St Augustine Art Critic

staugartcritic

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 13:23:00 -0700

PastedGraphic-1.pdf Download this file

Shout to the Lord, a popular contemporary worship song, made it to American Idol but I have to say I was truly moved by Inspirata’s version. On the final note, soprano Elizabeth Claxton raised her right arm to show her hand in an encompassing gesture. I recently heard this newly formed quartet in the sanctuary at Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Church in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. They had me mesmerized and now I can’t get enough of them. Add baritone Steven Jepson’s resonating Amen on completion of the Sanctus to my unforgettable list. Before mezzo-soprano Cheryse McLeod Lewis introduced Celine Dion’s The Prayer, there was no way I could have known how much that delivery would affect me. All through the hour-long concert, passion for singing shines through, particularly in tenor Timothy Sparks. All four show a remarkable range that for each of them appears easily attainable. Sonia Lewis (RCAM) has brought together a savvy group. Accompanied by their music director/concert pianist, prayer of praise is set in motion with some stirring a cappella along the way.

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 05:08:00 -0700

The Boat House in Central Park in New York City.
Renoir's Luncheon of the Boating Party theme crosses the Atlantic Ocean or at least that is what came to mind on my last trip to New York City when I saw the rowboats on the lake and the striped awnings of the boathouse in the distance. I also thought of the Seaside Gallery in St. Augustine. They have a copy of the famous Impressionist's boating party scene that looks very much like the original one, a must see.

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Seaside Gallery

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 04:27:29 -0700

Seaside Gallery Celebrates 1st Anniversary
Owners Tom Koulermos and June Cooper celebrate Seaside Gallery's 1st anniversary with good friends Judy Kashou, Carol Elliott and Dwight Elliott. Seaside Gallery is located in the Heritage Mall on St. Augustine's St. George Street.

The icing on the cake shows Seaside Gallery's theme colors of green, blue and yellow.
.

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Arts on Douglas Represents St. Augustine Artists

Mon, 03 Aug 2009 03:43:37 -0700

Arts on Douglas Fine Art and Collectibles in New Smyrna Beach announced they will represent Wendy Tatter and Inez Nickmans at a reception August 1st. They join Beau Redmond and at least half a dozen more artists from St. Augustine whose work is already in this premiere fine art gallery of Florida artists.

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Zipper Table A Conversation Piece and More

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 07:33:24 -0700

Arts on Douglas, a premiere gallery in New Smyrna Beach featuring original fine art by Florida artists, held a reception on Saturday for newcomers to the gallery. Two are from St. Augustine. See last week's entry about Wendy Tatter. She is one. The other is Inez Nickmans. Quite a bit of conversation happened around her decorative/functional table. She calls it "Zipper Table." It is 8 ft. 3 inches long and 22 inches wide, a perfect setting where several guests can have dinner - functional - or - as a decorative piece, placed in a foyer or hall. Nickmans builds her own furniture and intentionally leaves nails artfully exposed in places that normally wouldn't be a problem except for homes with small children. Zipper Table, for example, has a line of them poking out from the cross board foot high the length of the table. However, they are not just ordinary nails. They work well with the piece.

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Fish Art

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 08:31:21 -0700

When I was an art columnist for the St. Augustine Record, I often went from gallery to gallery "fishing" for a story line. No pun intended, but this time I actually found images of fish at Wendy Tatter's gallery uptown. The last weekend each month, Wendy invites local artists to show at her gallery. Jeannie Fitzpatrick's fish in watercolors were inspired by her own fly fishing excursions. Hanging next to these was one of Alexander Holborn's impressive steel fish wall sculpture. Wendy's batik "Pond of Koi" heads south for the month of August to Arts on Douglas in New Smyrna Beach. Road trip!

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Green Fairy Art

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 03:39:53 -0700

I met the green fairy in person. That's right. It all took place in the nation's oldest city, St. Augustine, Florida. For those of you who may not know, the green fairy is associated with the European libation referred to as absinthe. Pennsylvania artist John Pacovsky draws live model Kathleen Godwin into his Absenthe campaign ads for Crillon Imports. Michel Roux, owner of Absolute Americana Gallery on Bridge Street, commissioned the assignment. John joined other published artists at Bistro de Leon to sign the newly released book Absente: Images and Tastes of the Green Fairy on July 14th during their celebration of Bastille Day. You can thumb through colorful pages of high end art images with can-do recipes by the bistro's Chef Jean Stephane Poinard.

Permalink | Leave a comment »

Art Has A Way of Popping Up In My Life

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 04:41:27 -0700

On a recent trip to Louisiana's capitol city, Baton Rouge, my husband and I stayed at the Hilton. I saw, standing in the corner of the lobby, what appeared to be an image of a man's head on the body of a fish sculpture. I didn't give it too much thought until we arrived at the Omni Royal in New Orleans. Next to the swimming pool was another similar sculpture, only this fish was painted in bright colors with multiple designs. I wonder if these pieces date back to 2000 when Festival of Fins took place? It was the largest public art display in the city's history. Many of the art pieces were auctioned off. Monies reached well into six figures from which nonprofit organizations benefited.

Permalink | Leave a comment »