Board of Directors

Send E-mail		PRESIDENT Neil Patterson OPAM Neil was juried into the premier national exhibition in 1992 and in 1995 was the first Canadian to gain Signature Membership. He achieved Master Signature Member status in 2000, the first Canadian to be granted this honor. In 2002 Neil earned a seat on the Board of Directors of the OPA. He was voted Vice-President in 2006, and also served as Co-Chair for Exhibitions and Chair of the Signature Member Jury Committee. Neil placed third out of 22 master artists this May in the OPA 17th National Exhibition. He is now the first Canadian to be elected president of OPA. Neil is also a Signature Member of the Alberta Society of Artists, the Federation of Canadian Artists, and the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters. He is a member of the Laguna Plein Air Painters, the California Art Club, the Salmagundi Club in New York City, the Tucson Plein Air Painters, and the National Oil & Acrylic Painters’ Society. The Tianjin Peoples’ Fine Arts Publishing House in Tianjin, China has just published a book in English and Chinese about Neil and his work. The book will be distributed throughout China, Canada and the United States of America.
Send E-mail		VICE PRESIDENT Ken Cadwallader is a Signature Member of OPA. Ken is a graduate of Kendall College of Art & Design in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He has also attended Royal College of Arts in London, the Palette and Chisel Academy and the Loveland Academy of Fine Art. Ken has participated in many prestigious shows such as the Arts for the Parks, Oil Painters of America, and Portrait Society of America, receiving awards in all. Ken served as the Chair of the OPA Critique Committee from 2006-2008 and is now serving as Chair of the Program Committee.
		SECRETARY/TREASURER Betty Schmidt joined the Board in 1998 and has served as Secretary/Treasurer, Vice President, and President. Betty currently serves as Secretary/Treasurer. Oil Painting became her primary interest after retirement as Finance Director of the City of Park Ridge, Illinois in 1993. Her in-depth knowledge of accounting, computers and financial management has been instrumental in the technological advancements the organization has made in the past two years. Betty is represented at six galleries in the Midwest area.
		IMMEDIATE PAST PRESIDENT William T. Chambers OPA is a nationally recognized portrait painter, a graduate of the American Academy of Art in Chicago, and holds a BA from Northeastern Illinois University. His portfolio of portraits includes those of numerous public figures, including former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar and Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird. He is has also won the prestigious Grand Prize Award in the International Portrait Competition of the Portrait Society of America. Bill has served as a Board Member-Director since February 2002, and served as Vice-President from 2004-2006 and President from 2006-2008. He also served as Chair of the Jurying Selection Committee from 2004-2006. Currently, Bill is serving as the Chair of the Signature Advisory Committee.
		DIRECTOR John Michael Carter OPA attended the American Academy of Art in Chicago and received a B.F.A. from the Art Center College of Design. John Michael has taught at Scottdale Artist School and Dallas Artist League and the Arts Club of Cincinnati. He is the winner of first place and the Artist's Choice Award at the 2002 Amerian Society of Portrait Artists’ International Portrait competition, 2003 Artist's Magazine Award at the OPA National Competition, 2007 Best of Show at the IHA Exhibition, as well as many others. Mr. Carter’s portraits include governors, senators and university presidents as well as corporate and civic leaders. His paintings hang in the collections of Phillips Petroleum Corporation, J.B.Speed Art Museum, the McDonalds Museum, the Patton Museum, the State Capitol Museum, the governor’s mansion, Frankfort , KY and in many other corporate collections.
		DIRECTOR Ruth Dyke Challacombe OPA graduated from the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and received her BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago/University of Chicago. She received her M.Ed. from National-Louis University and studied privately with Charles B. Vickery OPA and Li Chang, both artists of international stature. An OPA member since 1992, serving as a Board Member-Director from 1993-present, and as President from August 1999 to June 2002. Ms. Challacombe now serves as Co-Chair of the Gallery Selection Committee and as OPA’s Historian.
		DIRECTOR Howard Friedland OPA studied at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Art and Science, in New York City and also studied with Michael Lynch, Ned Jacob, Mark Daly, Laura Robb, Carolyn Anderson, Mitch Billis, Scott Christensen, Zhiwei Tu and Matt Smith. An early member with OPA, Howard has won many awards with OPA as well as at many other national and regional exhibitions including, Salon International at Greenhouse gallery and many others. His work has been invited to show in the C.M. Russell Auction and Kimball Art Center Museum Auction. He became a Signature Member of the OPA in 2003, won the 2007 Award of Excellence for Best Signature Member at the OPA Central Regional Show in Topeka, Kansas and the 2008 Award of Excellence Best in Show Award at the OPA National Show in Missoula Montana. Howard is the co-founder of Montana Painters Alliance and has juried for OPA as well as Paint the Parks Art Show.
		DIRECTOR Konrad Hack OPA received his B.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago/University of Chicago and his Masters from Governors State University. He is a founding member of the Midwest Air Force Artists Program. His paintings are on display in the permanent collections of NASA, the Pentagon, 9th Infantry Division Museum-Fort Lewis, WA, and numerous other locations as well as in private collections and corporate headquarters. Since 1989, he has taught college level drawing, painting, photography, art history, humanities, and film history. He was first appointed to the Board in June 2001, and currently serves as OPA’s Scholarship Chairman.
		DIRECTOR Marci Oleszkiewicz studied at the Palette and Chisel Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago. Marci recieved the 2007 best of show award at the American Impressionist Society's National Show and recieved the award of excellence the following year. She also recieved an award of excellence at the Oil Painters of America's National Show in 2007. That year Marci was also honored as part of Southwest Art Magazine’s 21 Under 31 section. In 2008 She had her first solo Exhibition in Scottsdale's Gallery Russia and was a great success. Marci also helps administrate OPA's page on Facebook.
		DIRECTOR Zhiwei Tu OPAM has been a member of OPA since 1993 and joined the Board of Directors in 2000. He is highly regarded by his peers and is recognized internationally for his figurative paintings. Born in China, Tu graduated from the Guangzhou Institute of Fine Arts, renown for producing many of the best artists in the world. While there, Tu was able to achieve major recognition for his work and went on to become a professor of fine arts. In 1987, Tu came to the United States to enter Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, to further his education and career. Since then he has won some of this country’s most coveted awards including OPA’s American National Award of Excellence in 1998. Tu has served as Chair of the Jury Selection Committee from 2002-2004 and as OPA President from 2004-2006. He currently is Co-Chair of the Master Signature Advisory Committee.