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Dixie Shelton

Dixie joined Mid-Southern Watercolorists in 1971, just a year after its founding. She has dedicated much of her time volunteering. She served as president from 1975 to 1977, devoting countless hours to the exhibition committee, and to the newsletter. It is important to note that Dixie was happy to, and often did, lend her resources to all aspects of the organization. She is deserving of this recognition due to her dedication to watercolor and the arts.

She has elevated the stature of watercolor via education and her many works. Dixie has traveled and painted with Milford Zornes in Mexico and across Europe, and in turn, taught workshops across many other watercolor societies, painted with fellow MSW members, and even filled in for Polly Laibner’s AETN show. She enjoys painting “anything that is fun” landscapes, cityscapes, and abstracts. Dixie has been accepted into the Mid-Southern Watercolorists Annual Juried Exhibition

eighteen times and won several awards, making her a Diamond Signature Member.

She is also a member of the Southern Watercolor Society. Dixie has mastered the art of polymer clay and enjoys making clay sculptures and characters, painting in acrylics, and making collages and cards.

Previous Featured Artists

Golden Anniversary

Selma F. Blackburn

We would like to celebrate Selma F. Blackburn as Mid-Southern Watercolorists 2nd Featured Artist. Selma joined MSW in 1977 and has been an active member ever since. Mid-Southern Watercolorists and Selma Blackburn are synonymous.

She has volunteered countless hours in many roles and has been the driving force for many members to join and to assume leadership positions. Selma has served on the board as Secretary, President-Elect, President, Annual Juried Exhibition Chair, and currently serves as a Member-At-Large providing a guiding hand with priceless insights. Selma and her husband Jerry have often volunteered on the Annual Exhibition Committee by receiving entry forms, keeping files, returning painting correspondence, and record-keeping! She has been involved in the enrichment of watercolor by attending numerous MSW Major Workshops throughout the years and leading multiple MSW Mini-Workshops. In fact, she will be leading a one day workshop on using FC Squares in March of 2020

Selma’s paintings have been selected for inclusion in 34 Annual Juried Exhibitions and nearly as many Member Open Exhibitions making her an esteemed “Diamond Signature Member” of MSW. She has garnered dozens of awards for said entries. Selma has earned the honor of being a Signature Member of both the National Watercolor Society and the American Watercolor Society.

Selma primarily uses watercolor and gouache in her paintings and collages, although she paints with acrylics on canvas occasionally. She is drawn to themes of people, landscapes, whimsy, and various forms of abstraction. She has been known to incorporate line drawings, rice paper, crayon, wax, acrylic resist, and marker into her works. Her style can be described as running the gamut from non-objective to abstract to interpretative representation.

With an emphasis on design, composition, and critique, Selma has taught watercolor for 28 years via classes at the Arkansas Arts Center, Hendrix College, private instruction, and as assistant to Doug Walton at Louisiana Tech. Whether assisting with trips abroad or serving on her Unitarian Universalist Church’s aesthetics team, Selma F. Blackburn has contributed a great deal of knowledge to Arkansas watercolor culture. Mid-Southern Watercolorists are honored that Selma has chosen to be a pillar of our community.

Golden Anniversary

Marlene Gremillion

Marlene joined Mid-Southern Watercolorists in 1991 and has been a valuable contributing artist and volunteer throughout her tenure. Marlene is this June's Featured Artist for her outstanding dedication to the watercraft community. She has elevated the stature of watercolor via education and her many works of art. She has held many workshops teaching abstraction, portraiture, and design. She has been integral in dispensing information. She designed and maintained the MSW website from its inception. She also implemented the google groups email chain. Marlene has been accepted into the Mid-Southern Watercolorists Annual Juried Exhibition eighteen times and won several awards. She is also a member of the Louisiana Watercolor Society.

As a Hot Springs Village Arkansas artist, Marlene enjoys creating and designing in many mediums and has done so for over 35 years. Texture, color and light play an important role in what she designs be it in Oil, pastel, watercolor, collage, glass, polymer clay or jewelry. She enjoys working, manipulating and creating with her hands and experiments to see if she can come out with a pleasing artistic piece. “It sort of reminds me of being a child at play. I just enjoy having fun along with it being therapeutic for me”.

Visit Marlene's Website

Marlene is active in the arts and enjoys teaching. “I enjoy watching others learn and get excited about creating their own works. As adults, we forget to have fun. I encourage students to do just that; you must enjoy what you are doing in order to be creative and then it shows in your works.” Marlene teaches at the National Park Community College in Continuing Education and at the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock. She also enjoys traveling and teaching workshops. She is a registered teacher through the Arts on Tour with the Arkansas Arts Council Little Rock, AR. Marlene is in the Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts'  2017-2018 Artists Registry.

She recently organized the Ouachita Mountain Polymer Clay Guild in Arkansas. Her works are in galleries throughout Arkansas. Marlene is a signature member of Mid-Southern Watercolorists, Louisiana Watercolor Society and Arkansas Pastel Society.