Tonight's Gallery Walk will be bittersweet for artist Linda Williams Palmer, who has decided to retire as a gallery owner after 27 years.
"It's just time for me to retire from the gallery part," she said, noting she plans to continue her career as an artist.
Palmer said her career in the arts started when she was growing up in rural Oklahoma. Her school didn't have an art program, but they did have singing. "I started out as a vocalist," she said, even majoring in it, but "in the back of my mind, I always loved to draw."
Several years later, Palmer said she was in her 30s, and her children were all in school. "I thought now's the time." Around 1980, Palmer enrolled in what is now known as the University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, where she took art classes.
Palmer said she opened her first gallery in Fort Smith, noting a "very wonderful gallery" there had recently closed. "I thought there was a need," she said, and operated a gallery there for the next three years until she decided she was ready to move on to something new.
While she was considering moving to Santa Fe, N.M., she was invited to participate in Hot Springs' Gallery Walk by artist Benini and his wife Lorraine, back when Gallery Walk was just starting.
After visiting the city and participating in Gallery Walk a few times, "I fell in love" with Hot Springs, she said. After seeing all of the old buildings downtown, Palmer said she started looking for one to buy.
She spotted an old abandoned building at 800 Central Ave. Liking how small the building was, Palmer bought it and opened a gallery on the bottom floor. "A man who lived here said 'Why are you putting money into this building?' I said, 'Look at this. This is neat, a wonderful building ... it has character.'"
After buying and restoring it, Palmer started looking up the history of the building at the Garland County Historical Society. She said she learned many of the old buildings were named for the places where the owners were originally from. The name on her building was the New Oklahoman. "I was from Oklahoma. It was meant to be," she said.
Palmer joined other gallery owners and local artists in helping the monthly Gallery Walk take off. "It was just an exciting time. I was honored to be a part of it," she said.
"It brought people back downtown. ... We never thought it would last this long, and still people are coming (downtown)."
While operating the gallery downstairs, Palmer said she represented 40 artists. After a while, she said she realized she didn't have enough time to make her own artwork anymore, so she leased the bottom floor out and it became Gallery Central. Palmer opened another gallery on the top floor where she has mostly sold her own artwork.
Palmer has operated the upstairs gallery for 17 years.
Beginning in 2007, Palmer started a new art project where she painted Champion Trees. The art exhibit created from the project toured around the state for five years, bringing many new people to the gallery in the process. AETN even made a documentary about the project, she said.
When asked for her best memory of the gallery, Palmer said that over the years the gallery has hosted many field trips from local schools, the most recent one in November. "Two weeks ago, 15 gifted and talented students from Malvern" visited the gallery, she said, noting the students were studying Champion Trees. She said getting to share art with students "has been very rewarding."
The building where both Linda Palmer Studio Gallery and Gallery Central are located is now for sale. The building has also housed Palmer's art studio over the years. While Palmer is leaving the building, she said she is staying in the area, having bought a new home "about six blocks" from the building that will serve as her new studio.
Starting in January, Palmer's art will be located in Justus Fine Arts, which Palmer called "one of the top galleries in the South." She said she plans to paint a few more of her famous trees, but she wants to "try some different things, too."
In addition to painting, she said she is looking forward to traveling more. She recently returned from England and Scotland, and said she and her friends plan to go to Spain next.
Palmer said her final Gallery Walk as owner will be a bittersweet one.
"(Today) will be the last one. I have invited people to come up and kind of say goodbye." During the last 27 years, Palmer has spent most Gallery Walks as a seller. "It will be fun to be a participant," she said, noting she wants to thank everyone who has supported her over the years.
Local on 12/06/2019