Council in Mankato to help with equipment, paint and other supplies. He then had to wait a few years to accumulate enough works to show in a gallery.

“And then I got lucky enough to be chosen to show here,” he said.

The show at 4 Pillars Gallery runs through August 8. The Gallery is open Tuesday?Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.  

KCS Butterflies is one of McLaughlin's more recent paintings and is inspired by his visits to Sibley Park in Mankato.