Arts Center to host Thornhill exhibit.
EL DORADO — The South Arkansas Arts Center will host an art exhibit by Little Rock residents and husband and wife team, Anne and Dan Thornhill. The show, ”Visual Duet – Art by Anne and Dan Thornhill,” will hang in the Price and Merkle Galleries June 2-29 with an artists’ reception from 5 until 7 p.m. on June 3. The show will include individual as well as collaborative works by the artists.
According to Dan Thornhill, “This show will represent each of us individually, although we have collaborated on pieces before. Most of these works are abstracts, with a few figurative pieces thrown in. We like to work in acrylic and mixed media and find it more user friendly in doing the abstract style we enjoy. We just really love making art!”
Anne Thornhill, born in Memphis, Tennessee, has been an artist all her life. She was a stay at mom home with three children, during which time she worked in various art related jobs – window designer, vintage lace company that she created, and director of the local chamber of commerce.
After her children became self-sufficient, Anne Thornhill went back to college and graduated from Arkansas Tech University with a double major in psychology and art. In her private practice as a psychotherapist, she would incorporate art therapy into her work. Anne’s paintings are colorful and energetic, much like her personality. Thornhill’s work is included in the permanent collection at the Grand Prairie Arts Center in Stuttgart; along with other public and private collections (including commissions). She lives in Little Rock with her artist husband.
Dan Thornhill has been interested in art from an early age. In school, he would spend his time doodling instead of listening to his teachers. Born in Dallas, he graduated from Dallas Baptist College (now Dallas Baptist University) with a degree in biology.
After a hiatus of many years from art, he began studying art seriously at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He graduated with his master’s degree (with an emphasis in painting) in December 2013. He has a unique flair with color and creative designs. His works are included in the permanent collections at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock; the Historic Arkansas Museum in Little Rock; the Grand Prairie Arts Center in Stuttgart; the Cancer Center UAMS in Little Rock; the Texarkana Regional Arts Center in Texarkana, Texas; along with other public and private collections.
The Price and Merkle Galleries are open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and the show is free and open to the public. Immediately thereafter, Chris McCroskey, SAAC’s music director for the summer musical, “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast,” will hold a free piano concert onstage in the Callaway Theater. SAAC is located at 110 E. Fifth St., El Dorado.