Gallery and Studio Exhibition
Opening Reception: October 2, 1:00 P.M.-4:00 P.M.
Bill and Gloria Garrison. Arkansas husband and wife artists will share both galleries during October.
Living amidst the beautiful landscapes of Arkansas, Bill Garrison finds inspiration for his paintings literally in his own back yard. He doesn't have to travel very far to search out a clear water creek, waterfall, pond or lake that will become the subject of his next painting. The majority of Bill's paintings include water even if it is only a puddle reflecting the awesome fall colors of the trees behind it.
His paintings hang in many prestigious corporate collections including the Fort Smith Convention Center in Fort Smith, Arkansas; Arkansas Tech University's Williamson Hall in Russellville, Arkansas; Tyson Food Headquarters in Fayetteville, Arkansas; the Patrick Henry Hays Senior Center in North Little Rock, Arkansas; Merrill Lynch Corporate offices, and the Arkansas Court of Appeals Justice Building, both in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Bill's work has received many awards in local as well as in international competitions. He has consistently placed in the top 100 category for landscapes in the Art Renewal Center's International Salon Competition. 
Awards include "Best of Show" in the 2003-2004 Fine Arts of Arkansas Competition and Exhibit at the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock, Arkansas. "Best in Oil" in Artists of Northwest Arkansas, 2006 Exhibit.
Artist organization memberships include:
Oil Painters of America
Outdoor Painters Society
Artists of Northwest Arkansas
Bill learned the basics of oil painting in his high school years from a professional artist in Texarkana. After a career in a non-art related field he furthered his studies in painting with workshops from artists whose work inspires him, most notably, with Richard Schmid. He says, "I consider Richard Schmid to be
the best living artist of our time".
Painting plein air (outdoors on location) is the best teacher of all and is the most enjoyable form of painting. I lose all sense of time and become oblivious to hardships such as weather and insects when standing in front of a beautiful scene in nature with a paintbrush in my hand.
Gloria Garrison has the gift of capturing those wonderful warm moments and perfect glimpses, that one would like to remember forever, with a style imbued with nostalgia. Her love of the technique of water color is evident in the exciting flow of color and form over the paper, achieving effects that range from realism into the abstract.
Gloria attended Arkansas Tech University and has studied with such
contemporary artists as Milford Zornes, Irving Shapiro, Frank Web, Don Andrews, Bill Herring, Jeanie Dobie, Gerald Brommer, and Cheng-Khee Chee.
Her style continues to evolve as she reaches greater heights with each new painting. Her works have been exhibited at the Arkansas Art Center, Fort Smith Art Center, Arkansas River Valley Art Center and in various traveling shows throughout the state. She is a signature member of Mid-Southern Watercolor Society. Her paintings have been selected in the prestigious Watercolor USA Annual Exhibit in 2001 and 2009. She is a member of the Watercolor USA Honor Society.
Bill and Gloria were selected as the first Artists-in-Residence for the Buffalo National River by the National Park Service in the Fall of 1996 and Glacier National Park Artists-in-Residence in July 1998. This program provides artist accommodations within a national park with the freedom to paint from the inspiration that abounds within the park. In return the artist donates a piece of the artwork created from the experience to the National Park Service that will be on display to the public.
