If you haven’t visited Drawl Southern Contemporary Art in The Heights, make haste. The art is cool, and the owners — Mary and Guy Bell — are just as cool. The couple opened the gallery, which focuses on work by about 18 different Southern artists, in October 2015 in the 1,500 SF space above Yancey’s Liquor Store. You know the place. Guy is a self-taught oil painter, and before opening the gallery painted in the evenings and on weekends. Previously, he was the marketing manager for a liquor distributor, but now the gallery is his full-time job. Mary is a financial planner for Voya Financial in Little Rock. The Bells say the name for the gallery is “a fun play on words” and is meant to embody the unique way people speak in the South. “Art is about communication, and we Southerners communicate in a very special way, whether through art, music or the spoken word,” Mary says.
Where did you go to school, and what was your focus?
Mary: I received my B.A. from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in Latin American studies & M.A. from the University of Central Arkansas in early childhood education.
Guy: As an artist I did not pursue formal training. I do have a B.A. in liberal arts emphasizing business.
Do you have family here?
Mary: I am the oldest of three siblings. Both of my parents (divorced) live in Little Rock. My mother is a Little Rock native. My father is from a small farm town up north.
Guy: My mother and stepfather live in Little Rock about six blocks from the gallery. The rest of my family lives outside of the state.
Can you describe the gallery?
Guy: The showroom is about 1,500 SF and sits above Yancey’s Liquor Store in the Heights. The space is cozy, but we have laid it out to present a very rich visual experience that helps give context to the place and time in which the work was created. DRAWL represents a number of very talented artists. Many of them have work that can be seen in notable collections and museums.
We want art to be accessible to novice collectors as well as for seasoned patrons and tailor our inventory accordingly.
How many artists do you represent?
Guy: 18 are currently on display. We have partnered with some other galleries, too, allowing us to access their artists as well.
Why did you want to open a gallery?
Guy: First, I found a locale where people could access high quality southern work at a fair price. Second, I met so many great artists thanks to the opportunity I had through being included in the State Of The Art Exhibition, and found that many of us living in the South didn’t have the same opportunities to show our work
What are some of your current favorite pieces in the gallery?
Guy: Of course I like everyone’s work, since we select it. I can say that Linda Harding never ceases to amaze us with her beautiful photography.
Linda Lopez is Mary’s current favorite. We met her in 2014 and have admired her ceramic work ever since.
What about in your personal collection?
Guy: We have a Mark Ryden banner that hangs eight feet tall of actress Christina Ricci holding a bumblebee. It’s a bit of a conversation starter.
Tell us one thing about each of you that people wouldn’t expect.
Mary: It may sound overly patriotic, but honestly my favorite films are war movies. Especially the ones in which they shoot really big guns. I would pass up a pair of red-soled shoes for the chance to shoot one of those 30mm rotating chain guns.
Guy: I would be willing to wear a pair of those red-soled shoes for a chance to see Mary shoot one of those chain guns.
Is there a particular item you always have with you?
Mary: My Jon Hart day planner. I’ve had it for years; [I] just can’t give up a paper calendar.
Guy: A fountain pen.
Which books/magazines are on your nightstand?
Mary: Oxford American & W Magazine
Guy: Arkansas Business and Art Forum Magazine
What is your favorite style/era of art?
Mary: Mid-20th Century American Expressionism.
Guy: I don’t think I can narrow down a favorite, because I am discovering so many things recently that I never knew existed.
Favorite artists?
Mary: Jackson Pollock and Georgia O’Keefe
Guy: I don’t want to speak in absolutes, but right now, I am really into the work of Peter Doig.
Do you have a New Year’s resolution?
Mary: To be on time.
Guy: I have never succeeded in meeting a New Year’s goal as my birthday follows just behind it. Maybe I would have more luck if I started my calendar in June.
(Back to 7 People You Have To Meet in 2016.)