My husband, Joe [pictured on the left], and I [Ted] have been together 29 years and have amassed a large art collection, several hundred pieces. Mostly framed pieces hanging up to three deep, the collection includes oil paintings, drawing, prints, mixed media pieces and some sculpture. Neither of us has a degree in art, and neither of us is an artist. So how did this collection come about, you might wonder.

We wonder, that too. It just happened is one way to put it, but that is too simple. We have to look back to before we met. After I graduated from college and went to law school, I happened to see posters from art museums in shops at malls that sold cheap stuff to decorate one’s apartment. I remember several from the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. One of them had John Singer Sargent’s Madam X, one of his many portraits of rich women at the turn of the 20th century. I looked at it and kept looking at it. There was just something there that I thought was magical. I could not have verbalized it then, but I realize now what I experienced was a recognition of this painting as art.

Really, you say. What hubris, you might say. I submit that anyone can and does experience the same thing in the presence of true art. It is the same as one Supreme Court justice said of pornography: he could not come up with a definition of it, but he knew it when he saw it! Art is the same way. Probably the best way I have heard this put is by the owner of a gallery in Little Rock: it speaks to you. Yes, it speaks to you and you have a deeply felt, compelling reaction to it. It draws you to it.

I continued with the posters but later graduated to art auctions to benefit non-profits and charities. When I realized that artists were not donating their best work because they got virtually nothing for it, I began actually buying art from artists and galleries. This happened as my income rose with time. By the time Joe and I got together, I had a collection going, but together we probably doubled the number of pieces.

We both understand what we are doing. Each has a veto if we don’t both feel it. And there you have another truth about collecting art: the same piece of art does not speak to everyone the same way. Some of us are drawn to abstract art, others not. Some like portraits, some like landscapes, street scenes or seascapes. Thus, we have different tastes, which leads to different types of collections. Over time, we gain an appreciation for certain workmanship and artistic abilities.

What we have amassed is a collection of probably 2/3 Arkansas artists. What out-of-state artists we have collected we saw at a few juried art festivals, which can be quite good and feature artists from everywhere. (These are not arts and crafts festivals featuring stuff made from glued together popsicle sticks.) We have gone many times to the Fort Worth Main Street Art Festival, which is—lo, and behold—the No. 2 rated one in the country. (Where we had planned on being today, before this pandemic broke out and it was postponed.) We went to the No. 1 rated festival, the Cherry Creek Art Festival in Denver, once.

It’s fun to go to art festivals but we have to say that we need not do that often because of the abundance of good art and remarkable artists right here in this state. With all this good art right here at hand, why go out of town to find art? You don’t have to go.  We have attached three of our favorite pieces, all by Arkansas artists.

One of Ted’s favorites, which we have owned for a long, long time, is Carlos 2 by John Kushmaul. This piece is an oil painting of a friend of his taking a bow toward you, and it looks almost as if he is bowing out of the painting, itself. He likes to work from photographs he has taken, and this one is from a photo that is blown out, meaning the flash provided too much light. One of his strengths is his depiction of light, and this is a prime example. We like him a lot and have about seven of his paintings. Known for his paintings of buildings and cityscapes, this painting of a person is somewhat unusual for him, and some of his best work.[John Kushmaul is represented by Gallery 26.]

One of Joe’s favorite artists is DebiLynn Fendley, who is from Arkadelphia. Working from photographs she shoots, DebiLynn does amazing drawings and prints. She also does watercolors that look like hand colored prints. One of our favorite pieces is called Shiva’s Dance. It is a drawing that she has colored. We love DebiLynn and have eight of her pieces.[DebiLynn Fendley is represented by Gallery 26.]

Dennis and Connie McCann, both artists, raised Jason, also an artist, and they all live in the greater Little Rock area. They each have their own styles. Dennis, the father, is known for his pastels and paintings of buildings and streetscapes and landscapes. He does not like to depict people. His son, Jason, depicts people but uses a looser style with oil and mixed media (we’re not sure what the other stuff is). Connie, working in oil, is the most realistic of the three. Although she paints objects and intimate scenes which could be call still lifes, she seems to depict people most, capturing not only their countenance but also some emotional element. Jason, her son, captures that element, also. Attached is Ginger and Spice, an oil painting of her granddaughter. It’s a rather large portrait just of the face which shows a bit of attitude. We love it. We have one piece of each member of the family, and we will likely get more. [The McCanns are represented by Boswell Mourot Fine Art.]

We are continuing on with this journey. Hopefully, we can contribute more to this blog over time because there is so much more to say. What do you do with what you have over time? Who to leave it to? How to value it? What happens when pieces no longer speak to you? (That happens, too.) Talk to you again later!