KENNETT — An exhibit of artwork from area Artist Jimmie Lee Marler is now on display at the main branch of the Dunklin County Library in Kennett.
Marler has been drawing for people since the seventh grade. The list of those he has created art for include several presidents.
Marler grew up in a household without a father, with his mother raising six children on her own.
He taught in Missouri public schools for 37 years. Marler taught art, computers, and mathematics in colleges and high schools for 49 years, including Drury University, and Southwest Baptist University.
He was the director for the Southwest Baptist University Satellite for six years.
Marler has also taken over 800 photo shoots for weddings as a professional photographer. He has donated over two thousand artworks to charities, many featuring religious drawings and paintings, because he feels his talents come from God.
Marler received the honor of being inducted into the Dunklin County Hall of Honor in 2007.
He has recently been accepted to exhibit his artwork in 2022 and 2023 with the prestigious PAKS Gallery.
Marler will participate in the Contemporary Art Fair in Carrousel du Louvre in Paris in October of this year. The two pieces of artwork will be exhibited in PAKS museums in Vienna, Austria, Castle Heidenrichstein in lower Austria and in Munich, Germany between August 2022 through December 2023.
Marler has also been featured in a book published by the museum entitled ‘Art from Leonardo da Vinci to the Present.’ The book will be available in October 2022 and feature five of his photos along with his biography. Some of the images will include singers from the Bootheel and Kennett area.
Marler’s exibit at the Dunklin County Library will run through September and all are welcome to visit and see the drawings and watercolor portraits which include portraits of David Nail, Sheryl Crow, Narvel Felts, Johnny Cash, Elvis, and other celebrities.