Local artist Melinda Scott is a featured artists of the Exeter Courthouse Gallery "A Passion for Life" Exhibition. 

Scott started painting early in life, and later attended the Art Institute of Dallas. Her artistic talents led to a successful career in marketing, but she recently decided to nurture her original passion in life – painting.

“Painting helps me to focus on the relevant things in my life and it has allowed me the pleasure of being still,” Scott said. “Through painting I have come to realize a few things – our lives and our relationships are a reflection of our beliefs, but it’s in the simple lessons we experience every day that we learn the most about ourselves.

”Scott’s work, which was featured at the 2011 World Ag Expo, focuses on the Central Valley. Her Western and ag-related collections show the simple life that is often overlooked. “I like to incorporate the local people and events into my paintings,” she said. “Most of the people I paint are from Exeter and the surrounding areas. I’m most drawn to lifestyle pictures that capture an expression and moment in time I’ll never see again.”

Wendy McKellar is a featured artist in the Courthouse Gallery "A Passion For Life" Exhibit. 

McKellar, whose work is featured at Colors Art Gallery in Three Rivers, started painting as a young child. “My grandmother was an artist and I remember at a very young age sitting beside her with my own canvas and paintbrush creating what I thought at the time were masterpieces,” she recalled. “Maybe they were,” she added with a laugh.

For more than 20 years, McKellar painted murals and “faux finishes” (using paint to create the illusion of texture or depth on flat surfaces) for Scenic Heights Interiors. She spends her time these days working in oils and painting “plein air” (painting nature on location). “Every time I go out, I make new and exciting discoveries,” she said.