Arlington Museum of Art
Main Gallery & Denker Gallery
Exhibit curated by Lee Bowman
Reception August 17, 6:00 – 9:00 pm
Twelve prize-winning artists who are veteran members of regional art organizations are featured in this eclectic exhibition of creative work. The HeARTbeat Exhibition is a testimony to the artistic passion, talent, and long-time dedication that runs deep among those who are active in the art community of North Texas. The Arlington Museum of Art is committed to encourage and recognize those whose hearts beat with a passion for the visual arts.
HeARTbeat Participating Artist
Lee Bowman
Lee Bowman holds a masters degree in art from Vanderbilt University and has served on the art faculty at Dallas Baptist University for seventeen years where he teaches art design, painting and mixed media. He is an eclectic artist who works in many media to produce abstract experimental works with strong color, texture and design. 
Lee is active in the Arlington Visual Arts Association and is a Signature Member of the Fort Worth Society of Watercolor Artists. A frequent award-winner in juried exhibitions, Lee has art work in the permanent collection of the Dallas Museum of Biblical Art and Dallas Baptist University. He also serves on the Board of the Arlington Museum of Art. See his website at: www.clearstreamstudio.com
Ruben Contreras
Reuben Contreras was born in Guatemala, the oldest of fourteen brothers and sisters. He now lives in Grand Prairie, Texas, with his wife and children. At an early age he began to develop his artistic talent and the subject of much of his art work reveals his passion for nature. His paintings are done primarily in acrylic and he exhibits great skill in 
capturing realistic images and emotional content. Reuben is a member of the Arlington Visual Arts Association and regularly teaches painting to private students. He actively exhibits his work and has won awards in juried art competitions in Arlington, DeSoto, Midlothian and Granbury.
Jo Ann Durham
Jo Ann Durham is a Fort Worth artist who works in mixed media and experimental techniques. A Signature Member of the Fort Worth Society of Watercolor Artists, she is also past president of the International Society of Experimental Artists and has achieved the Nautilus Fellowship. She has exhibited across the U.S. in Chicago,
New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C. and other 
cities. Her exhibition portfolio also includes showings in Belgium, Wales and France. French shows include Salon D’Automme, Society International Beaux Arts, and the Society of Layerists, meeting in France. Her works have been published in American Artist, International Artist, Manhatton Arts, Women Artist International, and The Pen Woman. Jo Ann’s art is in the permanent collections of the Downtown Fort Worth Library, the Woman’s Club of Fort Worth and a traveling exhibit sponsored by Texas A&M-Tarleton. She has received awards for her art from the Salmagundi Club in New York, The International Academy for Contemporary Arts in Belgium, and the DAR “Women in the Arts Achievement Award” for lifetime achievement.
Ann Hardy
Ann Hardy paints in an Impressionistic manner with subject matter that is all inclusive. About her art, she says, “art is a part of the good disciplines of taking responsibility for self, basing life on honesty and maintaining a balance in life. It is a grand and joyful process that keeps me growing in skill, excited about living, and having the opportunity to 
compete in a healthy manner.” Ann’s art education has been through workshops over the US and other countries, DVD’s, books, galleries, museums, and exhibiting extensively at art fairs. Ann says, “I’m very proud now to be earning my livelihood from my art. Ann lives in Colleyville, Texas. She is a member of the Trinity Arts League and has achieved Signature Membership in Oil Painters of America, National Oil and Acrylic Painters, and Outdoor Painters Society (She is the only Texas artist with all three of these signature memberships). Her awards include winning 2nd and 3rd place in Oil Painter of America and Best Still Life in National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society. She is a member of the Trinity Art Guild.
See her website at: www.annhardy.com
Darlia Hobbs
Darlia Hobbs lives in the Eagle Mountain Lake area of Tarrant County. A mixed media artist, Darlia began her venture into painting at the Fort Worth Women’s Center where she studied with instructor Judy Sager. She soon branched out into mixed and experimental media with workshops taught by Martha Howell in Arlington.
She also has had broad exposure under several nationally 
known instructors such as Robert Burrage and Mary Ann Beckwith. Her freedom to creatively experiment and her strong sense of color and design has earned her over 30 awards in regional juried exhibitions. Darlia is active in the Fort Worth Society of Watercolor Artists, Trinity Arts Guild, Mid Cities Fine Artists and the Arlington Visual Arts Association. She is called on regularly to do demonstrations and to lead in art workshops.
Martha Howell
Martha Howell is a free spirited, experimental, mixed media artist who has had a major impact on the art scene through the multitude of students who have studied in her art workshops over the past thirty-five years. Working and teaching from her Arlington home studio, she has imbued students across the DFW metroplex with a sense of discovery and excitement, and the 
courage to always push out into new territory to achieve creative expression through visual art. As a practicing artist, she has had numerous one woman exhibits and her cutting edge experimental work has received more than 150 awards in regional, national and international juried exhibitions. She has achieved signature status in the International Society of Experimental Artists—Nautilus Fellowship and the Fort Worth Society of Watercolor Artists. Martha is the key leader in the ongoing activities of the Arlington Visual Arts Association which recently held its 36th annual regional juried exhibition. She also serves on the Board of the Arlington Museum of Art.
Rod Lawyer
Rod Lawyer is a watercolor artist from Arlington who is active in the Arlington Visual Arts Association and is a Signature member of the Fort Worth Society of Watercolor Artists. A former public elementary school art teacher, he now focuses on his own creative work and primarily produces subjects from nature, rich in color and texture. He 
exhibits regularly and is a frequent award-winner in juried competitions.
Suzanne McNeill-Sparks
Suzanne McNeill-Sparks’ award-winning art and paintings are known for happy colors, imaginative details, and creative inspiration. She enjoys sharing with students, friends and artists to introduce new media and often moves from one to another to keep her art creative, fresh and alive. New products, styles, colors and methods have 
always been inspiring fodder her as an artist, writer and publisher of art books. Her expressive paintings have been referred to as ‘happy art’ and her Zentangle® paintings have been called “mesmerizing art.” Suzanne has a degree in Art and Biology from SMU. She has authored over 30 books and published over 300 books under the imprint Design Originals (now an imprint of Fox Chapel Publishing). She was voted “Designer of the Year” and received the “Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Craft & Hobby Association. Now that Suzanne has retired from the publishing business, she is taking time to follow her heart and express her creative spirit. She has been a frequent exhibitor with the Fort Worth Society of Watercolor Artists and the Arlington Visual Arts Association. See her Blog at:
blog.suzannemcneill.com
Kenji Nishikawa
The most peaceful times of Kenji’s childhood in Japan were spent sketching with watercolors. From his brush came scenes of the busy cargo harbor of Tokyo, the ancient city in Kyoto, and the quiet fishing villages of Japan. He worked in electronics engineering and corporate management throughout his career and has traveled 
extensively in Europe, Asia and USA on business. During these trips he was drawn to the beautiful landscapes, powerful cityscapes, and the ordinary people living in those cities and villages. He is a self taught watercolorists and paints intuitively and with much emotion. He is particularly fascinated with the interplay of light and shadow and how it animates the daily activities of ordinary people. A frequent award-winner in juried exhibitions, Kenji is a Signature Member of the Fort Worth Society of Watercolor Artists, the Watercolor USA Honor Society, Texas Watercolor Society, and the Southwestern Watercolor Society in Dallas.
Nancy Standlee
Nancy Johnson Standlee is a native Texan from Arlington who loves working in a variety of mediums. She has lived in California and Virginia and retired in 2000 from the Keller ISD. Since retirement she has studied art through workshops in Europe, Mexico and the United States in watercolor, acrylic, oil, plein air and collage. Her personal work has 
evolved to acrylic semi-abstract figurative painting and mixed media paintings with torn paper collage. With a growing reputation, her work is becoming widely collected and she recently had three of her works published in Painting with Mixed Media, by Guhin and Greenman, 2012. Nancy’s paintings can be viewed on her website at http://www.NancyStandlee.com. She also maintains a blogspot http://www.NancyStandlee.blogspot.com. Nancy also paints with a group of eight artists who create paintings collaboratively under the name of “Canvas by Canvas.” She is a Signature Member of the Fort Worth Society of Watercolor Artists and holds memberships in the Southwestern Watercolor Society and the International Society of Watercolor Painters. Gallery: http://www.dailypaintworks.com/Artists/nstandlee-1131
Margie Whittington
Margie is a Fort Worth artist who paints primarily in watercolor and acrylics. She studied commercial art at the University of Texas at Arlington, and teaches watercolor and acrylic painting classes at Arlington’s Upstairs Gallery and the Fort Worth Women’s Club. A frequent exhibitor and award winner in juried competitions, her work has 
been reproduced in several lines of prints and gift cards. She is a Signature Member of the Fort Worth Society of Watercolor Artists and the Southwestern Watercolor Society in Dallas. About her work, Margie says, “My goal as an artist is to interpret the world around me and reflect God’s creation through my work. I enjoy teaching art classes and seeing the enthusiasm of students as they learn and produce their own paintings.” See her website at: www.MargieWhittington.com
Ann Winchester
Fort Worth artist, Ann Winchester, specializes in commissioned portraits in watercolor and oil. Her paintings are especially noted for capturing the beautiful atmospheric quality of the environment and the unique personality of each person she paints.
Ann says, “I enjoy working with people and I am especially pleased when I can capture the special quality in a subject’s face that the viewer sees as making that person very special. “ A frequent award winner in juried art exhibitions, she is a Signature Member of the Fort Worth Society of Watercolor Artists and teaches painting classes at the Hobby Lobby store in south Arlington. See her website at: www.winchesterstudio.com.
