By J.R. Tidwell/ Editor

Peoples Southern Bank in Clanton will soon be accepting entries for its 34^th annual Roy Wood Peach Festival Art Show and Sale.

According to a flyer for the event, “This competition gives all interested artists in our area the opportunity to let their works by their friends and people interested in art. The subject matter of these works may be pertaining to the peach industry (blooms, fruit, picking, packing, etc.) or a subject of your choosing. The painting must have been painted within the last two years and must not have been entered in this show before. Your entry must be an original. It cannot be a copy.”

The art show came about when local art instructor Scarlett Teel, Wood and others were looking for a way to get their works seen by more than just themselves and their families.

“We would frame our paintings and hang them in our houses, but no one else would see them,” said former Clanton Middle School Principal Donny Finlayson, who has been a student of Teel’s and is in charge of the show. “We started the exhibit at Wood’s house, but we moved it to the bank (where Wood worked). Originally, the paintings had to be about peaches, but now they just have to be original works.”

There will be two separate divisions in the show, junior and senior age groups.

There will be monetary prizes in each category, with $100 awarded for first place, $75 for second, $50 for third and $25 for honorable mention.

The exhibit will be displayed in the bank from June 21 through June 27. Arrangements must be made to pick up paintings the day after the show on June 28.

Any artists from Chilton County are eligible to enter the competition, with a limit of two works per individual. The entry fee is $5 per work.

Submissions will be accepted at the bank on June 20 from noon until 2 p.m. at the parking lot entrance.

“All works entered in the exhibit must be original, dry, framed and complete with wire ready to hang,” according to the event flyer. “Drawings, watercolors, pastels and any works on paper must be matted, framed and complete with wire ready to hang. The bank cannot be responsible for your works in case of damage, etc., but will make every effort to protect your works.”

Entry forms may be picked up at the bank or at Senior Connection in Clanton.

“Art is not something a lot of people are involved in,” Finlayson said. “This event helps promote young people getting into it. I started taking art in 1980. Scarlett Teel got things rolling, and she wants to keep things going. We appreciate what she’s done to promote art in [Clanton].”