LITTLE ROCK -- At the end of an eight-year run as governor and a decades long role as a player in Natural State politics, Gov. Mike Beebe is leaving behind a lasting image of his time in office.
Among a crowd of staff, friends and well-wishers at the Capitol, Beebe and the artist, Ovita Goolsby, unveiled the sendoff portrait, first silencing the crowd and then pulling in applause and cheers.
Goolsby, a Garland County artist and instructor in portraiture at the National Park Community College in Hot Springs, was the first Arkansas artist to craft the signature image of an outgoing governor in more than three decades.
The portrait, Beebe said, is a credit to a talented artist but also a credit to Arkansans.
"This is Arkansas talent. It's not New York talent, it's not L.A. talent, it's Arkansas talent, and I would argue it's as good. I'd even argue it's a little bit better," Beebe said. "It's what I've been saying: Arkansas can do anything anybody else can do and usually we can do it even better. And this is an example."
Goolsby's role, Beebe said, was Ginger Beebe's doing.
It was Ginger Beebe who reminded her husband early this year that he needed to start thinking about his portrait, a legacy that governors have left in the halls of the Capitol, and she wanted the artist to be an Arkansan.
After research and interviews, they picked Goolsby. Whereas the governor was intrigued by the fact that he wouldn't have to sit for the portrait, Ginger Beebe was floored by the artist's touch and talent.
"[Goolsby's] portraits looked almost alive. Real," Ginger Beebe said. "Like they would speak to you."
Goolsby did several photography sessions with the governor, trying to capture every look, posture, pose and glance. She used the images to put together a composite figure of the two-term Democrat from Searcy.
Accustomed to painting portraits of women or children, trying to capture the stately essence of the governor involved a lot more worry, a lot more browns and blacks, and a lot bigger canvass than she normally uses.
"He has a particular look, and those beautiful blue eyes ... he's got gorgeous eyes, and he's such a handsome person, I wanted to convey this," she said. "My whole career is judged by this one painting, so it was a major stress ... but I loved it."
On a linen canvass mounted on a 42-by-50-inch frame, Beebe rests his hand under his chin, slightly leaning back in a chair with the red, white and blue flags of the state and nation resting behind him.
"There is a studious look about him. I've also seen it in him when I've asked something and he says, 'You want what?'" Ginger Beebe said. "It captures the essence of him and the love he has for his state. That's really him."
The portrait, including the frame, cost $12,500 and will hang in the governor's conference room at the Capitol. It was paid for by the state Democratic Party and will replace the portrait of Gov. Mike Huckabee on the day that Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson is sworn in. The Huckabee image will be moved elsewhere in the Capitol, joining portraits of prior Arkansas governors.
State Desk on 12/20/2014