11/15- Frankie Johnson is the owner and director of Mainstreet Art Center, a local art studio and art gallery that has been operating for over 30 years. She specializes in portraits and plein air work, so she spoke at length about how to improve in those areas as an artist. She also discussed the business side of art, since she owns and manages both an art school and an art gallery. She gave club members an overview of what that entails on her end and how she was able to reach that point in her career. She emphasized the importance of networking in the art world in order to gain recognition and acclaimation for your art work. She’s competed in multiple art competitions and won national awards, so she also gave club members tips on applying to art competitions and creating winning art. She’s also an art teacher, so club members were able to learn more about teaching art classes, which is a big part of Art in Action. Since Frankie talked about both the artistic and business sides of the art world, the talk was really informative and comprehensive for club members!