Artist Recognition

  During the months of July and August, Watercolorist Jim Beech will be our featured 2D artist.  Jim has a background in advertising and graphic design, and began painting with watercolor in 1957.  He has mastered the medium, winning many awards and much recognition in art societies.  Jim particularly likes to paint buildings and boats of unusual character, or in a derelict state.  His goal is to create a story and to have the viewer wonder what might have happened to the building or boat prior to his depiction.  Jim also excels at painting landscapes and seascapes of the many locations in North America and Europe that he has visited. Click here to see the artist's work.

Our 3D Artist of the Month for July & August is Potter Bonnie Benande.   Bonnie began working with clay while living in North Carolina, where pottery is very popular.  Bonnie's art pieces are both functional and decorative, and include plates, trays, and bowls, napkin rings, vases, toothpick holders, and fan pulls.  Her work often reflects the flora and fauna of southwest Florida, and features shells, turtles, dragonflies, and palm trees in natural colors of blue, green, and beige.    Click here to see the artist's work.

Joanne Stramara's  watercolor painting, "Dreamscape," has been accepted into the Florida Watercolor Society's 50th Anniversary Exhibition held at the Coral Springs Museum of Art September 5th to November 15th, 2021.

 Beverly Yankwitt won a Merit Award in the Charlotte County Visual Arts Center's June/July, 2021 Members' Showcase with her painting, "Mysterious Encounter."

Bev Yankwitt's painting "Rise Up" has been accepted into the National Watercolor Society's 101st International Open Exhibition 2021.

Renee Farr and Nancy Gray-Giffin both had pieces accepted into the Beautiful Bountiful Bowls Exhibition presented by Florida CraftArt Gallery in St. Petersburg, FL.  The exhibit is from May 14 to June 26th with a virtual reception on May 14th at  6pm.  More information is available at:  floridacraftart.org.

 Beverly Yankwitt's acrylic abstract painting, "Just Scratching the Surface"  was accepted into Art Center Sarasota's March/April, 2021 "Revealed" show.

Barbara Albin won a Merit Award in the March/April, 2021 New Beginnings Exhibit at the Visual Arts Center for her acrylic painting "Night Dancing."

AnneTuttle won Third Place in the Charlotte County Visual Arts Center's October, 2020 Falling for Art Exhibit with her colored pencil painting, "Summer Reading."

Jim Beech won a Merit Award in the Charlotte County Visual Arts Center's October, 2020 Falling for Art exhibit with his watercolor "Fence Line."

Barb Albin's acrylic abstract, "All My Friends" won Second Place in the Charlotte County Visual Arts Center's September, 2020 "Color" exhibit.  The various colors in the painting represent Barb's many friends weaving in and out of her life.

Bev Yankwitt won a Merit Award in the September, 2020 "Color" Exhibit at the Visual Arts Center in Punta Gorda with her mixed media abstract, "Conspiracy Theory."

Nancy Giffin's beautiful beaded sculpture of a lotus flower, "Beauty in the Swamp," won the Rubicond Honorable Mention Award in the Cape Coral Art Center's July/August, 2020 exhibit, "In Spite of the Swamp."

Bev Yankwitt's abstract painting "Lunar Light"  won the Canson Award at  the Southern Watercolor Society's exhibit at the Gadsden Art Center held in Quincy, FL from April 23-June19, 2021. This painting was also juried into the 49th annual Florida Watercolor Society's Member Show, held online September 2020.