I am thrilled to be one of the plein air painters invited to be in the St. George Island Invitational Plein Air Paint-Out April 8-14, 2018. I will be teaching a one-day workshop there as well, on April 10, 2018. Workshop details and the supply list are at http://joanvienot.com/workshops.
Artist of 30A is proud to announce that local mixed media artist, Kay Richoux has accepted the position of President for the Lafayette, La Art Association. Kay maintains a home and studio here in Florida and in Louisiana. She works with acrylic, encaustic and more. Read more about Kay here.
Kay was also one of 16 artists to artistically design a pointe shoe that was auctioned off by the Lafayette Ballet and Theater Company’s reception for “The Nutcracker” along with their Grand Opening Ceremonies. All to raise money for their new building. The grand opening was October 6, 2017. It was an honor to be chosen for “Pointed Works of Art.”
Artists of 30a is proud to have a new member artist and gallery owner, Russ Gilbert. Russ is an incredible creative manipulator of glass. You can see some of his works here. He also owns Fusion Art Glass in Seaside which has been providing 30A beautiful artwork since 1996. Do take the time to enjoy Russ’s beautiful glass works online and in person!
One of the most well respected publications in the Florida panhandle, EC Magazine reaches from Inlet Beach to Pensacola. Each June since 2000, over 20,000 readers are asked to vote in 140 categories in their Best of the Emerald Coast Readers Choice Poll. The winners are announced in October, followed by a huge celebration party. In 2012, Best Local Artist was added as a category, and local residents voted Andy Saczynski as the very first winner. (This was the same month that Andy was selected as Visit South Walton’s Artist of the Year.) A year later, readers again voted Andy as the winner of that category. Now, for the third straight year, Andy has been voted Best Local Artist. He’s honored to have the local community recognize him in this way.
Andy Saczynski’s studio-gallery is located on Logan Lane in Grayton Beach. He creates pieces with recycled and re-purposed materials, along with found objects. All of his work is displayed downstairs, reaching up the 20-ft walls. Visitors are allowed and encouraged to come upstairs to see Andy’s studio space and watch as he develops mixed media assemblage pieces. Over the past few years, his unique style has captured the attention of customers, fans, and even national companies. In fact, you can find Andy’s art on Immaculate Baking Company’s products across the United States. It’s easy to see why he was voted Best Local Artist again this year.
The 14th Annual Best of the Emerald Coast event is hosted by EC Magazine to benefit the Junior League of the Emerald Coast. Held at Grand Boulevard at Sandestin on the evening of October 25th, this popular and well attended celebration party will showcase this year’s winners, including Andy. The public is invited to an evening of food, fun, fashion, and entertainment. Your ticket will allow you to sample from the best restaurants, shopping, and businesses on the Emerald Coast.
To learn more about Andy, visit his website or see his page here on the Artist’s of 30A.
My best friend Leslie Kolovich‘s home and studio look out over the beautiful wetlands of Camp Creek Lake, one of the rare coastal dune lakes of Walton County in Northwest Florida. True coastal dune lakes, which periodically exchange water with the sea, exist in only a few places in the world. Ginger Jackson Sinton has written a book about our lakes, Rare Coastal Dune Lakes: Biodiversity and a Sense of Home. A contributor toSoWal.com, she writes, “Walton County defines coastal dune lakes as shallow bodies of water located within two miles of the coast that occasionally intermingle with the Gulf. The lakes are composed of both fresh and saltwater from tributaries, groundwater seepage (from the uplands and the Gulf), rainfall, and coastal storm surges. Their levels rise and fall due to frequency, strength, and duration of storm activity, tidal flows and wind conditions. When water levels reach a critical point the lowest level of the beach opens up, creating a temporary outlet, or outfall, into the Gulf.” (Click for whole article.)
This past Wednesday afternoon found me at Leslie’s studio. The late afternoon sun was painting the top of the marsh grasses with golden light. Leslie has often said that I should paint from her upstairs porch, so we went up for a look, and I immediately went back out to my pickup to get my painting backpack. Early morning and late afternoon light require fast work because the light and shadows are changing so fast. Leslie shot a few short videos showing the progress of my work. I had toned an 8×10 canvas panel a light muted tannish-green, and I chose that panel for this painting so I wouldn’t be worried about white glaring through if my brush skipped over any of the canvas — an unnecessary concern as I painted alla prima impasto.
Below are five of the videos Leslie shot, sometimes with talking, sometimes not. It’s difficult for me to talk while I’m painting, and Leslie and I had a few laughs about that as I sometimes struggled for words!
Artist of 30A Lori Drew is one of 64 local artists featured in the Beach Art Group’s new “Bloomin” exhibit at the Palms Conference Center in Panama City Beach. Click here to read more about Lori Drew.
Bett Appel and Didon Comer have a nice collection of paintings on display at The Coastal Branch Library. Here’s a map to the library. Do go gy the library and enjoy the beautiful work by these two local 30A artists! The artwork will be on display for the entire month of March.
Bett’s Work on Display
Didon’s Work on Display
To read the interview visit Sweet Tea Florida here: http://www.sweetteafl.com/2014/02/texas-meets-south-walton-in-artist-aaron-sutton/
