Meet the Jurors

We assembled a panel of jurors from a variety of disciplines who are not exclusively tied to the Wichita Falls Art Scene. Submissions were graded on a scale of 1-10 base on Interpretation of the Theme and Visual impact.

Claudia Montoya, PhD

Dr. Montoya graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Linguistics and Hispanic Literature from the Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla in 1996, and she completed her PhD on Hispanic Literature at the University of Knoxville, Tennessee, in 2002. She is a Professor of Spanish at MSU Texas where she teaches a variety of courses in Hispanic Literature as well as Latin American Culture. Since 2006 to the present she has been a member of the Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration at her university, where she is constantly involved in cultural projects. Besides giving talks on the subjects of Literature and Popular Culture, she also has given talks about the Day of the Dead Celebration from both historical and cultural perspectives; she has delivered presentations at 9th Street Studios on the importance and the elements of the traditional ‘altares’ or ‘ofrendas’  during their Los Muertos celebration.

Mark McDowell

Mark McDowell’s paintings and drawings have been featured in over 40 one-man shows and innumerable group exhibitions in museums, art centers and galleries across the United States and Europe since 1976. In addition to his studio work, he is also an Artist in Residence for the Andaz Scottsdale Resort, founder of Tiny Satellite Press, worked with Nils Lofgren to record and produce "Blind Date Jam" and is the cofounder and cowriter of Dusty Rambler Project with Ted Brown. He lives and works at the Cattletrack Arts Compound in downtown Scottsdale, AZ.

Catherine V. Prose

Catherine Prose is a mixed media artist working as Professor of Art at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. Prose holds a Bachelor of Art from Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma and a Masters of Fine Art from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Prose’s artwork has been exhibited extensively nationally and internationally in both group and solo showings. Her artwork is in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia; Colorado Special Collections, Boulder, Colorado and in The Printmaker Research Collection at the Museum of Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. Prose has been active member of the Wichita Falls community serving as Board Vice President 2014-2017 for Wichita Falls Alliance for Arts and Culture; serving on the Wichita Falls Arts Commission from 2009-2016, of which 5 years were as Chair, and currently serves on the Board of the River Bend Nature Center.

Daniel Gulick

For over 20 years Daniel Gulick has been a staple in the Oklahoma and surrounding area art scene. He graduated from Oklahoma State University in 2005 with a bachelors in studio art with a focus in painting. During his time in Stillwater, OK, (OSU) he painted over 15 murals, most of which still exist. He was eventually sponsored by Kicker Speaker Company, Monster Energy Drink, and Circuit City and TOMS shoes for murals across Oklahoma, Missouri, Texas and Las Vegas. After graduating college Gulick found work as the assistant preparator for Philbrook Museum while teaching painting and sculpture at Tulsa Community College. He left the museum to pursue teaching full time, but soon started also working as a traveling guest artist for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition for the last 3 seasons of the show. During this time Gulick opened his first art gallery, Colour Gallery, which supplied the art for his next television show, Texas Flip and Move. In 2014, he left teaching and television and opened his Tattoo Studio, Colour Studios, where he currently works to this day. Gulick also produces the biggest erotic event in Oklahoma called, The Nude Art Show, currently in its 16th year.