The artist Louis Copt was greatly influenced by the Flint Hills prairie and captured it in a way no other artist has, says a local art expert.

Copt, a longtime painter based in Lawrence, died on May 8.

He was born Jan. 29, 1949, in Emporia. He graduated from Emporia State University in 1971 with a degree in art.

Some of his artwork had been featured at SNW Gallery in Manhattan.

“We actually just returned his work to the widow yesterday, so we don’t have any of his work available right now,” said SNW Gallery manager Amy Rintoul.

She said Copt’s artwork had a style unlike any other, perfectly capturing the character of the prairie.

“Louis always had a very vibrant treatment of his prairie fires,” she said. “I want to say they’re almost what you could describe as hyper-realistic. Like they looked real, but the colors are really intense. The blue is really blue. The orange, you could almost feel the heat coming off of it.”

Rintoul said his style captured the character of the Flint Hills prairie perfectly.

“He always took the time to paint, you know, the individual grasses and things, so it has a really high level of detail, and usually a starry sky behind it, too,” she said.

“I would say that was pretty iconic of his pieces. He would splash the paint on it to create that effect.”

While Copt’s art is not longer on display at SNW Gallery, Rintoul said his distinct style is featured on the mural in downtown Manhattan, in the Fourth Street alley behind Manhattan Brewing Company.

His primary style was oil, but he also worked with watercolors and acrylic as well. He also worked in other mediums as well, including glass and bronze sculpting. Copt had been showing his art since 1985.

His artwork was in a wide variety of Kansas galleries, including galleries in Kansas City, Wichita, and Topeka. His work has been featured in magazines, including American Artist Magazine and the scholarly American Art Review.