I am a long-time resident of the Shreveport-Bossier City area. After my husband inherited his aunt’s entire collection of artwork - she was Gwen Norsworthy, a former director of SPAR and the Barnwell Art Center - we decided to open the Norsworthy Fine Art Gallery in Downtown Shreveport. We have introduced an upscale venue for local, national, and international artists to the area.

This led to the desire to create my own art. I studied under Jerry Wray, a nationally known artist, for many years, and I have taken several classes at Bossier Parish Community College and workshops at the Barnwell Art Center and at the Norsworthy Gallery. I've also spent many hours learning by experience in my studio, both alone and with other artists, particularly as a member of the Hoover Water Color Society and Louisiana Artists, Inc. My artwork has shown at the Barnwell and is presently showing at the Norsworthy Gallery and at the downtown Shreveport branch of Chase Bank. In the short time that I have been an artist, wishing now that I had begun earlier, what I love the most is expressing my thoughts, my feelings, my self with color.

Her life was Art. She perfected the ability to produce light with color which is exhibited by her "Light Series". She transitioned into her later series of "Signs and Symbols" through the study of different religious and other identifying symbols. These were sometimes grouped as signs of what was and is worshipped by people today. She was very dedicated to her beliefs, as people who knew her would attest.

She received her B.A. degree from Northwestern State University of Louisiana, but continued her studies through workshops with Ida Kohlmeyer of New Orleans, Louisiana, and Alvin Stella from the University of Alabama. She also gained experience from her many artist friends such as Clyde Connell, Michi Susan, Lynn Gauthier, and Lucille Reed (all from the famed "At the Loft" group of downtown Shreveport back in the 1970s), to name just a few. While in Shreveport, she was the Art Supervisor for the Shreveport Recreation Department and the Director of the Art Department for the Barnwell Center. She left Shreveport in the mid 70s to open a Residence/Studio in Bedford, Texas, to continue her art work.

Clyde Connell (1901 – May 2, 1998) was an American self-taught abstract expressionist painter and sculptor. Raised in Shreveport, Louisiana, Connell lived and worked in a cabin at Lake Bistineau during her later years. Her works are held in many private and public collections, including: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the Meadows Museum of Art at Centenary College of Louisiana, the Masur Museum of Art, Tulane University's Law School, the Paul and Lulu Hilliard University Art Museum and University of Albany Art Museum.

Born Geraldine Smitherman, a native of Shreveport, Louisiana, and the mother of four children, Jerry Wray received her BFA from Newcomb College Art School, Tulane University in New Orleans.

Jerry began working in watercolor in 1943 as student at Newcomb College Art School. She graduated with honors for the best senior project. The drawing-painting portion was selected to represent Newcomb in a student exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art. It was later used as a teaching tool at Newcomb.

After graduating, she became a professional painter and worked in a wide variety of water media, including watercolors, inks, acrylics and collage, often combining them to produce exciting visual expressions with a special emphasis on color.

Jerry was one of the art pioneers of Shreveport and a leader in the local art groups. She participated in workshops and conducted weekly art classes in her studio.

Jerry won countless awards in juried exhibits, had dozens of one-person shows and numerous group exhibitions throughout the U.S. Her paintings have been purchased internationally for both private collections and several Fortune 500 companies. In 1996, she was elected to the National Association of Women Artists. In 1999 she won the Manhattan Arts Magazine Showcase Award. She is represented in galleries and museums world-wide.

More at https://www.jerrywray.com/

Mike Torma's drawings and paintings reflect his major artistic interests, which are people and pets. They also evoke his travels. He studied art briefly at the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. "Even while painting in plein air, I've usually thought that not to include a human figure would be a missed opportunity," Torma says. 

Growing up in upstate New York, Pati can’t remember a time when she didn’t make jewelry. Over the years, she has created 1000s of intricate, one of a kind, sophisticated beaded pieces. She mixes various beading stitches with bead sizes and colors to create unique jewelry with whimsical style. Most feature a hand-selected, beautiful focal piece that sparks a memory or inspires a creative design. When you wear her jewelry, she wants you to feel that with creativity, the world is full of endless possibilities.

Artist Statement Coming Soon

Penelope Przekop (Prez-cop) is a figurative expressionist American painter who spent the first half of her adult life writing fiction, and then began painting in 2008. She is the author of five books, including four novels. Her art often includes a strong sense of character and story. 

Galleries in New York City, Philadelphia, Cleveland, California, Italy, and Central America have represented and shown her work. It has been acquired by two Italian museums. 

Her work primarily involves a blend of acrylic, ink, and pastels. It's influenced by fashion photography and a childhood spent immersed in the high-end interior design industry. Her mother, Jane Haden, (now retired) was a successful Shreveport designer whose work was featured in publications such as Architectural Digest and Southern Living during the 1970s and 80s. 

The emotional content of Penelope’s work is influenced by growing up in Louisiana before moving to the Northeast in 1991, and all of the cultural differences between the two. To better understand some of the underlying themes that also emotionally influence her art, read her (almost) memoir, Please Love Me. (Her novels can be found on Amazon.)

Penelope graduated from Northwood High School and LSUS. She also has a Master’s Degree from Kennesaw State University. Her father, Bill Hall, (now retired) was a beloved teacher and guidance counselor at Huntington High School for many years. 

Penelope currently lives in the Greater Philadelphia Area. 

Penelope's website: www.penelopeprzekop.com

E.D. Stewart was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1981. Stewart works predominantly in the media of charcoal, however, she has expanded her skills to include acrylics, jewelry and other various multi-media, including altered bottles and boxes.

Stewart graduated from Caddo Magnet High School in 1999 and in the same year received a congressional award for her work, "Pure Cane". The piece was on display for a year in Congressman Jim McCrery's office in Washington D.C.

Stewart completed a B.S.E. in Secondary Education with a specialization in Studio Art at Ouachita Baptist University in 2004. Her last public exhibit was her final gallery showing at OBU with long-time friend and fellow artist, Hannah Smith Nowlin. She also participated in the Highland Open Studio Tour Sundays (HOSTS) in 2014, opening her home studio to the residents of Shreveport and Bossier. 

The famous artist Edgar Payne said in his writings “The most important ally in the study of painting is the art of thinking……..individuality in thought is, without a doubt, the greatest single factor in creative work.” I believe this is why you will never find any two artist’s work the same. It is creativity that keeps the artist motivated.

Born in Shreveport, I grew up near my grandparent’s farm near Blanchard. I was an adventurous boy that enjoyed the outdoors and loved the landscape of trees, ponds and cornfields. I sketched most anything in my surroundings including structures, cars and anything that was mechanical.

I am self-taught; along with art courses at the Colorado Art Institute in Denver and workshops. My professional background in industrial design goes hand in hand with creative detail paintings.

I moved to Colorado where my passion for the Colorado outdoors and historic mountain towns became the inspiration for many detailed realistic paintings. I also enjoy painting marine subjects such as shrimp and fishing boats along the Texas Gulf Coast.

My work has been shown and sold at the Rockport Center for the Arts in Texas, Arts at Sliver Plume and Georgetown Galleries in Colorado. I am a member of the AWS and have entered juried shows with the annual American Watercolor Society, National Art for the Park, Hoover Watercolor Society.

Jean Paxton Oliver Sartor (August 1, 1918 – July 29, 2007) was an artist in Shreveport, Louisiana, who was instrumental in the founding of the R.S. Barnwell Memorial Garden and Arts Center. A frequent exhibitor in the International Society of Experimental Artists, Sartor was also a member of the Shreveport Visual Arts Hall of Fame. Prior to her death, she was recognized as a founding member of the Hoover Water Color Society and had a solo retrospective exhibit displayed at the Meadows Museum of Art at the United Methodist-affiliated Centenary College in Shreveport.

Artist Statement Coming Soon

“The sculptor makes human form - cutting, pressing, molding, smoothing - ever changing the mass of lifeless clay, evolving until physical likeness is reached. Our Creator Sculptor then breathed life into His human likeness of dust and clay - breathed spirit and soul into the very heart of His creation.

As I consider a person’s face, their identity, I see their beauty - sometimes on the outside, sometime inside - always in their spirit that emanates through the light of their eyes. Like a sculptor, I marvel at the subtle (sometimes not so subtle) differences in form and shape of a nose or chin, the texture of hair. I study the shadows that magnify this facial terrain. But I most deeply connect to the life inside. Through my drawn and painted portraits, I strive to free the fullness of life our Creator has so masterfully and gracefully placed in each of us. The glimmer in the eyes or twist to a grin is the initial breaking of the spirit into the freedom that brings life to its fullest.”

After graduation from LSUS some thirty years ago, Janet Maines opened the doors of In House Graphics, using her graphic design skills to serve the advertising needs of the Shreveport/Bossier City area and beyond while satisfying her own needs for creative expression. But in November of 2014, she also ran across a Facebook post from one of her previous college instructors that put an insatiable hunger for fine art deep inside her. It was a portrait, a charcoal portrait that caught Janet’s eye and gave her a passion for human face and form.

Over these last seven years, Janet has shown her graphite, charcoal and pastel portraits at local galleries, Shreveport’s Downtown Artwalk and private receptions, and has led workshops on portraiture. She offers instruction in drawing in both a classroom and private setting. She has been featured in American Art Collector Magazine, the Journal of the Portrait Society of America, and is currently featured as a Master Artist in International Artist Magazine. She has been accepted into membership with the Portrait Society of America where she earned several wins for her work in both the 2019 and 2020 Member’s Only Competitions. Janet is both a Roster and a Collectible Artist with the Shreveport Regional Arts Council.