Jackson Free Press

The Mississippi Arts Commission has announced that Clinton artist and area favorite Wyatt Waters, known statewide for his watercolor paintings, will receive a 2010 Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts. The award honors five artists each year in the performing, visual and literary arts throughout the state. Past recipients include Eudora Welty, Bill Dunlap and Dr. Samuel Gore.

Born in Brookhaven, Waters, 54, moved to Clinton when he was a teenager and went on to attend Mississippi College where he earned a bachelor's degree in art with a minor in English. Waters says he originally aspired to be a teacher but became more interested in painting.

"We're living in a digitized world, and I feel that with art, I get a real experience. It's why I often do most of my works outside," Waters told the Jackson Free Press.

The places where he has traveled and lived, including Mississippi and the Caribbean, inspire Waters' art. He says that as a form of free expression, his paintings are like his diary.

The Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson, the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art in Laurel, Southside Gallery in Oxford and many other venues have exhibited Waters' work. He and his wife, Vicki, live in Clinton, where he also has a gallery.

On Saturday, Nov. 14, from 7 to 10 p.m., the Arts Council of Clinton will host "Taste of the Arts" gala at the parish hall of the Episcopal Church of the Creator (1444 Clinton-Raymond Road, Clinton). During the event, attendees can purchase signed and limited edition fine art prints of Waters "Summer Day in the Olde Towne." Waters will also exhibit his work during Saturday's Olde Towne Holiday Market, Nov. 14 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Jefferson Street in downtown Clinton.