What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/1358251
BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette C arol Hart took the road less traveled — and loved every minute of the journey. But now, she's in a hurry to make up for lost time. After completing a degree in fine arts at Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas, Hart was ready, she says, to begin her journey as an artist. "However," she says in an introduction to her latest exhibit, "Painting In and Painting Out," "life sometimes presents unimagined changes." Instead, Hart found herself in Northwest Arkansas, where she got a job at the first version of the Elizabeth Richardson Center. It was called the "Washington County School for Trainable Children," which says everything about where those with disabilities stood in the world at the time. But Hart immediately knew there was so much more they could do — and she wanted to help them do it. In 1976, she started Life Styles based on the belief that "all people belong in communities," and gave her time and her heart to that effort for 36 years, until her retirement in 2012. "Even though I didn't paint during my [career] at Life Styles, I always knew that I was drawing on my creativity in program design and innovation, and daily problem solving," she says. "Developing the Blair Art Center was an opportunity to expand our services to supporting the people we served in expressing their own creativity and watching them grow as confident, productive artists. So from them I learned to approach my own art with joy, not take myself too seriously or to become stressed in producing my art. "And while I didn't create paintings during those years, I painted every day with my eyes, savoring the colors and compositions in nature, the movement of the clouds across the sky and the negative shapes created by the tree branches in the winter, and the ongoing inspiration of sharing the making of art with those we served," she says. When she retired, Hart says, "I knew I wanted to start painting again, but was at a loss about what to paint and wondered if I would remember how. Several artist friends advised me to just paint, do the work. "I began painting with a sense of urgency, striving to capture and share through painting those images I collected over the years. Whether I am painting figures, landscapes or abstracts, I realize how much I love the painting process. I use bright colors, bold brush strokes, and create texture by drawing and collaging onto my paintings. I enjoy exploring the push and pull of paint and collage work, painting in and painting out, adding paper, sanding it out, working back and forth until the APRIL 4-10, 2021 WHAT'S UP! 5 FAQ Carol Hart: 'Painting In and Painting Out' WHEN — Through April 30 WHERE — Art Ventures at the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, 21 W. Mountain St. in Fayetteville COST — Free INFO — artventures-nwa.org, carolchartcontemporaryart. com See Hart Page 6 Seasoned By The Journey Artist brings all her experiences to her brush Artist Carol Hart says she paints five days a week, some very long days, others just a couple of hours. "I usually have a painting on my easel that I am currently working on and a few propped against the wall waiting to see if they are finished." (Courtesy Photos) "I want my paintings to catch the viewers' attention so that they pause, wanting to spend a bit more time with it," Hart says. "I hope that my paintings connect with each viewer, triggering a memory, or recalling a place they visited, or a feeling." (Courtesy Image) FAYETTEVILLE