Hot Springs artists to lead annual Christmas parade
HOT SPRINGS — Local artists Gary Simmons, 74, and Richard Stephens, 69, have been friends for more than 30 years. They have often worked together and still do, at a regular drawing session. They even once owned a business together.
They compete against each other, as well, in art exhibits; both were selected for the 2014 Small Works on Paper exhibit.
On Dec. 7, they will work together once again, this time as grand marshals of the Oaklawn Rotary Christmas Parade, set to start at 6 p.m. in downtown Hot Springs. The theme for the parade is “The Art of Christmas.”
“This year’s parade theme honors the talent, heart and generous spirit of our entire arts community,” said Lee Richardson, parade chairman. “Downtown Hot Springs is home to a vibrant arts district that caused us to be named one of the best small art towns in America.
“Our diverse arts scene strengthens our economy and boosts our cultural ‘cool factor.’ We can’t wait to see how each parade entry will incorporate the arts theme.”
Neither Simmons nor Stephens has ever been a parade marshal.
“It’s an honor,” said Stephens, a native of Hot Springs.
“I remember growing up that the Christmas parade was a big deal. I am flattered and honored,” he said.
“I think it’s great that the Rotary Club is acknowledging the arts,” Stephens said.
“I agree with Richard,”
Simmons said. “It’s an honor, first, that we, and the arts, are being recognized, and second, that after all these years, somebody has been paying attention to us,” he said.
“We have been practicing our queen’s hand wave,” Simmons said with a laugh.
Simmons moved to Hot Springs in 1973 from Indiana. He said he remembers taking his daughters to the parade when they were growing up.
“I remember it always being cold,” Simmons said. “I hope we don’t freeze.”
Simmons and his wife, June, have been married 52 years. They have two grown daughters.
Their daughter Rebecca and her husband, Matt Resnick, live in Wilmington, North Carolina. They have two children, Alexis, 2, and River, 4 ½.
The Simmonses’ daughter Jamie and her husband, Adam Brandes, live in Fayetteville with their son, Camron, 4.
Gary Simmons and Stephens first met in 1974.
“We were in an art show together that year,” Simmons said. “Then in 1976, we started our drawing group.”
They draw together every week, along with six other artists. They have a model pose for these sessions.
“It is a fixed group,” Simmons said. “We’ve had over 200 models over the years.”
Simmons, a nationally recognized pen-and-ink artist, began drawing science illustrations as a student worker in the zoology department at Southern Illinois University.
After acquiring bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English and American literature and a doctorate in instructional systems technology, he worked for the University of Arkansas until beginning his career as a freelance artist in 1976.
He taught art Henderson State University in Arkadelphia from 1991 until his retirement as professor emeritus in 2013.
In 1992, after two years of teaching national pen-and-ink seminars for Rapidograph,
the manufacturer of Simmons’ pens, Simmons released The Technical Pen:
Techniques for Artists, published by New York’s Watson-Guptill Publishers and recently reissued by Echo Point Books of Vermont.
Stephens graduated from Hot Springs High School in 1964 and earned a bachelor’s degree in art from Arkansas State Teachers College (now the University of Central Arkansas) in Conway in 1969.
After serving in the Army as an illustrator, Stephens began his professional career in 1971 with a design firm in Little Rock. Three years later, he opened his own graphic-design studio in Hot Springs. He continues to provide design and production services for a wide range of commercial accounts.
Having been introduced to the medium in college, Stephens rediscovered transparent watercolor in the early 1990s. His works have won national awards and earned him signature member status in several major watercolor societies.
For the past 15 years, Stephens has shared his passion for the medium by conducting painting workshops around the country.
In 2014, he was featured in a six-page article by the French publication The Art
of Watercolor, widely considered the top watercolor publication in the world.
Although not married, Stephens said he has a longtime girlfriend, Stevie Spargo.
Both Simmons and Stephens continue to offer workshops and demonstrations across the country.
More information on the Oaklawn Rotary Christmas Parade may be found at www. oaklawnrotary.com. Parade updates will be posted to www.facebook.com/oak lawnrotary.
The parade entry fee of $50 per entrant will be used by the Rotary Club to support several Garland County charities, including Project Hope Food Bank. Trophies will be awarded for Best Decorated Float, Best Use of Theme, Best Use of Special Effects, Best Choreographed and Most Decorated NonFloat.