Painting and the act of creating can provide valuable life lessons… perseverance, adaptability and responsibility.  My most important task as an artist-in-residency is to develop and encourage self-confidence, personal expression and a rewarding sense of accomplishment in creating visual art in students.  My work with students, teachers, parents and administrators will focus on creating a residency that builds a community feeling. I want students to take the lessons beyond the classroom and apply perseverance, responsibility and adaptability into their everyday lives. Through artistic exploration, I seek to show students that it is the process of learning and the challenge of creating that stretches us as individuals. It is not about the outcome but about trying new ideas, growing and persevering in painting and in life.  My goal is to convey these lessons and show their application in art and in students' everyday lives. Art is a skill and only in the practicing of the skill does one grow and improve. My approach to instruction utilizes a particular art style, the basic techniques of the style and promotes students experimentation to create works in the style. Available to conduct teacher workshops.

Virmarie DePoyster was born on the beautiful Caribbean Island of Puerto Rico and moved to El Dorado, Arkansas at the age of 15.  The intense colors, landscapes and atmosphere of the Caribbean left an indelible impression on her and continue to influence her work. Her desire to express herself creatively, to work with her hands and make something out of nothing, started at The University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, where she studied Apparel Merchandising and Design driven by her love for fabrics, textures and bright colors.  Virmarie decided to embrace her creative side and in 2004 started painting at the Arkansas Arts Center Museum School.  She quickly fell in love with the bright pigments of soft pastels and developed a true love for painting with pastels on surfaces she created. Since 2010, Virmarie has instructed students in drawing with watercolor, oil pastel, and soft pastels while encouraging them to use sketchbooks as a tool for storytelling. In 2011, Virmarie worked with Park Hill Elementary students to design and paint animals living along the Isabella Jo Trail. The artwork was used to make permanent signs that were installed on the trail to give visitors information about animals living along the trail.  From 2012 – 2014, Virmarie worked as an Artist in Residence for Community Services Inc. and helped develop their Therapeutic Arts Program. In 2014, Virmarie taught classes at Wildwood Academy of Music and the Arts integrating music and art. Virmarie's paintings are part of private and public collections throughout the United States. She teaches at the Arkansas Arts Center Museum School and is past president of the Arkansas Pastel Society. Virmarie currently lives in North Little Rock, Arkansas with her husband, David and their teens, Grant and Anna. Her work can be found at Boswell Mourot Fine Art in Little Rock, Arkansas.