Two of Arkansas’s most accomplished artists, Gary Simmons and Richard Stephens, both residents of Hot Springs, have been featured in a joint exhibit at the Hot Springs Convention Center which opened in October and will end January 4. One of the last opportunities to see the exhibit will be during Gallery Walk, Friday, January 3.
The exhibit is PEN AND PAINT: The Art of Gary Simmons and Richard Stephens. The art in this show represents who Simmons and Stephens have become as individual artists outside of their commercial and academic pasts.
Each artist brings a dimension to his art that, on the surface, wouldn’t suggest compatibility for these two artists. Stephens’ watercolors are noted for their loose and passionate brushwork. Simmons’ pen work is noted for something close to the opposite with its delicate and deliberate line work. Stephens’ work suggests spontaneous observation and dramatic response from the audience. Simmons’ approach is inevitably narrative, suggesting some story line or personal statement, relying on the audience’s curiosity and interest in the mystery.
For the past 20 years Stephens has shared his passion for watercolor by conducting painting workshops around the country. The son of schoolteachers, Stephens’ comfortable personality and easy style are well adapted to the classroom.
Simmons is a nationally recognized pen-and-ink artist. In 1992, he wrote The Technical Pen: Techniques for Artists, published by New York’s Watson-Guptill Publishers. Recently the book was reissued by Echo Point Books. It has been critically acclaimed as the bible of pen and ink.
Simmons and Stephens works are available through their websites – www.simmonsart.com and www.raswatercolors.com respectively, and on Facebook. For more information call Mary Zunick at 501-321-2027.
