Although Gloria is a signature member of the Mid-Southern Watercolor Society, she never felt as if she would be a good teacher. “I had a friend from Fairfield Bay who just wouldn’t take no for an answer,” she said. That’s a lucky turn of fate for many in the River Valley who have studied under her. School, marriage, a career and children created quite a successful diversion for Bill, and it wasn’t until 1990 that he seriously thought about painting as a career. “I could see early retirement down the road,” he said, “plus, I saw how much fun Gloria was having.” Bill who is a self-proclaimed “trees, rocks and water” artist, was encouraged by his mother to try art as a child. “She drew a little bit, and I had an uncle who painted, and he didn’t do too bad, so I took night classes from a professional during high school,” he said. His distinct style has earned him attention. Former Governor Mike Huckabee carried his paintings to Japan as a gift and presented one to the president of the Toyota Corporation. “His aid told me that the president held onto the painting and didn’t pass it on to his personal assistant as is customary,” Bill said. The president of Toyota obviously has taste. “Clear water creeks, reflections, shadows underneath the surface of the water, the movement of the water, the colors of the rocks - there’s so many things going on in my paintings,” Bill said. “You get up close and there’s nothing but brush strokes.” To make it look three dimensional, Bill paints blues in the background for depth, and “exaggerates with an aerial perspective,” he said. His landscapes have gathered an international following. Bill has consistently ranked in the top 100 artists for both the Arts for the National Parks competition and the Art Renewal Center’s International Salon competition. Normally, Bill can complete a small painting in a three hour time frame. The larger ones take up to three days. “But it takes all those years of knowledge, training,
painting to be able to accomplish that feat,” Gloria said. Both the Garrisons were late in devoting their full attention to their art endeavors, which makes their accomplishments that much more impressive. In 1996, Bill and Gloria were chosen as the first artists-in-residence at the Buffalo National River, and in 1998, they were chosen as artists-in-residence at Glacier National Park. Both of the artists were featured in the 2008 Arkansas Artists Calendar which is a fundraising project to benefit the renovation of the Governor’s Mansion. Lt. Governor Bill Halter has chosen artwork from both artists to feature in his
Celebrating
Little Rock office, and both are scheduled to teach weekend workshops as part of the 2008 Art Escape at the Rockefeller Institute on Petit Jean Mountain October 30th. Bill and Gloria are also signature members of the Artists of Northwest Arkansas. The Garrisons regularly attend Art Walks in Hot Springs, Russellville and Little Rock. “There seems to be quite a few good artists in the area,” Bill said. Bill and Gloria are some of our finest. n Note: The Garrison’s artwork may be seen in a number of galleries across the state. For more information visit the web at: http:// pages.suddenlink.net/billandgloria.
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