LITTLE ROCK — Works by eight artists from the Tri-Lakes Edition coverage area are featured in the 48th annual Mid-Southern Watercolorists juried exhibition. Three of the artists received awards.
Richard Stephens of Hot Springs received the MSW Bronze Award of $1,000 for his painting One Block Over.
“Wow,” Stephens said after learning of his award. “I am very honored to win an award in this outstanding Mid-Southern Watercolorists exhibit. I want to thank juror Iain Stewart for the high compliment. Awards are not only a confirmation that you are doing something right, but an encouragement to keep working at your craft.”
Stephens was not able to attend the March 9 opening reception at the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies in Little Rock.
“My painting One Block Over is the result of my missing a turn and thus, driving down a street I had never been on here in my hometown of Hot Springs, Arkansas,” Stephens said, smiling.
“My reward was seeing this wonderful house in great light and saying, ‘Wow, there’s a painting waiting to happen.’ I shot a photo with my phone and did the painting back in the studio.
“This happy accident confirms one of my favorite sayings: ‘I had rather be lucky than good.’”
Stephens is retired from his commercial art business, and his main focus now is his artwork and his workshops.
He holds MSW Diamond Signature Membership, meaning his work has been accepted into at least five juried exhibitions. He won the MSW Bronze Award in last year’s show, the MSW Silver Award in 2014, the MSW Bronze Award in 2015 and the MSW Silver Award again in 2016.
Gary Simmons, also of Hot Springs, won the Arkansas Artist Materials Award of $300 for his painting Hayfield. That award includes a $200 voucher from Art Outfitters Materials and Supplies of Little Rock and a $100 voucher from Golden Artists Colors of New Berlin, New York.
Simmons, who is a nationally recognized pen-and-ink artist, is a relative newcomer to MSW, having received the Jacquelyn Kaucher First Timer Award in 2017.
“I’m flattered and surprised to have won an award,” Simmons said. “But even more so, I am gratified to see our communities step up in support of its artists. In my case, the award came from Art Outfitters, whom we all see as a real treasure for the artists in our region. I am assuming they are perhaps the instigators of the Golden materials award that came with the package.
“The MSW association is doing a wonderful job of serving its membership. My hat is off to all of them for doing a tough job.”
Simmons said the subject of his prize-winning painting elicits a feeling of nostalgia for him.
“Hay fields are nostalgic for me,” he said. “Maybe it’s my Midwestern background, but when I see a field of bales or haystacks, I remember the few times I actually helped create those bales.
“The round bales have another effect, which is one of geometry in their distribution in the field,” he said. “They look almost like some giant layout, strategically placed geometric shapes for best effect against the horizon. Add to that long cast shadows of morning or evening light, and you have a perfect play of the principles of contrast, point of interest and depth of field any artist uses in putting a work of art together.”
Simmons retired as professor emeritus of art from Henderson State University in 2013.
Ron Kincaid of Benton received the Lyda Merkle Memorial Award of $250, donated by Sarah and Bob Merkle of El Dorado.
Kincaid is not a newcomer to MSW, having received awards during the past several years. He is a Diamond Signature Member of Mid-Southern Watercolorists.
“I appreciate the award, and I plan to see the show soon,” said Kincaid, who was unable to attend the reception. “Congratulations to all the winners.”
Kincaid worked as a commercial artist for several years.
Other local artists with works in the Mid-Southern Watercolorists’ exhibit include the following:
• Annette Garner of Benton has her painting Justaboutamile from Texarkana in the show. Garner is president of the Mid-Southern Watercolorists and holds Signature Membership status, meaning her work has been accepted in three juried annual exhibitions.
“Desiring to paint yet experiencing a lack of inspiration, I began applying tissue and paint to paper,” Garner said of her painting.
“The painting began to flow, and the subject found me. As the fluffy white bolls of cotton began to emerge on the paper, I recalled days of my childhood spent working together with my mother, brothers and sisters, picking cotton in the fields between Texarkana and my hometown of Hope, Arkansas. While the work was hard, the memories of working with my family are sweet,” Garner said.
“The nostalgic moments etched in my mind, I began enjoying the painting process,” she said. “My brush seemed to move of its own volition, the painting almost painting itself, expressing my memories in the watercolor Justaboutamile from Texarkana.
“Inspiration for a piece of art is awakened by experiences and emotions. Emotions inspire art, and art inspires emotions transported through the fields of memories.”
• Marlene Gremillion of Hot Springs Village had her entry Saucer accepted in the exhibit.
“I simply love flowers — to look at, to smell and to grow — but I must say my favorite part is to paint them,” Gremillion said. “Bright sunlight on the subjects excites me. I enjoy the play of shadows, plus the transparency some of the flowers have, and I especially like the challenge of interpreting it to paper with a brush and watching the color flow and mix together.”
• Marietta Tucker of Hot Springs has an entry titled Zesty Zinnia in the show.
“My inspiration for Zesty Zinnia came from the morning sun casting intriguing shadows on my beautiful late-summer zinnia garden,” Tucker said. “I enjoy painting flowers, particularly focusing on close-up detail of all of the beauty found in the flower’s center. This beauty is often missed in one’s casual observation of flowers. The color intensity in the painting of the zinnia’s petals was achieved with many glazes.”
• Donna Twyford of Arkadelphia has her painting Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime on display. Twyford is co-chair of this year’s juried exhibition.
“During a recent trip to the Czech Republic, we stumbled across this young beggar in an alleyway,” she said, describing her painting. “I have a son about his age, and the sadness and loneliness of this young man tugged at this mother’s heartstrings. I snapped a quick picture and dropped some coins in his jar, and his eyes never left the floor. I hope this painting conveys the despair felt in that moment.”
• Gary Weeter of Hot Springs Village has his entry First Month’s Rent — Free in the exhibit.
“As a retired architect, many of my paintings reflect the built environment,” said Weeter, who was unable to attend the opening reception.
“As I travel, I am always on the lookout for an interesting street scene of a dilapidated building as an inspiration for a future painting. Painting an old, run-down and neglected building adds a new dimension to the artistic effort,” he said. “It is more than just replicating the image. You can’t help but get somewhat emotionally involved. Who lived here? What was it used for? What joys and sorrows were experienced there? What caused its demise?
“As for me, I just don’t know. What’s your guess?”
For this year’s MSW show, juror Iain Stewart of Opelika, Alabama, selected 49 paintings from 124 entries submitted by 72 MSW members from 12 states. Stewart is a signature member of both the American and National Watercolor societies.
The public is invited to view the MSW exhibition free of charge. The exhibit will remain on display through June 30. Gallery hours are
9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with extended hours to 8 p.m. on the second Friday of each month, when the galleries participate in 2nd Friday Art Night in downtown Little Rock.
The Butler Center, which is part of the Central Arkansas Library System, is at 401 President Clinton Ave. in Little Rock. For more information, call (501) 320-5790 or visit www.butlercenter.org.
For more information on the Mid-Southern Watercolorists, visit www.midsouthernwatercolorists.com or Facebook: Mid-SouthernWatercolorists.