Art by the Sea, one of the Vero Beach Art Club’s premier fundraisers, had a most successful opening reception Friday night as approximately 500 visitors came view the exhibit and purchase their favorite pieces from Vero’s talented artists. The show was held in the Holmes Great Hall of the Vero Beach Museum of Art and offered presentations by 210 members of the Vero Beach Art Club and the Vero Beach Museum of Art. This is the 22nd year for the show, which continues from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, January 17.
Artists, art lovers and collectors in this culturally astute community are particularly supportive of one another, and shows like this one only serve to reinforce the comraderie. According to Rita Ziegler, who has chaired the event for the last three years, the show generally draws a crowd of around 3,000 people throughout the weekend.
“I just love this show; it’s my favorite,” says Ziegler. “Each artist is only allowed to exhibit one piece so everyone picks out their best one.”
Ziegler has been exhibiting in the show since relocating to Vero Beach six years ago. Her peaceful, nautically themed Schooners at Rest oil painting was one of the first to be sold and as we spoke committee members were already repositioning the painting. They continually rearrange the displays to give unsold paintings a better viewing advantage.
There is a different judge each year, and they have the very difficult job of determining winners in each of seven categories: oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastels/graphic, mixed media, sculpture/jewelry and photography/digital. There are also two special awards given – the John Mazur Memorial Award for Best in Show and the Ocean Grill Award. This year’s judge was artist and educator Nancy Baur Dillen who received her M.A. in Art Education and Constructive Design from Florida State University and is Professor Emeritus at Brevard Community College.
The planning process begins in September, with artists completing applications. Artwork cannot have been exhibited in a prior Art by the Sea show and pieces must comply with size guidelines.
Lillie Taylor, who coincidently has a watercolor exhibit on display this month in the Guest Artist Gallery of the Artists Guild Gallery, won the Ocean Grill Award. Her graceful swan depiction was painted from a photo she had taken at Bok Tower Gardens. “Swans mate for life which is why I called the painting Partners,” Taylor explained. “I’ve sold paintings here before but this is the first time I’ve won an award at this show. I’m just so excited!”
Newly returned to Vero Beach, Lange Sykes only recently joined the VBAC and won first prize in the Sculpture/Jewelry category for his imaginative Tarpon on the Fly, an original bronze sculpture coated with a silver nitrate patina. Sykes studied fine art at Pepperdine University in Malibu and is currently employed as a Realtor Associate with Treasure Coast Sotheby’s International Realty.
Minakshi De won first prize in the Acrylic category for her enigmatic painting Frame Within the Frame. The judge was obviously as captivated by her work as the visitors who visited her studio during the recent VBAC Art Trail had been.
Mary Jayne Kelly, Executive Director of the Cultural Council and I caught up for a while with Italian artist Ivo David in front of his colorful oil painting, Farmers Market – Vero Beach. David, whose work was chosen last year to represent the Hibiscus Festival enthused, “My art is an expression of color, of life, of things that make us feel comfortable. I’ve been an artist all my life. I live art, I breathe art, and my daddy and grandfather were artists.”
Quentin Walter’s Thumb Sucker, a colorful compilation with layers of meaning won first prize in the Watercolor category. “It’s a personal narrative about life,” said Walter. “There are signs of hope and war, and that people should try to live together in harmony.”
Acclaimed artist Marlene Putnam, who has won multiple awards at Art by the Sea, including Best of Show last year, was very pleased with the exhibit. “I just love it. I look forward to this show every year. I love the competitiveness of entering a judged show. It forces an artist to get off his butt and produce interesting work that will help him grow as an artist. A competition is a great thing for an artist and you get a quality show.”
The Vero Beach Art Club has a long history in our community, having originally been formed 1936 as the Vero Beach Sketch Club and eventually incorporating in 1954 under its present name. Funds raised at the event benefit the Vero Beach Art Club Scholarship Program, which awards scholarships towards degrees in fine arts to local high school students.
2010 Award Winners:
John Mazur Memorial Award For Best In Show: Nancy Blair, Guardian (sculpture)
Ocean Grill Award: Lillie Taylor, Partners (watercolor)
Oil
1st: Noel Rothmayer Award: Mary Ross, Tarsus
2nd: Alice Ferguson, Dragon Bowl
3rd: Marlene Evans Putnam, From a Faraway Storm
Acrylic
1st: Minakshi De, Frame Within the Frame
2nd: John Cullen, River Mosaic II
3rd: Joan Bence, Golden Field
Watercolor
1st: Quentin Walter, Thumb Sucker
2nd: Joan Turner, Something to Crow About
3rd: Joel Johnson, Poppie
Merit Award: Kay Parker, Peonies Forever
Pastel / Graphics
1st: Richard Lavins, Snippy Robo Dog
2nd: Dawn Miller, Morning Hull Lights
3rd: Agnes Manganelli, Just Fun
Merit Award: Gail Bartholomay, Panda Paradise
Mixed Media
1st: Joan Earnhart, Magian Luere
2nd: Dorate Muller, Innocence
3rd: Andrea Luliak, Messages for the Orient
Merit Award: Carol Staub, Enigma
Jim Bridger, Luminous Butterflies
Vanya Neer, Ten of Cups – Passion
Sculpture / Jewelry
1st: Lange Sykes, Tarpon on the Fly
2nd: George Beckman, Charade
3rd: Joe Thompson, Prince Charming
Merit Award: Jens Bisgaard, Pendant
Photography / Digital
1st: Jim Cohoe, Grace
2nd: Betsy McKean, The Musicos
3rd: Jeanne Peterson, Artist in Action
Merit Award: J Scott Kelly, Under the Barber {igallery 132}
