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After a winter weather delay, the Chisholm Trail Arts Council kicked off its watercolor artists night Thursday with an opening reception featuring artists like Robin Bannister, LaRetha “Spanky” Davis, Jana Oakman, Debbie Sullivan and Sue Wheeler.

CTAC Executive Director Darcy Reeves said there was a great crowd for the watercolor artist reception. She said they are grateful the weather cooperated and they had a beautiful and engaging evening to celebrate the artists.

“The turnout was amazing, given we had to postpone the opening,” she said. “The attendance at the gallery blew me away, and I was really proud of the ladies. They worked hard to get this show together.”

Reeves said the CTAC art gallery committee chose the artists last year as part this upcoming season’s lineup.

“We thought their story of coming together each week, on Wednesdays, was great,” she said. “Just getting together, learning from each other and enjoying their fellowship while they painted.”

LaRetha “Spanky” Davis, of Duncan, said she loves to create watercolor portraits. She said she begins with a theme, such as happy people, and she makes sure to include her grandchildren.

Davis said she’s painted bison, a tree and snowmen. She submitted 24 pieces for the reception. She said it’s fun to work with the other ladies in the group.

“Getting everything together for the show is a lot of fun,” she said. “We paint together on Wednesdays.”

Debbie Sullivan, of Duncan, said she’s utilized watercolor for about five years. She said she would paint and put her canvases in a box in the closet.

One day, Sullivan decided to she was going to get them all out and begin showing them. She now has around 40 pieces in the show.

After deciding to paint, Sullivan said she was introduced to watercolor painting through a friend.

“I just fell in love with it,” she said. “I just love the flow of the of the pigment in the water.”

She said if she paints, but doesn’t finish it, she’ll go to bed and get up in the morning and go look at it.

“The pigment continues to move in the paper,” Sullivan said. “I go get up in the morning and go, ‘wow!’ It’s just fascinating to me.”

Robin Bannister, of Marlow, had 16 pieces in the show, all with an Oklahoma theme. She said she tried to keep with the theme by painting Oklahoma wildlife, buildings and anything reminding her of home.

Bannister said she’s utilized watercolor in her art for about three years. She said it’s a challenging medium.

“It surprises me all the time,” she said.

For other artists, she said to just paint what you love and it will resonate with the people.

“Hopefully, they like what you’ve done and kind of feel a connection to it too,” she said.

Sue Wheeler, of Duncan, said most of her pieces she submitted were from vacation trips. She said she enjoys traveling to foreign countries and painting what she sees there.

She brought in over 20 pieces and several of her creations were from her vacation trips.

Wheeler said her work includes a lot of self portraits, Venetian pieces and a bicycle from a coffee shop in Italy.

“Most of mine are just things that I enjoy,” she said.

Wheeler said she had two of her daughters travel with her to Greece this past August.

“I’ve got two pictures of them in there too,” she said.

Wheeler said her niece, Jana, has a studio and she submitted her work as well. She said she helped develop her interest for the arts.

“I’ve always done a little bit, but the watercolor, I had never touched before,” Wheeler said.

Jana Oakman, of Duncan, owns Jana’s Studio where she works on her art, teaches lessons and hosts paint parties.

As a previous art instructor at Comanche High School and teaching at Duncan Public Schools, Oakman has multiple degrees, such as a bachelor’s degree in elementary education, a master’s degree in counseling, a master’s degree in educational leadership and a certification in art education. She’s also attended various Oklahoma Fall Arts Institute workshops in all mediums for 18 years.

The watercolor exhibit will run through Feb. 27 and is free and open to the public.

For more information about CTAC, visit https://chisholmtrailarts.com/ or contact Reeves at 580-252-4160 or [email protected].

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