Theresa Cates was featured Sunday in the Dem-Gaz.  Approximately 18 months ago, Cates was in  the center of controversy when she volunteered and painted two traffic boxes in the North Little Rock, Argenta Historic District.  The controversy was mainly about how the project was handled and then escalated to the subject matter.... 'religious' paintings on city property.

But thanks in part to the controversy, the spotlight has shown Cates' work to a wider audience, she has since sold approximately 59 paintings, and has been added to some well known private collections.  Recently she was chosen to adorn bus shelters in College Station with her brightly painted church ladies.    Check out Sunday's Dem-Gaz or to view her art visit Red Door Gallery web site.

Written by Scott Miller

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A new community theater will soon be running in downtown North Little Rock.  The theater will be located in Argenta at 405 Main Street between the THEA Foundation and HDMS Architects.  The backers of the theater include Vincent Insalaco, a political consultant and film producer and local philanthropist Judy  Tenenbaum.

Los Angeles, CA – While the Obama transition team works on headline issues such as the economy and the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, a small but cautiously hopeful cadre of arts groups, arts educators, and artists from Los Angeles to Philadelphia and beyond is nursing the quiet hope that creativity will find its place beside the sterner faces of war and recession on the Jan. 20 White House to-do list.

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Today when I checked my e-mail I found a note from Michael Bradford introducing me to a wonderful Arkansas artist,  his mother the late Marion Sue Thompson.

Marion Sue Thompson, born in Paragould in 1926, was an internationally known steamboat artist.  As a young child she showed her talent and interest for art by drawing on her Grandmothers dining room walls, much to her Grandmother's distress.  During her childhood her father would take her fishing on the Black and Little Rivers, it was during those outings that she apparently fell in love with the rivers and the boats as they made there way past the young girl.

Marion married William Bradford in 1950 and moved to Harrisburg, Michael was born in 1958.  In 1965, Marion took a art class in Harrisburg, and her pursuit to perfect her painting continued as she studied under several accomplished artists.

In 1969, one of her pen and ink drawings displayed in Little Rock brought the invitation to show her work in Paris, France.  International recognition and her interest in steamboats followed.  

Marion painted for many steamboat enthusiasts, including W.H.Tippitt, a retired steamboat captain.

For the rest of the story and to view the art of Marion visit http://www.marionsue.com

Paris City Hall wants to strip art school models of the tips they receive from painters and sculptors – and the nude models decided they weren’t going to take that with their clothes on.

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