The Southern Cultural Heritage Center (SCHC) is excited to present “Art Beneath the Sea,” an exhibit by Chester O. Martin.

The exhibit will be on display from March 10 through 31 in the Exhibit Room (located inside the Academy Building) at the SCHC. The display is open to the public on these dates, Monday through Friday, from 8 to 11:30 a.m. and from 2 to 5 p.m. Parking is available in the courtyard parking lot by the office entrance.

Chester Martin is a freelance artist from Vicksburg who specializes in watercolor and acrylic paintings of wildlife, seascapes and rural landscapes. He was born and raised in Texas and spent most of his early years along the Gulf of Mexico, where he explored the bays and made sketches of fish and other animals found along the beaches.

He has B.S. and M.S. degrees in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences from Texas A&M University and retired as a Research Wildlife Biologist from the U.S. Army Engineer Research & Development Center in Vicksburg. He specialized in coastal fisheries as an undergraduate and worked summer jobs for the National Marine Fisheries Service in Galveston and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Marine Lab in Rockport. This gave him the opportunity to study coastal animals in their natural habitat.

Chester is a member of the Vicksburg Art Association and numerous conservation organizations. In 2012, he was recognized as a Champion of Conservation by the Mississippi Wildlife Federation. He was featured as a “Mississippi Favorite Artist” for four years at the Mississippi Medical Association Annual Conference in Biloxi. In 2018, he was awarded the prestigious Jay N. ‘Ding’ Darling Award for Wildlife Stewardship through Art by The Wildlife Society. He has illustrated several books, technical papers and magazine articles on fish and wildlife.

Chester has a passion for the sea and creatures found in ocean waters. The paintings on display in the “Art Beneath the Sea” Exhibit represent species that he either caught or closely observed during his studies and fishing trips to the Gulf Coast. All paintings displayed are original acrylics.

The exhibit is free and open to the public. For more information, call the SCHF office at 601-631-2997.