About the Artist – Ginger Witte

A lifelong artist, Ginger Witte attended the Art Institute of Houston and Texas Tech University.

Ginger has been teaching private art lessons for children ages 5 to 15 since 1990. The students participate in local shows, and have won awards and have been recognized locally, statewide, nationally, and internationally for artistic excellence!

Art Pour Vous student Diana Nabulsi, 12 year old daughter of Drs. Sari and Nefous Nabulsi, was the local winner of International Child Art Foundation's "My Favorite Sport" competition in 2006. Diana's piece was one of 10 U.S. entries selected by ICAF officials in Washington, DC that were displayed at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, and also exhibited on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. in 2007. Veena Agusala, 10 year old daughter of Drs. Madhava and Vasantha Agusala, was awarded the first place art trophy at the Young Miss Texas Distinguished Youth program held in Austin in November, 2007.

More than 100 students enroll annually in Ginger's art program at her studio, Art Pour Vous, in Midland, Texas.

Recognition and Awards – West Texas

Ginger demonstrates her watercolor and mixed media techniques and is an exhibitor at various shows in Midland, including Celebration of the Arts, Septemberfest, Midland Country Club, Midland Community Theatre, and Midland Arts Association juried exhibitions.

In 1997, a watercolor titled Norelle's Bouquet was featured on the cover of The Tumbleweed, published by the Junior League of Midland.

In the spring of 2002, Ginger was the recipient of the first and second place watercolor awards at the Odessa Art Association's juried exhibit held at the Ellen Nöel Art Museum.

In July of 2002, Ginger was selected to portray a 1902 Victorian artist at the Texas Best West Texas Windmill Days. This was an inaugural event held to dedicate Beal Park in Midland.

Ginger was selected as the 2002 artist to represent Keep Midland Beautiful. she painted the piece for the publicity of the annual Trio of Gardens Tour which was used on posters and tickets for the event. She also painted a watercolor of each of the three featured gardens (see below) for a silent auction held during the event. Proceeds benefited Keep Midland Beautiful.

In November, 2002, the St. Ann's private school in Midland chose Ginger's painting, Jesus, I Trust In You! (see image at right) as the cover for its 2002-2003 directory.

The Centers for Children and Families keynote speaker for its 2003 fundraiser was actor Henry Winkler. Ginger was one of the celebrity artists. Her painted apron design of "The Fonze" on his motorcycle was signed and acknowledged by Winkler's autograph on the apron with the handwritten statement, "I knew him personally." The apron was modeled by Midland Police Chief John Urby in his role as a celebrity waiter for the event.

In 2003 Ginger was one of the first three artists to introduce her buffalo, "Sunny," to kick off the Arts Assembly of Midland's Buffalo Basin project. Sunny is a near life-size painted buffalo sculpture now grazing among others in the Windlands Park on Wadley Avenue, near "A" Street. Sunny is a sunburned pink buffalo and has wildflowers and friendly desert creatures adorning her frame.

In 2005 Ginger was the recipient of the 3rd place watercolor award at the Midland Arts Association's annual Spring Show held at The Museum of the Southwest. Entries included more than 230 artists from 13 states.

In June, 2006 Ginger completed a 7' x 60' mural at Bowie Elementary School in Midland, which First Lady Laura Welch Bush attended as a child. The cinder block area was base painted with an array of colors to represent clouds, sunrise and ocean. The foreground area features brightly colored tropical plants, dolphins, birds, frogs, and a sleeping leopard. The image at right is part of the detail of this mural; please click on it to see more photos of the mural during the in-progress phase and the final result.

In 2007, Ginger completed 36 aluminum disks, ranging in size from 2' to 4' in diameter, for the joint effort of the Texas Department of Transportation and the Arts Assembly of Midland for their core sample project. Each disk was painted to represent core samples of earth drilled for oil exploration purposes. The disks will be installed at the underpass just south of the intersection of Wall and Big Spring Streets.

In 2008, Ginger completed Music Makes The World Go 'Round, a red painted violin bordered with a black and white piano keyboard (see photo below). The main feature of the violin is a rotating world globe inset into the violin. The chin rest is painted to represent a grand piano, complete with a seated pianist and sheet music. The violin is an auction piece for the Midland-Odessa Symphony and Chorale 2008 Spring Gala.