Jacquie Clark

"After painting in oil for years, I fell in love with watercolor and have never looked back."

Jacquie Clark (NWS,FWS,PWS,PP) has been an artist and teacher always in pursuit of the essence of her subject. After a thorough grounding in sculpture and years of concentration on oil painting, she discovered the joyful spontaneity of watercolor. With the understanding of structure learned before, her watercolor technique matured through practice, experimentation and instruction.

Jamie Friedli

“As an artist, I feel that art simply needs to be an experience with nature. Having always painted en plein air, I seek inspiration and creative expression from the reaction to changing light, time of day, and the mood of the moment.”

Jamie Friedli has been one of Sarasota’s most respected and collected artists. She taught for years, has held many leadership positions in the Florida art community, and has been recognized through impressive awards for her work.

Judy Just

“My work has always been about my love for color, nature, exotic lands, mark making, exploring materials and connection to Spirit. My life is about the joy of exploration with an open heart.”

Judy Just is an award winning printmaker, book maker and painter with artwork known for its color, exuberance and movement. She has traveled and taught extensively and uses non-toxic materials in a green studio, after working with trailblazers in the non-toxic printmaking movement.  http://www.judyjust.com 

Madelaine Ginsberg

“Painting for me is a challenge, a form of play and a private space to create my visions of natural phenomena, from the tiniest of insects to the majesty of mountains. A session of painting always leaves my heart and soul satisfied. I feel fortunate to have found the world of colors and shapes at a young age. Life built around beauty and creativity is a blessed one.”

Madelaine Ginsberg is an award-winning abstract painter as well as a romance novelist. She has worked in art therapy, graphic design, fashion illustration, museum leadership and art education and has been involved in many prestigious art organizations. Her paintings hang in private, corporate and museum collections throughout the country.

Susan J Klein

Born Susan Jane Koverman in Dayton, Ohio, Klein studied three years at Ohio State; earned a bachelor’s degree in studio art from Youngstown State; and then, a Masters of Fine Arts from Kent State University. Moved to Florida in 1990, continuing to pursue a successful career as a painter.

“As a landscape artist, I paint, guided by site sketches, with the confidence of experience and trusted instinct, toward the content of the painting.”

http://www.susanjkleinart.com

Ruth Hook Colby*

"Pastel is pure pigment with just enough binder to hold the powder together," she said. "For me, color is one of the most important aspects. Playing with color makes my heart sing."

Works by artist Ruth Hook Colby's works were inspired by nature, although rendered through realism, impressionism or abstraction. Ruth's work was saturated in color and ranged from representational to the abstract. She worked in most media - batik, clay, oils and acrylic - but she preferred pastels because of their versatility, immediacy and rich, vibrant color.

Eleanor Merritt*

"I have made political statements and personal statements revolving around close relationships in my life; statements about the condition of women and the roles they play; statements about the connections I feel to my ancestry and statements about spirituality and strength of women."

Eleanor Merritt was a nationally renowned artist, teacher and service-oriented leader in the arts community. She had over 25 one-woman shows and two 60-year retrospectives. She was the first Black female trustee at the John and Mabel Ringling Museum of Art.

Peppi Elona*

“Artwork has been my visual diary. The making of art is my necessity, offering me emotional sustenance and insight into my own mind and soul. It is the language that expresses my inner self so I can speak to the world.”

Peppi Elona’s art investigated a variety of 2D and 3D techniques to diversify her palette for self-expression. Her abstract works were often formal aesthetic explorations using a broad range of color and innovative design elements to create unique visual effects. Her figures were not portraits, but archetypes, female symbols for various stages of life or symbolic depictions of everyday activities or meaningful events.

*Deceased