Fort Smith Regional Art Museum

The Fort Smith Regional Art Museum is located in what used to be Superior Federal Bank. The mid-century modern building is constructed of precast concrete wall panels with vertical steel ribs at the panel joints. The sign on the building beyond was for a dance studio that used to occupy the second floor of the flatiron building beyond.

Kaundart Grizzly Fieldhouse

Built in the 1960’s the Northside High School Gymnasium features an arch formed concrete roof profile at the lobby entry. The red brick chimney was part of the original high school building and serves as an iconic landmark for the high school.

Tran’s Restaurant

Located at intersection of Rogers Avenue and 21st Street this now-closed restaurant was famous for serving the Bowl. The owner noticed me painting outside the restaurant on a hot summer morning and invited me in the restaurant to meet his wife and have a glass of iced tea.

Chuck and Dale’s Locksmith / Office Building

You can see through the glass corner window of Chuck and Dale’s Locksmith Shop while looking at the office building across the street which used to house the Hill Firm, and architecture studio. We used to call the lock shop Chippendale’s and the office building has now been painted a dark gray which lessens the contrast of the shadows on the building.

First United Methodist Church

The Greek Revival style sanctuary, built in 1921, features massive stone columns and dentils at the roof line. The bell tower was added later when the education building was constructed.

The Donut Palace

Originally built as a Chicken Hut restaurant the building has been a Senor Bob’s Mexican restaurant, a Vietnamese restaurant, a Maytag dealership, and now a donut shop.

Walgreens Pharmacy

Located at the corner of Rogers Avenue and Greenwood Road, the chain pharmacy took the place of a local furniture store and stereo shop. I did this painting mostly so I could paint the shadows cast by the window above the entry.

Town and Country Liquor

The star-shaped folded plate concrete roof is a unique feature of this liquor store located on Zero Street in south Fort Smith. There are not a lot of these concrete roofs left in Fort Smith since they tore down the entry to Southside High School which was built around the same time as this store.

Pad Thai Cuisine

This lady was waiting for a to-go order and looking smart in her matching beret and scarf. I discreetly snapped a couple of photos of her while my wife and I were eating in the restaurant. Pad Thai is located in a strip center across from Lowes in east Fort Smith.

The Porches at Heritage

Located across from the Arkansas Colleges of Health Education in Chaffee Crossing this small neighborhood features traditional homes with front porches in a walkable community. The all-white buildings make the shadows really stand out.

The Porches at Heritage 2

The Porches at Heritage are located across the street from the medical college in Chaffee Crossing. The simple forms and white exteriors of the buildings create some great shadows.

Shipley’s Donuts

Located at the east end of Rogers Avenue, this donut shop catches people driving into Fort Smith to work from the east. The flood of 2019 got them, but they were one of the first to reopen.

Arvest Tower

Formerly the Superior Federal Tower, This Office building was built on Rogers Avenue across from Central Mall. This is the view from the Quarry Shopping Center to the west.

The Old Frisco Depot

located at the top of Main Street in Van Buren you can still catch and excursion train that leaves from this century old train depot

White House - Van Buren

This frame house is located a block off Main Street in Van Buren. I was driving by this house on a hot summer day and noticed how the shadows were coming straight down from the awnings. Summer shadows aren’t as dramatic as winter ones, but for this very simple house they seemed just right.

The Gathering Place

The 66 acre Phase I of this park located adjacent to the Arkansas River in Tulsa opened in 2018 and was voted USA Today’s Best New Attraction of 2019. This is the Boat House. Risa and I were there in February 2020 right before the pandemic hit so there were quite a few people there.

Clinton Avenue

Clinton Avenue in Little Rock connects the River Market District with the Presidential Library. The arms coming off the light poles hold the wires for the streetcars.

Gus’s Fried Chicken

Gus’s Fried Chicken on the right and the Rev Room on the left are located in the River Market District of Little Rock. I painted this when I was looking for buildings that had a lot of red on them. The shadows cast by the blade signs of the building just made these buildings even more interesting.

River Market Parking Garage

The Statehouse Convention Center is located just beyond the Car park in River Market District in Little Rock. Another building featuring red prominently in the sign. The reflection in the windows of the trees with their fall colors was an added bonus.

Ottenheimer Market Hall

Ottenheimer Market Hall is an indoor market housing shops and food stalls and was one of the cornerstones of the River Market District in Little Rock. I’ve always liked this building and painted it during my red phase. The awning on the building is actually black, but it’s my painting - so now it’s red.