“I’ve lived in Weatherford since 1978, and first joined WAA in the late 1980s,” said WAA President Kathy Cunning. “But my 26-year career as an art teacher in Weatherford ISD took up a lot of my time. It wasn't until I retired in 2011 that WAA became more of my focus. When I retired, I was looking to still be with like-minded artists. I enjoy people who create art because they must, and WAA artists are a fun group that like to learn new art techniques and keep current and fresh in their artwork, whatever their skill level, beginner or professional.”
Kathy has served the Weatherford Art Association in several of the group's board positions, including treasurer and membership chair, before her current stint as president of the group. Kathy also gives to Weatherford by teaching free art lessons weekly to seniors. As she said, “The teaching spirit doesn’t go away when you retire from teaching.” She also coordinates the yearly Parker County Student Art Show sponsored by WAA.
Kathy’s media of choice is watercolor, and she is a well-known and award-winning artist at the local and state level. Kathy recently showed her brilliance with wins at the 2023 State Fair of Texas Art Contest where she won the prestigious Teacher and Professional Division, watercolor portrait and watercolor still life. Her first-place portrait win was "Banjo Man,” her first-place still life was “New Zealand Chevy. In 2025, she garnered a second-place win with her watercolor “Purple Fairlane.” Kathy’s biggest fans are her husband, Ron, who retired from a thirty-six-year USAF career, and her son and daughter, who live in Fort Worth.
As a life-long Texan, WAA member Cindi Neverdousky grew up in Fort Worth and has lived in Willow Park since 1984 with husband Richard.
A member since 2014, Cindi embodies the tradition of creativity, service and education common in WAA. She has a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and a Master of Education with a specialty in Special Education from the University of North Texas. Cindi worked for 35 years in Fort Worth ISD as a teacher, instructional specialist, and administrator. Ending her career in Fort Worth as Director of Special Education, she then worked for the Texas Education Agency helping to guide schools that were in trouble academically.
After she finally retired in 2020, Cindi’s curiosity and talent for art blossomed into membership in the Weatherford Art Association. As Cindi says, “Another WAA member, Patricia Harder, knew that I loved to paint. I was already a member of the Woman’s Club of Fort Worth Art. She encouraged me to attend a few meetings in Weatherford and I loved the demos. There is always something new to learn in art, a method, technique or even an image to paint.”
Her favorite media is oils, but she is equally excited and at home with pastel and watercolor and has earned many honors locally for her artwork. In addition, Cindi has served terms on the WAA Board as president, treasurer and currently produces the association’s monthly newsletter.
Cindi echoes WAA’s non-profit mission to support the future of art in Parker County. “WAA has a mission of bringing the fine arts to Weatherford and Parker County. We are one of the fastest growing counties in Texas, yet we still don’t have an artistic presence. We need a gallery and a place to encourage young artists to ‘spread their wings’ and practice their talents. Life without art is just boring. We are so very fortunate to have the Doss Cultural and Heritage Museum in our backyard. They have helped to showcase Weatherford Art and the many talented artists in WAA and the surrounding counties.”
Jerry has been enjoying his artist hobby for about twenty years. After he retired, he was looking for something that was less technical than his computer software design years had been, so he turned to art. He found that paintings accomplished several things: they allow creativity and they allow the artist to deeply focus and appreciate the things being painted. His first art teacher advised to just paint things that you enjoy, and these will give you enjoyment in return, whether they are ever sold or seen in a gallery.
That simple advice has stuck with Jerry over the years. He paints in several categories. He likes cowboy and western themes, so he has painted many western landscapes and cowboys. He also enjoys superheroes, so he has painted many of his childhood superheroes such as Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman. He has also enjoyed painting western pop art, so he has painted most of the western heroes of yesteryear including Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, and Lash LaRue. Jerry’s art collection is a mix of things that he enjoys, sometimes mixed with a little nostalgia. Jerry has also tried his hand at 3-D diorama modeling. His largest modeling project was a scale model of the Central Christian Church in Weatherford. You can find a lot of his artwork posted on his website: jerryshidal.com.
Jerry regularly serves the Weatherford Art Association at each meeting by setting up the audio-visual equipment. After the WAA move to the Senior Center, he spent several months researching available video technology that would work with the overhead projector the Center provides. This research concluded with WAA purchasing an ELMO MX-P3 document camera to provide close-up visuals of its artist demos. He recently built a special tripod mount for the ELMO that will allow the camera to be perfectly and safely positioned over artist demonstrations. In addition, Jerry also procured two different voice amplifiers that allow the officers and speakers at monthly meetings to be more clearly heard and understood.
Jerry lives in Benbrook, with Gail, his wife of 60 years. They have a son, Tim, who works for the City of Fort Worth, and he and his wife, Jennifer, have six children.
So, what’s next for the Weatherford Art Association? “Growth. Wonderful growth,” Cunning said. “We have been growing up with Weatherford for a long time. We’ve been at every Parker County Peach Festival with a Peach Festival Art Show at the Doss. We have a long-standing relationship with the Doss Heritage and Culture Center who partners with us in art shows year-round featuring our local artists. We are currently searching for a permanent home, a place big enough for meetings, a gallery space, and studio space for lessons. We need a place to help support the future of art in Parker County. We meet now on the fourth Monday of each month at the Parker County Senior Center. This is an exciting time for Weatherford and the art possibilities through WAA in this historic town are endless.”
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