VERO BEACH — An opening reception for the Spring 2018 Gallery Rotation of the Galleries at First Presbyterian will be held Sunday, April 22, from 3-5 p.m., at First Presbyterian Church, 520 Royal Palm Blvd., Vero Beach.
Featured local artists include Keith Mills, Susan Lavender, and George Pillorgé. Tours will be available as well as an opportunity to meet the artists, and light refreshments will be served in the Eleanor T. Smith lounge. This event is free to the community. The works will be on display from April 4 through June 27.
Keith Mills opened his studio in 1972 in Spring Lake, N.J., specializing in wedding photography and portraits. As a graduate from Newark School of Fine Art with a major in illustration, his love for painting has never diminished and he has continued to paint throughout his career.
The adaptation from canvas to camera was a natural one. For several years, Mills has worked in digital imaging. His studio now offers full digital services and fine art watercolor prints, as well as original works of art.
Susan “Suze” Lavender has been an artist her entire life but had no formal training in painting until five years ago when she began studying with world-renowned artist Frits Van Eeden. Originally from the south shore of Long Island, N.Y., her two loves have always been art and the sea.
She loves to capture moments through drawing and painting, and attributes her success to her teacher, who has helped her open up a window of what could be.
“My art now has the energy, emotion, color and passion that I’ve tried in the past to put on canvas,” Lavender said. “My New York upbringing is especially present in my cityscapes. I’ve discovered how to communicate my ideas emotionally through textures, color choice and subject. I’ve yet to travel the world, however my paintings have created a world for me.”
George Pillorgé received his degrees in architecture from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. As an architect, drawing was an essential part of his design work. After his retirement from his position in 1992 as Vice Chairman at RTKL Associates, he and his wife, Debbie, spent eight years cruising from Maine to Venezuela aboard their 44-foot sailboat, “Puffin.”
While sailing, he began painting small watercolor scenes as viewed from the boat. In 2009, the drawing and watercolors led to classes in soft pastel paintings, most recently with Dawn Miller and Deborah Gooch at the Vero Beach Museum of Art.
The Galleries at First Presbyterian feature a wide variety of works by local artists, on rotation quarterly throughout the year. The Galleries are open for viewing from Noon to 3 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Guided tours are available Wednesdays between 3-5 p.m.
Admission is free and open to the community.
