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Meet the Resident Artists of The Arts Center @ 319
Eight artists maintain working studios in the Arts Center @ 319, making art works and artists uniquely accessible to
members and visitors.
Priscilla Barbour is a native of Winston-Salem, NC, and has always had her hand in some sort of artistic endeavor. Early
on, she spent every summer at the NC School for the Arts and won an art contest in the first grade for a colorful and
imaginative “creature” made up of different animal parts. Continuing to draw and dabble in other art forms, it was not until
a milestone birthday – unmentioned – that she decided to pursue her own art career.
After fourteen moves as a Navy wife of 23 years, Priscilla Barbour settled in Smithfield 12 years ago, enjoying growing
success with her art in acrylic painting, murals, faux finishes, and painted furniture.
She has had paintings in the Smithfield Duck Unlimited auction for the last three years, t-shirt designs for the local Yogi’s
Run and the 2004 Hog Jog 5K Fundraiser, and the marquee poster for the Smithfield High School production of “It’s a
Wonderful Life.” Priscilla was also a decorative artist for the Harbour View 2000 Parade of Homes in Suffolk, VA.
Priscilla is a member and four time Vice President of the Brush and Palette Club and has been a Resident Artist at the Arts
Center since September 2004.
Bobbi Canellas moved to Hampton Roads from northern Virginia where she had lived for over twenty
years. Bobbi attended Bloomsberg State Teachers College in Pennsylvania and George Washington
University in Washington, DC, where she majored in Art and minored in Education. Bobbi has studied
painting in Vienna, Austria and Mallorca, Spain.
Bobbi is considered an impressionist painter and believes that the play of light and dark on canvas along with the use of
vivid colors create emotions that are very important to her work. Although she has taken many mixed media courses,
Bobbi's true love is the use of oils for the beautiful texture and colors that they are capable of producing.
Sheila Gwaltney graduated from Smithfield High School and Mary Washington College returning to live and work in
Smithfield, where she and her husband are raising their son and twin daughters.
In her first studio art classes in college, she never thought she could make it a career. However, in 1985 she enrolled in a
plien air painting workshop offered by John Loren Head. Sheila says, “Mr. Head was an excellent artist and a truly gifted
teacher who took my painting abilities and understanding of art to the next level. He gave me the tools, the focus and the
desire to make art. Art became a way of thinking, a way using the gifts and experiences of my life. “
Sheila is a member of the Isle of Wight Arts League, the Elizabeth River Artists and the Woman’s Club of Smithfield where
she chairs the committee producing the Smithfield Calendar featuring pen & ink drawings of historic buildings and sites
drawn by local artists. She enjoys painting landscapes, portraits, animals and opportunity to teach drawing and watercolor
at the Arts Center.
Sheila is the Director of the Arts Center @ 319 and a member of the Isle of Wight Arts League Board of Directors.
Val Johnson has called Smithfield, VA home for over 10 years, and as a former “Army brat” and military wife, this staying
in one place has been quite a change!
"While living here, I have explored many different techniques and media from costuming to felting, jewelry making to water
colors and paper mache to paper models. My family has said I have creative attention deficit issues, I say there are just too
many cool crayons in the box not to try them all.
I enjoy using animals as my models in novel scenarios and as a result, my sculptures are generally called whimsical; I call
them silly. Seeing people respond to my work is what I enjoy. When a smile crosses a face, I know I’ve done my job.
So far the most outstanding work I have done is being the mother of three very bright and talented children who keep me
on my toes and encourage me to always try something different. I am especially fortunate to have a husband who supports
my creative endeavors and doesn’t mind a little dust on the furniture and few extra cows in the dining room!"
Denise Middleton, a native of Pennsylvania, grew up in Norfolk, and moved to Smithfield in 1996. Encouraged at an early
age, art was always a part of her life. While pursuing a nursing career, she continued to take art classes at Old Dominion
University, Pennisula Fine Arts Center, and the Smithfield Cultural Arts Center.
A former member of the Brush & Palette Club, she has entered many regional art shows. She works in colored pencil,
watercolor and oils. "Art, like books, can transport you to another place", she says. "My fellow artists have been a great
inspiration to me. I love the collective art process." Her artwork resides with many private collectors.
Visit her Website at sites.google.com/site/dartiow.
Martha Phibbs is a native of Norfolk, VA, Martha attended William & Mary, earning a BA in French. She taught French in
Portsmouth public schools for a number of years before earning her MS in Counseling in 1998. From 2000-2006, she was
Director of Guidance at Smithfield High School.
While always interested in art, she did not have the opportunity to study art until 1980 when she studied portraiture with
Don Fortunato in Norfolk. The birth of her second child and a full time job forced art into the background again until she
retired in 2006. Since that time, she has studied with Kathy Bilyeu and James Warwick Jones. Martha’s main interest is still
portraits, but she enjoys exploring many different subjects.
She is married to Dexter Phibbs and has two children, Carrie and Brian.
Jan Southard, a Virginia native, now lives in Suffolk and has always lived in the Hampton Roads area. She attended Old
Dominion University and received her BS from Christopher Newport University. She has created art for most of her life
and is part of a very creative and supportive family.
Jan creates paintings and drawings using a wide range of media and concentrates on whatever subjects pique her interest.
While her paintings are usually representational and call attention to the world that surrounds us, she believes that art can be
a way to explore beyond borders of distance, time and reality.
Roy L. Williams is a newcomer to the Arts Center, having begun his work in November 2008. Roy is a graduate of The
College of William & Mary and has a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Delaware.
He and his wife Sherry moved to this area in 1992 and were active with the Arts Center in the early 1990's. He is a retired
professor of chemistry and taught for 40 years at ODU. Although not formally trained as an artist, Roy is currently
pursuing a variety of media including Japanese ink drawings, pastels and photography.
He is a member of the Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators and is currently working on several children's
books. Professor Williams is also very much involved in wine education; he teaches wine classes and is a contributing
columnist to the Daily Press on various wine topics.
Eight artists maintain working studios in the Arts Center @ 319, making art works and artists uniquely accessible to
members and visitors.
Priscilla Barbour is a native of Winston-Salem, NC, and has always had her hand in some sort of artistic endeavor. Early
on, she spent every summer at the NC School for the Arts and won an art contest in the first grade for a colorful and
imaginative “creature” made up of different animal parts. Continuing to draw and dabble in other art forms, it was not until
a milestone birthday – unmentioned – that she decided to pursue her own art career.
After fourteen moves as a Navy wife of 23 years, Priscilla Barbour settled in Smithfield 12 years ago, enjoying growing
success with her art in acrylic painting, murals, faux finishes, and painted furniture.
She has had paintings in the Smithfield Duck Unlimited auction for the last three years, t-shirt designs for the local Yogi’s
Run and the 2004 Hog Jog 5K Fundraiser, and the marquee poster for the Smithfield High School production of “It’s a
Wonderful Life.” Priscilla was also a decorative artist for the Harbour View 2000 Parade of Homes in Suffolk, VA.
Priscilla is a member and four time Vice President of the Brush and Palette Club and has been a Resident Artist at the Arts
Center since September 2004.
Bobbi Canellas moved to Hampton Roads from northern Virginia where she had lived for over twenty
years. Bobbi attended Bloomsberg State Teachers College in Pennsylvania and George Washington
University in Washington, DC, where she majored in Art and minored in Education. Bobbi has studied
painting in Vienna, Austria and Mallorca, Spain.
Bobbi is considered an impressionist painter and believes that the play of light and dark on canvas along with the use of
vivid colors create emotions that are very important to her work. Although she has taken many mixed media courses,
Bobbi's true love is the use of oils for the beautiful texture and colors that they are capable of producing.
Sheila Gwaltney graduated from Smithfield High School and Mary Washington College returning to live and work in
Smithfield, where she and her husband are raising their son and twin daughters.
In her first studio art classes in college, she never thought she could make it a career. However, in 1985 she enrolled in a
plien air painting workshop offered by John Loren Head. Sheila says, “Mr. Head was an excellent artist and a truly gifted
teacher who took my painting abilities and understanding of art to the next level. He gave me the tools, the focus and the
desire to make art. Art became a way of thinking, a way using the gifts and experiences of my life. “
Sheila is a member of the Isle of Wight Arts League, the Elizabeth River Artists and the Woman’s Club of Smithfield where
she chairs the committee producing the Smithfield Calendar featuring pen & ink drawings of historic buildings and sites
drawn by local artists. She enjoys painting landscapes, portraits, animals and opportunity to teach drawing and watercolor
at the Arts Center.
Sheila is the Director of the Arts Center @ 319 and a member of the Isle of Wight Arts League Board of Directors.
Val Johnson has called Smithfield, VA home for over 10 years, and as a former “Army brat” and military wife, this staying
in one place has been quite a change!
"While living here, I have explored many different techniques and media from costuming to felting, jewelry making to water
colors and paper mache to paper models. My family has said I have creative attention deficit issues, I say there are just too
many cool crayons in the box not to try them all.
I enjoy using animals as my models in novel scenarios and as a result, my sculptures are generally called whimsical; I call
them silly. Seeing people respond to my work is what I enjoy. When a smile crosses a face, I know I’ve done my job.
So far the most outstanding work I have done is being the mother of three very bright and talented children who keep me
on my toes and encourage me to always try something different. I am especially fortunate to have a husband who supports
my creative endeavors and doesn’t mind a little dust on the furniture and few extra cows in the dining room!"
Denise Middleton, a native of Pennsylvania, grew up in Norfolk, and moved to Smithfield in 1996. Encouraged at an early
age, art was always a part of her life. While pursuing a nursing career, she continued to take art classes at Old Dominion
University, Pennisula Fine Arts Center, and the Smithfield Cultural Arts Center.
A former member of the Brush & Palette Club, she has entered many regional art shows. She works in colored pencil,
watercolor and oils. "Art, like books, can transport you to another place", she says. "My fellow artists have been a great
inspiration to me. I love the collective art process." Her artwork resides with many private collectors.
Visit her Website at sites.google.com/site/dartiow.
Martha Phibbs is a native of Norfolk, VA, Martha attended William & Mary, earning a BA in French. She taught French in
Portsmouth public schools for a number of years before earning her MS in Counseling in 1998. From 2000-2006, she was
Director of Guidance at Smithfield High School.
While always interested in art, she did not have the opportunity to study art until 1980 when she studied portraiture with
Don Fortunato in Norfolk. The birth of her second child and a full time job forced art into the background again until she
retired in 2006. Since that time, she has studied with Kathy Bilyeu and James Warwick Jones. Martha’s main interest is still
portraits, but she enjoys exploring many different subjects.
She is married to Dexter Phibbs and has two children, Carrie and Brian.
Jan Southard, a Virginia native, now lives in Suffolk and has always lived in the Hampton Roads area. She attended Old
Dominion University and received her BS from Christopher Newport University. She has created art for most of her life
and is part of a very creative and supportive family.
Jan creates paintings and drawings using a wide range of media and concentrates on whatever subjects pique her interest.
While her paintings are usually representational and call attention to the world that surrounds us, she believes that art can be
a way to explore beyond borders of distance, time and reality.
Roy L. Williams is a newcomer to the Arts Center, having begun his work in November 2008. Roy is a graduate of The
College of William & Mary and has a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Delaware.
He and his wife Sherry moved to this area in 1992 and were active with the Arts Center in the early 1990's. He is a retired
professor of chemistry and taught for 40 years at ODU. Although not formally trained as an artist, Roy is currently
pursuing a variety of media including Japanese ink drawings, pastels and photography.
He is a member of the Society of Children's Books Writers and Illustrators and is currently working on several children's
books. Professor Williams is also very much involved in wine education; he teaches wine classes and is a contributing
columnist to the Daily Press on various wine topics.
