Come one, come all to The Jerry Bennett Show. This Saturday, June 11 located at the Nesbitt Gallery in Davis Hall. The opening reception will begin at 7 pm with wine, snacks, and a silent auction. The artwork will be displayed until July 15th.

            Jerry Bennett is a full-time illustrator, he focuses on writing and drawing comics, as well as graphic novels. He is a lifelong Okie and graduated from USAO in 1993 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

            In 1989, the weeks before the fall semester started, his stepmom discovered that USAO was still offering art scholarships, so they visit the school. The art professor Jim Dudding looked at his portfolio and felt it was worth a scholarship, so away he went.

            According to Bennett, the art department has not changed much.” It was very much like it is now: A community. Not only were we students a very tight-knit group, but we were loved, encouraged, and supported by the faculty, and had, what I hadn’t realized at the time, the very unique opportunity for a student/teacher ratio that allowed for excellent tutoring and growth as an artist.”

            He has always had a passion for art, “I think when I was old enough to pick up a crayon, I was drawing,” said Bennett.

            This gallery was inspired by the culmination of his love for comics and his desire to be a storyteller in his work, for Oklahoma, for his communities that support one another.

Mary-Grace McNutt is a sophomore at the University of Science and Arts.