River Market ArtSpace

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Selma F. Blackburn	"The laws of design govern my artistic efforts. Subject matter is a starting point as I begin using the tools at my disposal. But subject matter is not the sole reason a work is painted. My urge to know more and to enlighten the inner self keep my spiritual search alive, and keep my painting and teaching activities energetic.
Both real and imaginary subjects suggest compositions, ideas, and experiments that eventually become visual images. A sense of humor about life, nature, words and people often takes precedence over classical statements and images in my paintings. It seems to me that creative endeavor is a poetic way to pursue adventure! Full engagement in the process of meaningful living, as well as in the process of painting itself, is the compelling force that characterizes my work. Making art is an emotional, spiritual, physical and intellectual act that provides a means for exploring and expressing my understandings about the human condition and the natural world. Interpreting life and communicating a personal vision are the results." Blackburn is a past president and signature member of Mid-Southern Watercolorists. In addition, her paintings have been included in juried exhibitions of the American Watercolor Society, where she was awarded the Barse Miller Memorial Award in 1999 for her painting, "Beauties At The Beach." In 1995 she was admitted as a signature member of the National Watercolor Society, where her "Big Beauty At The Beach" earned a major award and was selected for the society’s year-long national travel exhibition. Her painting, "Peppers/Pears" was chosen to receive MSW’s Founders Purchase Award in 2001 and was placed in the permanent collection of the Arkansas Arts Center Foundation. "New Family Series" currently hangs in the Washington, D.C. office of U.S. Senator Blanche Lambert Lincoln. The Historic Arkansas Museum’s permanent collection purchased a painting in 2003. Many other works have won honors and awards, and many are in private and public collections nationwide. She has taught every level from preschool through college, and currently teaches design and watercolor at the Arkansas Arts Center and around the state and country. Juried Exhibitions American Watercolor Society, New York Arkansas Artists Registry Small Works on Paper Bluegrass Exhibition, Kentucky Georgia Watercolor Society, Georgia Mid-Southern Watercolorists, Arkansas National Watercolor Society, California Rocky Mountain International Watermedia Society, Colorado San Diego Watercolor Society, California Southern Watercolor Society, Florida Southwestern Watercolor Society, Texas

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