March 11, 2022, Vero Beach – The Galleries at First Pres will offer an opening reception of the Spring Art Show on Sunday, April 24, 2022, from 2:00 to 4:00pm. The show will feature the works of local artists Richard Gillmor, Salvador Lorenzo González, and Theresa Prokop. The galleries are located throughout the campus of First Presbyterian Church at 520 Royal Palm Boulevard in Vero Beach. Admission is free, light refreshments will be provided. The artwork will be installed and available for viewing through June 1, 2022.
Influenced by Impressionists like Monet and Cézanne, Richard Gillmor Jr. started painting water scenes in high school. His father, Richard Sr., already an accomplished artist, encouraged and taught him the finer points of perspective and color theory. After graduating with a sixty-hour major/minor in Fine Art from Western Michigan University, Richard embarked on a 36-year career in sales and marketing. During this time, including several business start-ups, art played a role in things like Ad campaigns and marketing strategies. After retiring in 2005, Richard picked up the brush again and joined the Sebastian River Art Club. Still active in the club, Richard has served as chair of Art in Public Places, Vice President, and President of the club. Talking about his motivation, the artist says, “The interplay of light and reflection on the water remains fascinating to me. Thirty years of living in the Florida Keys and traveling through the Caribbean has given me a huge store of visual memories, and I enjoy putting them down on canvas”. For the last few years Richard has been displaying and selling his “Kinetic Sculptures” as well as his paintings at venues like Art by the Sea, and Art on the Island in Vero Beach, and the Cultural Alliance in Brevard County. Recently Richard finished and published his first book, God’s Bar & Grill, an inspiring true story of a church plant in one of the most unlikely places in the Florida Keys.
Salvador Lorenzo González was born in Cuba. He graduated from Academia San Alejandro, Cuba, as well as Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA), Cuba. His work has been exhibited with much acclaim since 1982, and is part of private collections in Argentina, Cuba, Germany, Mexico, Spain, and the USA. He has received numerous awards and recognitions, such as First Prize for Illustrations, Plural Magazine, in Mexico, DF in 1990 and Honorable Mention in Book Cover and Design, from Salón Nacional del Libro, Havana, Cuba in 1991. He taught Etching for 11 years at Academia San Alejandro and other schools in Cuba. Upon arriving in the USA, he has divided his time between painting and working for El Nuevo Herald and Diario las Américas as Graphic Designer.
Theresa Prokop has lived along the Connecticut coastline all her life. She works from home-based studios in East Lyme, CT., and Sebastian FL since 2016. She has been painting since childhood. Theresa is mostly self-taught and has developed her own technique and distinct style. She enjoys painting a softer and kinder side of life. Her main style is folk art, inspired by her imagination, faith, family, friends, and home life. She paints Mixed Media, and enjoys the challenge of Abstracts., She has developed a line of hand drawn all occasion cards under the name “Whimsical Doodles” and paints custom designs on clothing, handbags, or anything that won’t bite her. Her designs are published in painting magazines such as Painting World, the Pixelated Palette e zine, Decorative Painting e zine, “Decorative Painting Store” and in her books of “Warm Memories – Spring and Summer Collections”. Theresa has a newly released decorative painting book published by Dynasty Designers called “Painted Creations – Designs for All Seasons”, Vol 1. She met Bob Ross and took his “Joy of Painting” courses and has been a certified Bob Ross Instructor since 1986. She is also an Ambassador and Designer for Deco Art and Dynasty Brushes, has four instructional videos available on YouTube, and teaches locally.
The Galleries at First Pres feature a wide variety of works by local artists, on rotation throughout the year. The Galleries are located throughout the campus of First Presbyterian Church, 520 Royal Palm Boulevard, Vero Beach; they are open for viewing from 12pm to 3pm Monday through Thursday, and on Sunday mornings between church services. Admission is free and open to the community.
For more information, please contact Ginger Lagemann, Music and Arts Administrator, at (772) 562-9088 or ginger@firstpresvero.org.