Mehta 2026 - Images

People’s Choice Award: Awarded to Priyangi Malaviarachchi for her painting titled Colors of Life. Priyangi is a Clinical Research Coordinator at UAMS.

Email: pamalaviarachchi@uams.edu

Bio: Clinical Research Associate, UAMS

Artist Statement: I am a self-taught artist exploring different mediums to create ideas and enjoy life.  Most of my art is based on nature depicting my own photographs.  I believe art has the power to create, imagine, and hope, which is why I use my versatile artwork for fundraising animal shelters. “I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than the trees” – Henry D. Thoreau

Leonardo da Vinci Award (most inventive): Awarded to Ryan Pennington for his mixed media work titled After the Storm. Ryan is the spouse of Mandy Pennington – an Instructor for the College of Health Professions, Dept. of Dental Hygiene.

Email: advantagelawn99@gmail.com

Bio: I am a landscaper of almost 30 years. I’m 52, married for 25 years to Mandy Love Pennington (instructor in Dental Hygiene at UAMS). Our son Reece is 18 and heading to ASU Jonesboro (pre-vet) in the fall. He’s awesome.

Artist Statement: Art and design have always held my interest; I have a particular affinity for mosaics in stained glass or wood. I suppose I like making things look like they fit together. As a landscaper for almost 30 years, I’ve had lots of practice making plants and rocks look like they belong. I’ll be working on more mosaics and may open a shop online or find a booth around town soon. 

I named the mosaic ‘After the Storm’ for a great song by Shovels & Rope, and because I used a large oak limb that fell in the yard during a storm. I also used snow melt to thin the acrylics that I caught in a bucket from my leaky shop roof while I worked on it. 

Vincent van Gogh Award (best use of color): Awarded to Mariel Garcia for her painting titled Feathered Trio – Still Life Study. Mariel is an Executive Assistant in the College of Public Health at UAMS. Mariel has been at UAMS since 2013 and at the COPH since 2024. Mariel started as an assistant/admin at the College of Pharmacy, then Institutional Advancement/Foundation, Executive Assistant at DDEI supporting Vice Chancellor, Dr. Brian Gittens, and then Director of Admissions at the Graduate School.

Email: mmgarciavelazquez@uams.edu

Bio: I attained a Psychology BA and Asian/Japanese Studies Certificates from Florida International University in Miami, FL. I started my career as a counselor and then taught English in Japan through the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program. I relocated to Arkansas in 2010 and have worked at various state agencies in the higher education and healthcare administration sector. Currently, I’m honoring my passion for the arts by studying Graphic Design/Photography at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock School of Art & Design.

Artist Statement: Last year, I took Intro to Painting at UA Little Rock School of Art & Design with Professor Ricky Sikes.  This painting class took me out of my comfort zone.  I was apprehensive of using oils due to safety hazards involved with solvent inhalation, pigment chemical toxicity, and waste combustibility. The class studio was equipped with safe studio practices which helped me focus on the learning aspect since it was also my first time using oils as a medium. I’m so glad I trusted the process and learned so much from this medium while gaining confidence in a new skill.

This is also my first time winning an award for my art. I’m very honored to receive this award since it took a lot of work mixing color variations to get the right hues and values.  In class you always start with 7 colors and have fun blending various combinations to get the perfect shade.  The possibilities are endless.
I find it really neat that the painting won the Vincent van Gogh award and that it unintentionally had a lot of vibrant yellows and blues.

We had to use 3 items to paint a still life.  Nature has always been my muse. Since I love birdwatching, I thought it would be fitting to choose 3 of my favorite bird figurines to practice on and just have fun with it.

• Other: Art Portfolio
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  • Photography Portfolio
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Critic’s Choice Award (overall strongest): Awarded to Bailey Barnes for her quilt titled The Heart in Pieces. Dr. Barnes is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics.

Email: bbarnes@uams.edu

Bio: I am a General Pediatrician in the department of Community Pediatrics. I work at the Arkansas Children’s Southwest Little Rock Clinic.

Artist Statement: My primary art form is quilting. I have always been interested in sewing and asked for my first sewing machine for my 8th birthday. My great aunt, Helen, taught me how to quilt when I was 18 years old. I was spending the summer with family in Southeast Missouri and would go over to her house in the afternoons and sew with her. I made two quilts that summer and was hooked! I always laugh because she told me I shouldn’t continue quilting once I started college or I would become known as “that weird quilting girl.” I didn’t listen, of course, and I wish she could see my quilts now, and that I even won an award for one! This quilt was inspired by my wife who is a Pediatric Cardiologist. It uses a technique called foundation paper piecing where small pieces of fabric are sewed initially to a piece of paper and at the end the paper is removed. There are well over 100 pieces of fabric in this piece. The fabric I used is primarily from scraps left to me by my Aunt Helen. I love that I can continue to carry her artform forward with me. Quilting has gained a lot of popularity recently, so I feel like I have just been ahead of the trend and not a weird quilting girl after all!