• Walter Anderson, "Oysters," watercolor

Greg Thompson Fine Art, 429 Main St., opens its annual "Best of the South" exhibition Friday, a show featuring works by Walter Anderson, Guy Bell, Daniel Blagg, J.O. Buckley, Carroll Cloar, William Dunlap, Theora Hamblett, John Hartley, Pinkney Herbert, Robyn Horn, Richard Jolley, Sammy Peters, Robert Rector, Edward Rice, Kendall Stallings, Rebecca Thompson, Glennray Tutor and others on Friday, May 17.

Oxford, Miss., artist Tutor will speak at a noon women's luncheon Friday at the gallery; tickets are $35. The gallery will be open 5-8 p.m. for Argenta ArtWalk and will host a special panel discussion, "What's Hot in Southern Regionalism," at 1 p.m. Saturday. Artists taking part will be Blagg, Hartley, Rice and Tutor. Tickets are $10; adult libations will be served.

Thompson announced recently that he has opened a second location in Dallas, at 3102 Maple Avenue, Suite 400, run by gallery associate director Jennifer Lee.

More ArtWalk events: Paint Box Gallery, 705 Main, will feature "A Taste of Jazz," paintings with a jazz them by Angela R. Green, along with work by Mike Spain, Robin Miller-Bookhout and Jan Ironside.

Work by students from Crestview and Seventh Street elementary schools will be displayed in the 400 block of Main, and there will be closing reception for Mary Ann Stafford's exhibition of pen-and-ink drawings, "The Argenta Project," at the Thea Center, 401 Main St. Selma F. Blackburn will give a watercolor demonstration at Laman Library's Argenta Branch, 506 Main. Other participants include the Art Connection, 204 E. Fourth St.; Starving Artist Cafe, 411 Main; Claytime Pottery, 417 Main, and Starving Artist Studios, 108 E. Fourth.

Individual artists — "Art In Unexpected Places" — will locate along Main Street.

• NLR High School artwork at Thea

The Thea Center, 401 Main St. in Argenta, hosts the "North Little Rock High School Art Show & Sale" and is exhibiting Matt McLeod's painting commissioned for the 2nd annual Thea Arts Festival tonight for Argenta ArtWalk, 5-8 p.m. (A reception for the students and art sale is set for 5:30-7:30 p.m. Monday, April 22. The show runs through April 26.)

Also tonight: Greg Thompson Fine Art, 429 Main St., continues its "Southern Women Artists" show and the UALR Clay Guild will be at the Laman Library branch at 506 Main. Dawn Clark will demonstrate gourd decorating and Marty Smith's show "Cityscapes" continues at the Paint Box Gallery, 705 Main.

Starving Artist Studios, 108 E. Fourth St., features work by Doug Norton and John Watson and Art Connection, 204 E. Fourth, will show works by the high school students participating in the program there.

• Santa Cruz' "In His Element"

The Laman Library sends a note saying that its downtown branch at 506 Main St. is again participating in Argenta ArtWalk and will feature works by Susan Santa Cruz tonight. Santa Cruz, who is an internist when she's not painting, will give a watercolor demonstration. And that earlier Argenta ArtWalk post on the nice weather? Now I hear it will approach 80 degrees F. tonight!

• Part of McLeod's painting for Thea Arts Festival

Matt McLeod has been posting teasing details from his painting commissioned for this year's Thea Arts Festival, set for April 27, on the Thea Foundation's Facebook page. Tonight, the painting in its entirely will be unveiled at Thea during Argenta ArtWalk, 5-8 p.m. The painting is for sale and McLeod will donate portion of the proceeds to the Thea Foundation.

• Betsy Brackin's "Mississippi Delta"

Work by Sheila Cotton, Dolores Justus, Rebecca Thompson, Betsy Brackin, Alice Andrews, Linda Burgess, Laura Raborn, Ida Kohlmeyer, Brittany Young, Theora Hamblett and Robyn Horn will be on exhibit in Greg Thompson Fine Art Gallery exhibition "Southern Women Artists." See new geometrical abstracts by Mike Spain at the Paint Box Gallery.

• Mike Spain, at the Paint Box Gallery

Also at Thea: Work by Landmark Elementary School students and Visual Arts Winners show. The Landmark show closes tonight, and the Visual Arts Winners show goes down March 22.

The Arkansas Inland Maritime Museum will take part in ArtWalk tonight, opening a new exhibit. Musician Audrey Dean Kelley will perform in front of the old post office and independent artists will sell work from tents along Main Street. It should be a perfect evening for art strolling.

Painter William Dunlap was in town last weekend for events at Greg Thompson Fine Art and the Arkansas Arts Center (sponsored by the Fine Arts Club) and so Thompson's gallery has devoted much of its front room to Dunlap's work. The gallery will be open tonight from 5-8 p.m. for Argenta ArtWalk.

Also tonight: Crush Wine Bar is featuring work by Ryan T. Schmidt, The Paint Box Gallery is exhibiting work by Caren Garner and gallery owner Philip Kirkpatrick and Starving Artist Studios has work by Doug Norton and John Watson. Art Connection, Claytime Gallery and Chop Salon will also be participating.

• Work by Taylor Ferguson, junior at Little Rock Christian and a third-place winner in the Thea competition

The Thea Center features work by its Visual Arts Competition winners along with ceramic bowls made by students at Hall and Parkview High School for tonight's Argenta ArtWalk, 5-8 p.m.

The arts competition show features 30 works by high school students awarded a total of $25,000 in scholarships, junior high school winners who won $100 each and runners-up.

The ceramic bowls project, created by art teachers Bonnie Mogstad at Parkview and Matt Teravest at Hall high schools, includes themed bowls made by students for sale to benefit the Arkansas Foodbank. The project is a lesson in art and philanthropy.

• John Sykes, at Thea

I know of at least five gallery events 5-8 p.m. tonight in Argenta, and there are probably more. Here goes:

Thea Foundation, 401 Main St.: John Sykes Jr., a photojournalist at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, is showing landscape photographs and digital collages tonight, and Arkansas Symphony string quartet will play. The show runs through Jan. 25.

Greg Thompson Fine Art, 429 Main St.: Thompson celebrates his 18th year in the art business gallery with an anniversary show of work by artists in his stable.

Paint Box Gallery, 705 Main St.: "Flowers in Winter," floral art, is the show.

"Ovolution," 707 N. Main St.: This exhibit of work by women artists will benefit Safe Places. Artists in the show include Tanya Hollifield, Chelsye Garrett, Amanda Heinbockel, Hannah May, Mitchell Crisp, Morgan Hill, Bethanie Newsom Steelman, Mia Hall, Deitra Blackwell, Emily Galusha, Snow, Ally Short, Linda Hollaway, Julia Baugh, Heather Harmon Beckwith, Megan Douglas, Kelly Abernathy, Rachel Trusty, Heather Canterbury, Shannon Wallace, Diane Harper, Leslie Romine, Erin Holliday, Breanna Peterson, Christina Gordon and others; they'll give 30 percent of the proceeds from their sales to the shelter. Audrey Kelly and Megan Choate will provide music tonight. The show continues Saturday.

Starving Artist Studio, 108 Fourth St.: New works by John Watson and Doug Gorrell.

Bundle up and trundle to downtown North Little Rock from 5-8 p.m. tonight for the Argenta ArtWalk, where there will be lots of art by students and pros alike.

• Robert Rector, "Twist of Fate"

• Sandy Simmons, 12th grade, Rector High School, "Cotton Kaleidoscope"

“Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum Student Exhibition,” 75 works by students 9th through 12th grades in and near Piggott, is at the Thea Center, 401 Main, and the gallery at the Art Connection, 204 E. 4th St., will feature work by the North Little Rock high school students who are part of the teen work program. It will be the second show for the Art Connection students; they sold 40 of 53 paintings at their inaugural show in November. You might want to take a checkbook with you. (The Art Connection is featured in this week's "Big Ideas" issue of the Times.)

• Robyn Horn, "Dividing Line"

Argenta ArtWalk has much in store for tonight's 5-8 p.m. event. Two new galleries, and the second Argenta ArtWalk events for two new-ish galleries. A new exhibit at Greg Thompson Fine Art. Artists' booths ("Art in Unexpected Places").

• Pinkney Herbert, "Blue Attune"

• Doug Gorrell

Doug Gorrell opens the Gorrell Gallery of Fine Art, on the second floor of the First Presbyterian Church at 4th and Maple. The gallery will feature work by emerging and established artists, both locally and regionally. Regular hours will be 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri. and noon-4 p.m. Sat.

• Mike Spain, "Hot Blues"

Starving Artist Studio at 108 Fourth St. will feature paintings by Doug Norton and Mike Spain and photography by John Watson, and will be open until 10 p.m. tonight.

The Paint Box Gallery at 521 Main St. is holding is Holiday Open House tonight, with hot cider, cookies, "stuff covered in chocolate," fudge, candies and Arkansas wines. New paintings by Jan Ironside and Robin Miller-Bookhout will be on exhibit.

• Linda Palmer, "Cypress"

Thea Foundation at 401 Main St. continues its exhibitions, "Arkansas Champion Trees: An Artist's Journey," colored-pencil drawings by Linda Palmer, and the "Hunsicker Memorial Show," work by the late Luke Hunsicker.

Art Connection, the newly created after-school and summer visual arts work program for teen-agers, will debut its gallery at 204 E. Fourth St. tonight and staff will be on hand from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

• Watercolor by Robin Miller-Bookhout

It will be a perfect night for art walking. Along with Thea, Argenta's other galleries are staying open from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. tonight for the monthly Argenta ArtWalk. The Paint Box Gallery and Frame Shop (in the shop formerly occupied by Ketz Gallery) is featuring paintings by Robin Miller-Bookhout and will have work by Jan Ironside, Angela Green and Dawn Clark as well. Jeweler Susan Strauss will be at the Argenta Branch of the Laman Library. Starving Artist Studios (not the cafe) on 108 Fourth St., just behind Argenta Drug, will showcase the paintings of the Times' own Mike Spain. Greg Thompson Fine Art has added new work to its "Southern Landscapes" exhibit that opened in September. Amy Bell will be one of the street booth artists tonight, showing her jewelry made from "repurposed" items.

Other participating venues include Claytime Gallery, First Presbyterian Church, Blake's Furniture, Chop Salon, Argenta Healing Arts, Argenta Bead Company and Crush Wine Bar. Argenta Market will have free goodies.

Children worked with Hamid Ebrahimifar and Elizabeth Weber, whose residencies were paid with a grant from the Arkansas Arts Council. The program was designed to give children a way to express themselves and lessen fears and anxiety.

There will be Halloween-themed refreshments and music at the event, 5-8 p.m.

• Portrait by Ebrahimifar

I think I've counted 78 artist-painted "home plates" that will be on display at the Thea Center tonight for Argenta ArtWalk, all of which are for sale to benefit the Jim Elder Good Sport Fund. Eight will be auctioned live next Thursday, Sept. 27; the rest are being auctioned online at the link above. ArtWalk at Thea is 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

About the work above:

Elijah Talley is an 11-year-old artist from Little Rock. His interest in art began at Arkansas Children's Hospital when he was 4 years old. Elijah was inspired to learn more about becoming an artist when he met Stephano Sutherlin, who is now his teacher. Elijah is a 6th grader at Pulaski Heights Middle School.

The Jim Elder Good Sport Fund, named for the longtime Arkansas Travelers broadcaster, supports the following organizations:

American Diabetes Summer Camp
Arkansas Sheriffs' Youth Ranches
Easter Seals
Hearts and Hooves
Miracle League
PAL - Police Athletic League-NLR
PARK (Positive Atmosphere Reaches Kids)
RBI (Reviving Baseball in the Innercity at Lamar)
Rose City Boys & Girls Club
The Centers for Youth and Families
The First Tee of Arkansas
THEA Foundation

• Ed Rice, "Weaving House"

Those are just a few of the artists whose works will be at Greg Thompson Fine Art when the promising "Southern Landscape" exhibition officially opens for Argenta ArtWalk tomorrow 5-8 p.m.

Here's the full roster for the show: Al Allen, Thomas Hart Benton, Darrell Berry, Gary Bolding, Adrian Brewer, J.O. Buckley, Roger Carlisle, Carroll Cloar, Shelia Cotton, William Dunlap, Louis Freund, Charles Harrington, Colette Pope Heldner, Dolores Justus, Matt McLeod, Laura Raborn, Ed Rice, Kendall Stallings, Barry Thomas and Rebecca Thompson. Most are well-known Arkansans with a few furriners thrown in.

Here's a little bit about Ed Rice, whose work you see above. Note that the author of the write-up, David Houston, then of the Ogden Museum, is now director of curatorial at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art.

Greg Thompson Fine Art will be one of several venues open Friday evening for Argenta ArtWalk; others are the Thea Center, the Argenta branch of Laman Library, the new Paint Box Gallery (where Ketz Gallery was located) and the "Gathering of Artists" in tents on Main.

• Laura Raborn's "She's Thinking"

Women artist known nationally and locally are at Greg Thompson Fine Art for the exhibition "Southern Women Artists." The show includes work by the late abstract artist Ida Kohlmeyer, Mississippi artist/writer Linda Burgess, mixed media artist Claudia DeMonte, Mississippi-born geometrical abstractionist Valerie Jaudon, Tennessee impressionist Denise Rose and Arkansas artists Sheila Cantrell, Sheila Cotton, Robyn Horn, Laura Raborn and Rebecca Thompson. A don't-miss show.

Claytime Pottery features the work of Ashley Morrison, photographer Aaron Gschwandegger will be at the Argenta branch of the Laman Library, and the students of Seis Puentes, an Hispanic outreach program, will show their work at the Thea Foundation. Latin music and refreshments at Thea make this a guaranteed happy outing.

It's all in downtown North Little Rock.

• "Adoration," by Mary Ann Stafford

"Trees, Trees and More Trees" is the name of Mary Ann Stafford's exhibition of pastels opening tonight at Ketz Gallery during the Argenta ArtWalk. The Maumelle artist will also demonstrate her technique tonight and as another lure, the gallery will be serving berry sangria and lemonade.

Argenta ArtWalk is 5-8 p.m.; Ketz is at 705 Main St. Argenta Bead next door will also be open, as will Greg Thompson Fine Art at 429 Main ("Best of the South," works by Walter Anderson, William Hollingsworth, Noel Rockmore, William Dunlap and others). Photographer Mike Anderson will give a demonstration and talk at the Laman Library Argenta Branch. Thea Foundation is taking the night off.