Tulsa for Artists? (Hunter: environment, real estate, showing)

[studio583]

Could Tulsa be it? We live in a great neighborhood in Atlanta but it's getting really expensive and the politics is as expected for city this size, completely corrupt. My partner and I are both painters working 9-5 and showing in galleries. We're interested in being close to AZ for workshops and galleries but we need to keep out living expenses down so we can concentrate on painting and showing in galleries. The housing there looks great! We could easily have a working studio in a pretty sizable house. I just wonder how hard it is to break into the gallery scene there and if there would be other opportunities like taking some life classes and workshops.
Is Tulsa progressive? I've seen lots of comments about the Bible belt and neither of us are religious. We are in a committed relationship but not married, no kids, not kid people. We also need really good restaurants and groceries. Any information would be greatly appreciated — we know nothing about this area. Suggestions are welcome. We are also in need of excellent holistic and traditional veterinary care. We have a geriatric special needs dog. Thanks.

[Synopsis]

I hope some of the links help.

Tulsa Fine Arts Painter Mark Lackey

TulsaPeople Digital Edition - July 2008

Oil barons, frontier art, African-American life in Tulsa | ajc.com

Vet Locator, Veterinarian, Holistic vet, emergency pet hospital

http://www.vetlocator.com/search_results.php

I also encourage you to contact this guy (below). He's a local talent and very good at what he does. More than anyone, he can probably give you the "scoop" on the art scene in Tulsa. He is a true Artist, just check out his work. I hope that you're not a competitor, but William has a unique talent (and he's a good person), so I don't think there's any harm done..

And good luck!

William Franklin Studios

[studio583]

Thanks!

[Synopsis]

You're welcome!

[sgrizzle]

I think William is out of town until mid July, or at least ex-communicado.

You can talk to Steve Liggett at Living Arts of Tulsa
And there is the ever-popular Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa

You might also see what I posted about the new modern arts center on this thread:
Tulsa's New Arena

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by sgrizzle

I think William is out of town until mid July, or at least ex-communicado.

You can talk to Steve Liggett at Living Arts of Tulsa
And there is the ever-popular Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa

You might also see what I posted about the new modern arts center on this thread:
Tulsa's New Arena

As always, thanks sgrizzle. William is probably taking a much deserved vacation.

[MrsSteel]

Originally Posted by sgrizzle

You can talk to Steve Liggett at Living Arts of Tulsa
And there is the ever-popular Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa

Ditto all of this! Thanks, sgrizzle.

Studio583, Tulsa is certainly known for being the buckle of the Bible Belt, but there are plenty of progressive individuals in the Tulsa area. You just have to put yourself in their environment. I know a number of people in Tulsa who live a similar lifestyle to yours & they're quite happy. In fact, some of them have moved off to larger cities like Chicago or LA, but chose to return to Tulsa.

I think there are a couple of holistic vets in the area, but I don't have any personal experience with any of them. I believe Hunters Glen Vet Hospital is holistic, but I'm not 100% sure.

As for groceries, you should check out the weekly farmers market.
CHERRY STREET FARMERS MARKET IN TULSA
There's one Wild Oats grocery store (which I believe is owned by Whole Foods now).
For gourmet cheeses and such, I like LaDonna's Fancy Foods.
LaDonna's Fancy Foods
Understand that Tulsa is a lot smaller than Atlanta, so your choices are going to be limited compared to what you know now, but that doesn't mean there are no choices at all. You just need to take the time to get to know the town & you should be fine.

All that being said, I feel that I should encourage you to look at how close Tulsa really is to the parts of Arizona that interest you. According to GoogleMaps, Tulsa is more than 1000 miles away from Phoenix. It's a shorter drive to there from Tulsa than it is from Arlanta, but it's still a loooooooong way away! I don't even think there are any direct flights from Tulsa to Phoenix. So if proximity to Arizona is that important to you, I'd go further west. Good luck!

[Brookside]

Live in the midtown area - Brookside, Florence Park, Maple Ridge, Sunset, Cherry St., etc. It's much more liberal and open-minded. South Tulsa is pretty much for the soccer mom set.

And Southwest has *several* direct flights from Tulsa to Phoenix daily!

[designer]

I do contemporary realism type of painting and I am also considering Tulsa.
I now live in southern New Mexico and most of the art here is southwest
which I care little about. Also I have found that many of the artists are
not all that professional and many have never studied art. I've lived in Atlanta where I worked in Design but that was in the late 80's. I did like it
but I think it might be to large for me today. I also lived and worked in
Scottsdale so I'm assuming that you are talking about the Scottsdale art
school. I've never lived in Tulsa but I did grow up there many many years
ago and it always seemed like a pretty town. I would also assume that it
is very conversative but that would be fine as long as their are some
progressive thinking people. I'm sure most larger cities would have some
of both. I did notice that Tulsa doesn't seem to have any artist supply
stores with the exception of Hobby Lobby. I guess most of us buy our
supplies online now so that wouldn't be to large of a problem. I may
come and check it out in a couple of weeks. I've also noticed that the
real estate prices are very resonable .

[Synopsis]

Originally Posted by designer

I do contemporary realism type of painting and I am also considering Tulsa.
I now live in southern New Mexico and most of the art here is southwest
which I care little about. Also I have found that many of the artists are
not all that professional and many have never studied art. I've lived in Atlanta where I worked in Design but that was in the late 80's. I did like it
but I think it might be to large for me today. I also lived and worked in
Scottsdale so I'm assuming that you are talking about the Scottsdale art
school. I've never lived in Tulsa but I did grow up there many many years
ago and it always seemed like a pretty town. I would also assume that it
is very conversative but that would be fine as long as their are some
progressive thinking people. I'm sure most larger cities would have some
of both. I did notice that Tulsa doesn't seem to have any artist supply
stores with the exception of Hobby Lobby. I guess most of us buy our
supplies online now so that wouldn't be to large of a problem. I may
come and check it out in a couple of weeks. I've also noticed that the
real estate prices are very resonable .

designer, I hope that you find whatever you are looking for. I would like to offer an opinion in reference to your "conservative" versus "progressive" statement. And I'm not putting those terms in quotes to offend, but to illustrate.

I'm a conservative and more importantly, a Christian; I would also like to think that I'm a progressive thinker. Does that mean I am in agreement with a host of things that one with my belief's might find offensive? No, not at all.

But Christ teaches Love with a capital L (and I'm not preaching, just saying). Many, or even most so called "Christians" do not actually practice what Christ teaches. We all have our beliefs, and just because one does not subscribe to everything that is labeled as progressive, doesn't mean that we are "regressive." All it means is that we have our beliefs and they are important to us.

I would never try and force my beliefs down your throat, and I assume that you would do the same.

The reason I say this is that people tend to lump people into categories, and in reality we are all individuals that can think for ourselves.

I think you'll find a large number of these types of people in the Tulsa area. You sound like you would be a great addition, artistically and otherwise, to the Tulsa area.

Just my 2 cents, and Good Luck!

PS. I didn't mean to turn this into a religious discussion so please continue without any references to religion and such; no need to debate because I am not making any accusations.