Ruth Höök Colby
Award winning artist Ruth Höök Colby expresses her vision through the medium of pastel. "Pastel is pure pigment with just enough binder to hold the rich powder together. For me, the combination of soft texture and powerful color, innate to pastel, is one of the most important aspects of the medium ... playing with color makes my heart sing.
"My inspiration is both internal and external resulting in both abstract and realistic work. In the abstract work some paintings evolve from intuitive random drawings and present an idea or thought from a personal inner perspective. Realistically, landscape is the inspiration. Most importantly, creativity compels the artist to evolve, change and explore new avenues of expression.
Her enjoyment and perfection of the pastel medium has won acclaim with numerous awards nationally and internationally, including winning two awards in the 2010 Richeson 75 Landscape, Seascape and Architectural competition. She holds signature membership with the Degas Pastel Society and the Southeastern Pastel Society. She is included in the book "Best of America, Pastel Artists and Artisans 2007" and was one of 10 finalists internationally selected in a landscape competition sponsored by Pastel Artist International magazine. (Sept./Oct. 2002 edition)
In addition to studies at the Ringling College of Art and Design and State College of Florida, Ms. Colby has participated in numerous workshops with nationally recognized artists such as Albert Handell, Richard McKinley, Susan Ogilvie, Alan Flattman, Sally Strand, Katherine Chang Liu, and Alex Powers.
Her work is in the permanent collection of the Belk Library at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina, as well as private collections throughout the United States and Europe.
In 2015 Ms. Colby was invited by the Fine Art Society of Sarasota to participate in their annual Creators and Collectors Tour
Ms. Colby is represented by the Collectors Gallery & Framery in Venice, FL.
Madelaine Ginsberg is a professional painter, art teacher and art therapist. The Palm Avenue Gallery, Hang-Up Gallery and J.E.Voorhees galleries in Sarasota represented her from 1991 – 2001. From 1994-96 she was represented by the Nuance Gallery in Tampa. Madelaine has exhibited in numerous juried shows including the 2015 Florida Flavor, the 3rd annual Florida artists’ juried exhibition at Art Center Sarasota. Other exhibitions include a one-woman show at All Angels Episcopal Church in July & August 2010, a group exhibition at the Selby Library January-March 2006, a 3-person show at the Roskamp Center hosted by the Sarasota Arts Council in November 2003, a 3-person show at the Venice Art Center in March 2003, a group exhibition at the Selby Library, January – March 2002, Sarasota Arts Council Offices in 1997, Kathleen Carillo Gallery in 1996, Janet Reid Hodges Gallery, Art League of Manatee County in 1994 and Jane Bancroft Cook Library, USF/New College in 1993.
Madelaine's paintings are in many private, corporate and museum collections in the U.S. She has a B.A. and an M.S. from the University of Bridgeport, Ct. and graduate training in art therapy from the College of New Rochelle, N.Y. Art studies include the Art Students League and American Art School in NYC and Silvermine College of Art, Norwalk, Ct. Madelaine was a graphic designer and fashion illustrator before joining the staff of the Stamford Museum. She became Assistant Director of Art at the museum from 1977-1990 and taught art to children and adults from 1970-1990. She was a co-founder of The Arts for Special People, Inc., a non-profit corporation formed to present the arts to special populations. Madelaine is a member of the National League of American Penwomen, Women Contemporary Artists and Petticoat Painters.
Her website: Madelaine Ginsberg
Ten National Parks have Susan Klein's paintings in their collections—Everglades (2), Acadia, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Great Basin, Petrified Forest/Painted Desert, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, North Cascades and Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lake Shore. Susan has truly become an American Landscape Painter, developing a unique visual vocabulary through her travels and work as an artist-in-resident.
“Landscape” as subject began after earning her Masters of Fine Arts from Kent State University in Ohio, blossomed in Florida with images from Myakka River State Park, the Everglades/Big Cypress Preserve area and the coastal beaches, and continues to evolve with each trip to a National Park. Interpreting the landscape is what she does.
Her resume, which lists an extensive exhibtion record, can be seen on her website, www.susanjkleinart.com.
She has developed a unique style appreciated by both public and private collectors, nationally and internationally.
“My paintings are simply a dialog with myself in an effort to understand things. Those things can be as basic as the relationships of color or form, or as complex as those of human affairs. Sometimes I think I am just inches too short to see over a wall, on the other side of which everything is revealed. Painting is my ladder.”
Reviewing her work in the Sarasota Herald Tribune, critic Marty Fugate wrote “Jana Millstone’s storybook surrealism is as compelling as ever.”
Millstone’s work has been shown in art galleries, museums, and important juried exhibitions around the country. Winner of numerous awards including the New York Society of Illustrator’s first prize scholarship and most recently, Florida’s Finest statewide competition. She tackles themes of social gravity with thoughtful and unique approaches. She works on more than one series at a time, each with a unique stylistic approach that is dictated by subject matter.
VEIL series: These works consider the plight of women living under oppressive fundamentalist regimes. They explore issues of enlightenment, tolerance and freewill, using the dual face of the veil as a visual metaphor for multiple perspectives.
FABLES FOR OUR TIMES series: These, often humorous narrative works invert traditional relationships and test notions of power and memory. Utilizing the intimacy of children and families metaphorically these novel dimensional works grapple with larger social issues.
GARDEN SHADOWS series: Jana writes: “These are prayers for cushioning. I am layering human forms in atmospheric gardens, yearning for integration with a natural world that is now under siege and wishing for a lush calm to settle over it all.”
Born in New York City, she earned a BFA from Pratt Institute with additional studies at the Art Students League, Parsons School of Design, and FIT. She moved to Sarasota from the Lancaster, PA area where she exhibited widely, receiving awards and invitational participation in a traveling exhibit with the Susquehanna Art Museum. Sarasota has given her the opportunity to be part of the rich cultural fabric of the city.
Although she viewed much of her professional career in product design and development as time that separated her from her art, she now recognizes how much it has contributed to it. Working for prestigious fashion, jewelry and home furnishing companies, she ultimately served as Director of Design Concept at Lenox China. This gave her invaluable exposure to multiple technologies and processes. Such experiences have helped enrich her art practice today, making her convinced that there is a way to achieve any vision.
Please visit her website: www.janamillstone.com
Eleanor Merritt, a native New Yorker,received both BA and MA degrees in Fine Art and Education from Brooklyn College CUNY.
Her paintings are semi-abstract and very introspective.
"My subject matter continues to emerge as very personal revelations through the combined use of acrylics, inks, fabrics, and collage. I continuously use figures as a symbolic reference to my point of view that is not always obvious to the viewer, but hopefully providing visual interaction until further investigation reveals the concept," she says.
Eleanor has had more than 25 one-woman shows during the past 40 years. More work can be seen at her website: eleanormerritt.com and at the Art Uptown Gallery.
Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Janet Mishner received a B.A. in Art Education from University of Maryland, with post-graduate classes at the Maryland Institute College of Art and Towson University. She taught art in Baltimore City Public Schools and Towson University Community Art Center. She studied painting for many years with distinguished Maryland artist Gladys Goldstein.
Her expressionistic work was featured in numerous solo shows, galleries and private collections in Baltimore. Since moving to Florida in 2002, she continues to exhibit her work as a member of the Women Contemporary Artists, a regional organization of professional artists, Florida Artists Group, Inc., professional artists association, Petticoat Painters, one of the oldest continuing exhibiting group of women painters in the United States. Her work is exhibited at The Dancing Crane Gallery of Fine Art, Uptown Artist Gallery and numerous other venues in this area. Among the honors received for her work is Second Place Award in a national exhibition of the Women’s Caucus For Art, San Diego in 2012. Her work is in several public collections including the United States Embassy in Manila, Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, Florida Cancer Specialists, and Kaizen Total Wellness Center.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My artwork always originates in my mind and not from direct observation. I enjoy working alternatively in abstraction and figuration. Regardless, the piece has to develop some meaning for me to continue the process. The more figurative works include themes of intimacy and communication without spoken language. For me, art lends itself perfectly to this theme as it is an unspoken language.
Website: www.janetmishner.com
Jamie Friedli has long been one of Sarasota’s most respected and collected artists, with a distinguished history of study with such prominent artists as Wolf Kahn and Joseph Perrin. Continuing education in the visual arts is a life-long pursuit for Jamie, who has attended the Harris Institute of Art in Nashville and the Atlanta College of Art. She, in turn, as taught for years, has held many leadership positions in the Florida art community, and has been recognized through impressive awards for her work. She recently won second place with the Florida Artist Group at the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art.
Jamie states that, “As an artist, I feel that art simply needs to be an experience with nature. I enjoy exploring the many layers of color, shape, texture, and motion that nature has to offer. Using these elements, I create an image that reflects my personal experience, emotion and vision. Having always been an en plein air painter, I seek inspiration and creative expression from the world around me, attempting to capture that world on-site, with immediate reaction to changing light, time of day, and the mood of the moment. Through the media of acrylics and oils, my art has moved toward more abstract representation by giving less information and more personal interpretation.”
Jamie’s paintings are a joy to behold. Art historian, curator, and writer Mark Ormand has commented, “Jamie delights the viewer with her loose, spontaneous acrylics.” Wolf Kahn stated, “Jamie is talented above all else.”
Her paintings are exhibited in corporate and private collections in Atlanta, New York, Honolulu, Sarasota, Switzerland, and Venezuela. Jamie continues to be an active member in the Florida Artists Group, Women’s Contemporary Artists Group, and Petticoat Painters. Her work can also be seen at Art Uptown and in her studio on Main Street in downtown Sarasota.
Evelyn is originally from New Jersey and Delaware, and has now lived in the Sarasota/Manatee county area of Florida for over 25 years. She received a Bachelors Degree from the University of Delaware and has also attended The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and Ringling College of Art and Design.
In 1984 Evelyn began exploring the world, visiting 48 of the 50 states as a scenic artist with Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey Circus. She now continues to explore the country through the educational and conservation efforts of Haai, Inc. Shark Encounter, the family business. Evelyn’s travels throughout the United States, Europe, Mexico and Canada along with a year residency in Japan have shown a wide diversity of life and given her the opportunity to share experiences through art.
In 2007 Evelyn adopted a nine year old Boxer female named Tilly through Florida Boxer Rescue. She wanted to help this wonderful organization but realized she would be a “Foster Flunky,” keeping any Boxer in search of a “furever” home, so she decided to help them through her art. Evelyn donates her work to rescues and shelters around the country to raise funds that directly help animals in need and their caretakers. Her dog portraits have recently been published in 1000 Dog Portraits - From the People Who Love Them and Richeson75 International, Animals, Birds & Wildlife.
Evelyn’s work is represented by Art Uptown Gallery in Sarasota Florida, and held in private collections throughout the US, Canada, Australia, France, Spain and the Netherlands. Evelyn has received residencies and fellowships from Weir Farm National Historic Site, Zion National Park, Jentel Foundation, Dorland Mountain Arts Colony and The Brush Creek Foundation for the Arts. She is a member of the Petticoat Painters, one of the oldest, continuously exhibiting women’s art groups in the United States. She serves on the governing board of Myakka River State Park with a dedication to bring artists and nature together.
Evelyn shares her 12-acre home Barking Dog Ranch, with her husband Philip, varying amounts of dogs, visiting horses, sharks, and the occasional sea lion visiting from next door. Her life is a menagerie of the people, places and happenings of a distinctive south Florida experience.
To learn more about Evelyn visit her website: evelynmccorristinpeters.com
Ellen Mason continues to explore her interest in the landscape. Although not site specific, her paintings and drawings results in passages dealing with mark making, tension and references to organic forms. Her work is built up with a series of marks that are layered, and often opened up to create either delicate or bold statements. Process has always been a key element in her work. Ms. Mason loves to explore different mediums and her recent drawings in conte crayon, pastel and ink have transcended her work to a new level of awareness.
To learn more about Ellen please visit her website.
Kathy grew up in the not so small town of Macon, Georgia. She has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Master’s Degree in Architecture from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.
Kathy has received awards for her work including a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant for painting and a Knight Neighborhood Challenge Grant for sculpture from The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, administered through the Community Foundation of Central Georgia.
Wright’s work focuses on questions of perception, the phenomenological and experiential aspects of landscape rooted in both lived experience and the imagination. Attention is paid to spatial types and what they might engender rather than to rational spatial concepts in an attempt to express visually the more indiscernible moments of an enmeshed experience. Sensations brought about by both the smaller and the larger realizations, perceptions, oscillations, are referenced and translated in a primarily instinctive manner, formally responding to both the experience of place and the act of mark making as each is considered.
Kathy is represented by Clayton Galleries in Tampa, Florida. She currently lives and works in Sarasota, Florida with her daughter, two dogs and a fish.
website: KathyWrightStudio.com
children’s book: thebunnyinthebush.com
I create visual images. This process describes my existence. Making visual ideas is how I spend my most important and treasured time. I do not attempt to categorize what I produce or define my work.
Exploration is the most stimulating component of breathing life into an inanimate idea.
I seek opportunities to test the borders of visual expectation.
I like the challenges I give myself.
I am fortunate to have the opportunity to share my investigations with you. I enjoy inviting people to join me on my visual journey.
Judy Just is a printmaker and painter who lives and teaches in Sarasota, Fla. Her work is known for its color, exuberance and movement.
She received her BFA from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo. With subsequent studies at the Instituto Allende in San Miguel, Mexico, privately in Athens, Greece and Ringling School of Art.
She has studied with Mary Sarg Murphy, Yanako, Berkowitz, Procrosso, Catherine Kernan, Susan Rostow [developer of Akua Inks}, Keith Howard {developer of Image Onand leader in the use of Akua Inks}, Don Messec [a leader in the nontoxic movement].
Judy has taught workshops in LA, Tucson, Santa Fe and Sarasota and now teaches printmaking and bookarts at ArtCenter, Sarasota.
Her work is in public an private collections in Europe and the US. She has shown in Sarasota, NYC, Paris and Santa Fe, and won numerous prizes. Her work has been seen in FOCA artists for 6 yrs. Site Santa Fe {Monothon}, Monothon, College of Santa Fe Printmaking Ctr. Fu Gallery.
Having taught adults for 30 years, both painting and printmaking, she brings much artistic knowledged to her classes.
Diane Schmidt, who paints both abstract and realistic watercolors, is a signature member of the American Watercolor Society, National Watercolor Society, Watercolor Honor Society, and 13 additional Watercolor Societies.
Her father's love of archaeology influenced her quest for seeking what lies beneath the surface at a very early age. Each of her abstract watercolors is an exploration of just how many different layers of design and complexity can be exposed successfully.
"All of my work is based on my love of pure design, and my background as an illustrator compels me to find story, form, and emotion in every painting I do," she says.
Raised in Arizona and educated at schools including the University of Arizona and Ringling School of Art, she now makes her permanent home in Sarasota.
Website: www.dianedschmidt.com
Jacquie Clark is an artist always in pursuit of the essence. After a thorough grounding in sculpture and years of concentration on oil painting, she discovered the joyful spontaneity of watercolor and has focused her efforts in that medium ever since.
Jacquie's early recognition and awards came for her oils and sculpture. She is a graduate of the college of Dayton Art Institute which she attended on a Anna Bier Scholarship.
Jacquie is a member of the Florida Watercolor Society and Art Uptown in Sarasota. For more information about Jacquie please visit her website: jacquieclark.com
Meg Pierce grew up in the Buffalo area. A graduate of the College of New Rochelle, she went on to gain a Masters in Art and Art Education from Columbia University, NY, NY and a MFA in Painting from Pratt Institute, Brooklyn. She was a teacher of art the Herricks Schools, New Hyde Park, on Long Island from 1969-2001 and found teaching to be an extraordinary source of energy and pride.
Residencies include: Hambidge Center for Arts/Georgia, September 2016, Brush Creek Foundation/ Wyoming, January 2016, Millay Colony for the Arts/ New York, September 2014, Weir Farm/ Connecticut: Artist in Residence, February 2012
Awards: John Ringling Towers (Sarasota) Individual Artist Award: Visual Art 2010 including
Hermitage Artist Retreat/ Fine Art Society of Sarasota Residency 2010
Florida Artists Group/ Morse Genius Foundation Award Jan 2010
Other studies in art include the Vermont Studio School, Johnson, VT, Sun Valley Center for the Arts in Idaho and the Oxbow Workshop, Saugatuck, Michigan, as well as study abroad in Italy and China and India.
Her latest work has been mixed media, collage and painting in acrylics featuring vintage fiber and found objects.
She has shown widely in the NY area, as well as recently at Florida CraftArt St Petersburg, FL, Selby Gallery, Ringling College of Art+Design, Sarasota, FL, Harmony Gallery, Sarasota, FL and Art Center Sarasota, FL. Meg now lives and works in Sarasota, Florida.
Website: Megpierce.com
Studio: Towles Court, 1938 Adams Lane #205 Sarasota, FL 34236
941-266-7318
Keiko Romerstein was born and educated in Tokyo and moved to New York City in 1973. She has always engaged in creative work - Japanese fine art, crafts, textiles and antiques.
When her husband retired in 1994, they moved to Sarasota and Keiko is now enjoying what she calls the 'second chapter' of her life as a full-time artist.
Keiko's paintings portray a multicultural background as well as her feelings and energy. Her favorite subjects are flowers, trees and landscapes.
She is a member of National Sumi-e Society of America and exhibits Sumi-e paintings Nationally and Internationally. The latest award she received for her calligraphy was "The Best in Show" for the 49th Annual Juried Exhibition at Burnsville Performing Arts Center, Burnsville, MN in Sept, 2012. Keiko's scroll painting has been displayed in the Japanese Tea House at the Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota, FL.
Susan earned her BFA from Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri. She has also studied with Tom Insalaca, Thomas Buechner, Mark Hanson, Val Sandel, Steven Assael, Charles Reid, Kim English and Bill Farnsworth. In 2000 she studied painting at the Santa Reparata Graphic Arts Studio in Florence, Italy. She also participated in the Novgorod Alliance Cultural Exchange in Viliky Novgorod, Russia September 2009. Currently she is teaching The Sketchbook as an Art Form in Venice and Bradenton, Florida. This year she will teach Painting Interiors at Art Center Manatee.
In April she received 2nd place in the Women Painters of the South West Competition in Blue Ridge, Ga.
"As a representational painter, I am drawn to the Plein Air landscape painting. Capturing that moment in time when the light is exciting and focused on one place is what I am looking for in a scene. My other work evolves from an interest in interiors where I have lived or stayed for a time. There is usually an emotional connection for me in a chosen location. I am looking for inside and outside light that affects the objects and denotes a time of day or mood in that interior space. My approach is very traditional building layers of paint to describe the light. I find the process very exciting and is the true journey for me. How I get there is what I am obsessed with in painting.
Judy Lyons Schneider, a printmaker and mixed media artist, was born in NYC and studied at the Art Students League and New York University, as well as with many noted artists.
After living in New Jersey for many years, she moved to Lakewood Ranch over 15 years ago, and has never looked back. A past Area III Chairperson of Florida Artist Group- aka FLAG- (a juried state-wide organization), and a past-President and current Board Member of Women Contemporary Artists (WCA), a regional organization of about 125 women artists, and a Petticoat Painter (an invitational group of 20), Judy is an advocate for the visual arts in her community.
Ms. Schneider has been actively involved in making art for over 60 years.
Her work has appeared in museums, galleries and universities throughout this country and in Russia. She has had over 25 solo shows- in places like the Gallery for the Study of Women and Gender at Princeton University, Sarasota Women’s Resource Center, Sinclair College in Dayton, Ohio, Venice Art Center, Harmony Gallery in the West Coast Symphony Center, Art Center Sarasota, and Interchurch Center in New York City. In addition to a Geraldine Dodge Foundation Grant and a Soaring Gardens Artist Retreat Residency Grant, her art has won many prizes. She recently received a Signature Award from ISEA (International Society of Experimental Artists). Her work has been represented in several shows that have traveled nationally. Local representation is at the 530 Burns Gallery and The Collector’s Wall.
