"Hay Bales" is a pastel by Mary Ann McCool of Troy, Ill. The work will be displayed at Gallery 100.

The small boy sat quietly on the floor with his legs crossed for the artist. It was then that Neil Allen Randol realized he had the same initials as his father and grandfather.

The artist, Margaret Randol Dement of Sikeston, found her nephew's discovery humorous and named her pencil drawing "N.A.R. too."

Now the portrait will be one of 35 pieces of art displayed at Art Experience '97, a nationally juried fine art exhibition sponsored by the Arts Council of Southeast Missouri.

The exhibit will open Friday and continue through Aug 29. at the Gallery 100, 6 N. Sprigg St. The opening and awards reception will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday.

Fifty artists from 19 states including Washington, Vermont and Virginia submitted 171 slides of their art work done in pencil, pen and ink, oils, pastels, watercolors and acrylic.

Cleda Curtis-Neal of Oran, a professional artist and author of "Portrait Painting Simplified," narrowed the entries to 35. From these, she will select three juror awards and three merit awards.

She will choose the winners based on the artist's use of five basic concepts.

"To be a successful painting, it must have good composition and design, a balance of cool and warm colors, a balance of values or lights and darks, a focal point and be a successful treatment of the medium," Curtis-Neal said.

Since she merely viewed slides of the art, Curtis-Neal is curious to see what the works will look like at the exhibit. The actual size of the work may change her perception of it.

Two artists to whom she will be paying particularly close attention are Pam Ingalls-Cox and J.E. Brown.

One of Ingalls-Cox's entries is an oil painting of a table surrounded by dark green chairs. Light shines through a nearby window and highlights a vase of lilacs sitting on the table.

The painting's colors and accuracy of directional light make "Lilacs and Green Chairs" impressive, Curtis-Neal said.

Another Ingalls-Cox work she likes is a "loose" watercolor painting of a girl and her dog entitled "Sophie & Betsy."

J.E. Brown submitted "Alzheimer Portrait," a pencil drawing of an older gentleman's face.

It is a moving portrait even without reading its title, the juror said.

Curtis-Neal may recognize the artistic qualities of Brown's work more easily because she, herself, is known for her contributions to realism. She uses her book "Portrait Painting Simplified" to teach classes and workshops in her studio in Oran and across the country.

But her artistic abilities aren't limited. She is also recognized for her florals and watercolors.

Curtis-Neal defines art as any idea put to a medium, whatever type it may be: sculpture, photograph, painting or drawing. Art is the creation of a visual impression, she said.

Dement considers it prestigious to have her work selected by a distinguished juror like Curtis-Neal from the entries for Art Experience '97. She and Matt Anderson of Jackson are the only local representatives in the exhibit.

Even after designing the flood wall murals for the 500-foot Wall of Fame in Cape Girardeau and painting a commissioned collage for the 100th birthday of Rush Limbaugh, the grandfather of the radio talk show host, Dement knows it takes a long time to build up credibility in the art community.

Competing in juried art shows is one of the necessary steps in establishing her name.

"When you enter a juried show, you put your work on the line," she said. "With that many entries, I am just proud my work has held up to that kind of competition."