Published: November 05, 2009 08:31 pm         

River City artists display works at library

TERRE HAUTE — Three award-winning artists from the River City Art Association will be displaying art once again in the Wabash Valley Public Library at Seventh and Poplar streets during November. They are certainly not strangers in the art community; each has won numerous awards.

Debbie Anderson teaches physical education at Lost Creek Elementary School and resides with her husband Joe in Parke County. After seeing the art of intarsia, a mosaic of wood fitted and glued into a wooden support popular in 15th-century Italy for decoration, Anderson began taking lessons from Charlie Girton.

She has won many awards for this unique art form. Most of her wooden art is custom-designed for friends and family, but two of her favorite types of designs are inspired by nature (especially trees) and heroism.

A humble artist, Marty Martinez has been painting successfully since he was 12, when he began “doodling” on his schoolwork, to the dismay of the nuns. The nuns’ annoyance at Martinez’s endeavor at “extra credit” never unraveled his determination to “fine tune” his artistic abilities, and develop his own style of dry brush watercolor.

He continued developing his skills beyond high school in Cheyenne, Wyo., without art classes. After returning from his first enlistment in the service, he worked, painted and sold his paintings on weekends at art shows, while attending Physicians Assistant School in Dallas.

His art has been publicized in Texas, Wyoming, Indiana, Illinois and New Mexico off and on for the past 60 years and has had exhibit shows in Indianapolis and Paris, Ill.

Jim Tabor and wife Suzanne live on a lake south of Centerpoint. They are retired managers of a local Sherwin-Williams store.

Tabor studied art at Indiana State under professors Porter, Foster and Swander. He also was tutored by good friend and landscape artist Roy Muncie.

Favorite subjects are barns, birds and animals. He has a great love of nature and has traveled and hunted in many western states and Canada. He likes to share his efforts, often giving work to friends.

He would like to encourage anyone letting their talent lay dormant to get involved with a local art group and use their gift.

For more information about the River City Art Association, visit www.rivercityart.org or call Marty at (812) 234-9884.