artcenter manatee

Florida Finds

An Open, All Media, Juried Exhibition

Exhibit: Oct 10 – Nov 17
Kellogg Gallery
Opening Reception: Thursday, Oct 12, 5:00-7:00

An open juried show that asked artists to share their favorite Florida find, whether a favorite beach, native creature, local seafood shack, the myriad of natural springs, or a favorite fishing pier.

Juror: Dr Brandy Stark
For the Florida Finds show I wanted to really explore the Florida experience – tourists, history, nature, amazing secret finds, candid images from events. The show provided all of that and more and made it quite a challenge to jury.

	First place went to Goldie Tremblay because of the beautiful image of the Ca’ d’Zan. This building encompasses history, with the Ringling family, tourism, the arts, and can be both very public when the crowds are there and very private when they’re not. I enjoyed the splashes of color that are coming in from the windows, it does have Florida’s water in the background, along with the required umbrella and chairs for relaxing by the bay. It is both intimate from its point of view and easily identifiable to those who live here and have been to the building.
	Second place goes to Kathy Simon-McDonald. I greatly appreciate the Hopper reference and it actually made me laugh out loud when I saw it. It’s quite brilliant “bringing” the artist to this area. Florida can also be a very solitary and lonely place sometimes. Sitting in a 24-hour diner, the only building around that is open, with just a few visitors is intriguing. It shows Florida at night rather than during the day. There’s no beach but it is inner city and of course our cityscapes are becoming well known across the nation.
	Third place is Kris Peterson. I appreciated the image of the ArtCenter from the beginning of the jury process. It has very crisp clear lines. I love the blue sky and the contrast of the trees and the greenery. It takes a unique look at the building. It also reminds me of Florida’s past, since the ArtCenter was established in 1955, its present, since the show is here now, and its future of being torn down and replaced with a new building with a park and sculpture garden to meet the growing needs of the people.
	The merit award goes to Ann Modrcin. I appreciate that a literal piece of Florida was used with the natural wood. I like the integration of the wood grain modifying the face and how the face conforms to the sometimes jagged edges of the cut. I also wonder what she is looking at and I love that she is serene and yet also contemplating something. I would like to stop and ask her what it is that she’s thinking about.
	Best in 3D has to be Gregg Wilkins. Florida is a very unique place because it has one of two Salvador Dali museums in the world. Dali definitely looks surreal here with his handlebar mustache having hands to hold up his glasses, the camel and melted clocks as some of his iconic images, the peanut gallery is hysterical, and one of my very favorite images of his is the oozing eggs that appear in many of his works. Yet, this Dali has freckles, eyelashes, and a unique crew neck shirt. Plus there’s the Howdy Doody glasses, which make me ask ‘why?’. What is this artist’s subconscious mind manifesting?

Awards

1st Place Goldie Tremblay Inside Out At Ca’ d’Zan Photography

2nd Place Kathy Simon-McDonald If Edward Hopper Ate Donuts

In Bradenton Watercolor

3rd Place Kris Peterson The BEST Florida Find Watercolor

Merit Ann Modrcin Resilience Colored Pencil On Exotic Wood

Best in 3D Gregg Wilkins Howdy Doody’s BF Salvador Dilly Dally Dali Mixed Media

Honorable Mentions
Susan Art Bucket List Mixed Media

Jody Carter Island Home Watercolor

Mary Kay Klein Royals 2.0 Oil

Exhibit sponsors

Art Of The Soul

Trapped by Elly Krasow

An Open, All Media, Juried Show

On Display Jan 4-Jan 27
Opening Reception Jan 5, 5:00-7:00

Juror: Heather Rippert
Painting is my medicine. There is a union that occurs when the brush is in my hand and the page beneath my brush. Art is a devotional practice for me. Watercolors and acrylics are my primary mediums. When I sit down to do my work, intensity builds slowly. I start with soft and subtle layers of color on top of an initial sketch. The act of painting ignites vitality within me. The further I move into a piece, the more pulsating light, fluid and gestural marks, deep color
and contrast, emerges like a visual symphony. Aliveness translates on the page, in my work.

My artwork and process are an extension of all the things that matter to me. My life experiences inform my work. Spiritual growth and development as a way of life is a major force in my creative expression. Walking through life, perpetually seeking the ‘lighted path’ is a theme that can be felt in my paintings. I find inspiration in the beauty of the natural world and am particularly drawn to light and the mood created from the source. My work dances between representational and atmospheric abstraction.

Ray Lawler: Tales of a Traveler

Ray Lawler Portrait of a Traveler

Nov 1-Nov 28
Opening Reception Thursday, Nov 3, 5:00-7:00

Artist Statement
I was born in Connecticut during the Second World War. Other than visiting relatives in Long Island I never left the state until I joined the Navy in 1963. That experience turned me into a traveller want-to-be. Fortunately, after getting 2 academic degrees, I satiated my ambition to be. I have lived, worked, or travelled in more than 84 countries around the globe. And, I got paid for most of it.
I currently live in Florida, with two cats and Wonder Woman. I have been, at various times a logistics consultant, photojournalist, sculptor, writer, and currently an award-winning artist.

I am primarily a self-taught. At 3 years old I was the happy recipient of a box of Crayola’s from my grandpa. My first work of art reached about 3 feet high and extended along all 4 walls of my bedroom. My mother was furious and was going to give me a good whooping. Grandpa came in just in time and yelled. “Don’t touch that boy. I guess I should have given him some paper too.” About 3 weeks later I was probably the youngest kid in my neighborhood with his own drafting table. I started painting by numbers at 5 and completed a free hand painting of Saint Thaddeus at 7. Why? Because he had a huge beard that was easy to draw and paint. At 13 I completed a detailed pencil drawing of the “Ben Hur” chariot race after viewing the movie 10 times. (It was ultimately stolen off my mother’s wall some 25 years later by an intruder.) Subsequently, I illustrated both my high-school class year book and my squadron cruise book during the Vietnam War.

Sign Up for our eNewsletter!