NEWPORT — Artists from the Tri-Lakes Edition coverage area are getting ready for the 10th annual Delta Visual Arts Show, set for Saturday in downtown Newport. Visual, musical and literary artists alike will be on hand to show their latest creations.
The show, presented by the Blue Ridge Center for the Delta Arts in Newport, will open to the public at 10 a.m. and remain open until 6 p.m. There is no admission charge.
Jon Chadwell, director, said the show is “at capacity,” with 210 visual artists, 10 musicians and 25 authors. The show features artists from four states and 65 communities, highlighting primarily artists who grew up in the Delta, live or have lived in the Delta or produce Delta-themed work.
Shirley Anderson of Hot Springs Village is among the first-time artists in the show.
“Other artists in the gallery that I joined in 2016 in Little Rock encouraged me to enter this show. I had heard of it, so I went last year just to see what it was,” Anderson said.
“I was really impressed with the number of artists in the show, so I asked about getting information on entering. They gave me the entry forms, and I filled them out that day, but they told me I might be put on a waiting list,” she said. “
“I said, ‘OK,’” she said, laughing, “but it wasn’t too long afterward that I received an acceptance letter.”
Anderson, who is primarily a pastelist, said she will take 10 to 12 pieces of her work to the show.
Anderson is a charter member of the Arkansas Pastel Society, as well as a Signature Member of that organization. She currently serves as treasurer and served as president from 2006 to 2007. She is also a member of the Lone Star Pastel Society, the Pastel Society of the Southwest, the Pastel Society of the West Coast and Brush Strokes of Hot Springs Village. She is an associate member of the Pastel Society of America.
Anderson and her husband, Ray, retired to Hot Springs Village in 2002.
Lois Davis of Alexander has participated in the Delta Visual Arts Show for nine years.
“It is a wonderful art show and gets better every year,” Davis said. “Jon Chadwell is wonderful to work with, and we love supporting the arts in northeast Arkansas.”
Davis is a charter member of the Arkansas Pastel Society. She has continuously served on its board in various positions; she is currently chairman of the social media committee. She has studied at the Arkansas Art Center since 2003 and has taken workshops from many nationally known pastel artists.
In 2012, she began to transfer many of her drawing skills to making and designing one-of-a-kind jewelry.
In 2015, Davis joined a group of artists (Artists and Biologists Unite for Nature) who donate their work to
further the study and protection of animals who are on the endangered list.
“This has been a high point in my career,” she said. “Several of these paintings have been chosen for special recognition.”
Bud Finley of Alexander will participate in the show for a second year.
“Like most artists, I’m always looking for an outlet to market my work,” he said. “If you paint, you create paintings, and they stack up over the years. Friends and family are sick of them, so any way to move my art is welcome.
“My work is mainly representational landscape oils,” Finley said. “I don’t think the majority of attendees at this show are serious fine-art buyers, as most of what seems to sell is the fun and whimsical, but I did move three paintings last year and, hopefully, will sell more this year. It’s a great show and very well organized. I enjoy seeing the work of other artists.”
Other visual artists from the area scheduled to participate in this year’s Delta Visual Arts Show include Matt Coburn of Benton and Kelley L. Naylor Wise of Hot Springs. Angie Macri of Hot Springs and Annie England Noblin of Bauxite are among authors scheduled to participate in the show.
For more information, call (870) 523-1009 or visit the Facebook page for the Blue Bridge Center for the Delta Arts.