Summer Exhibits: Leesburg and Ocala

Winter in Florida has always been known as the season for art. Lots of exhibitions and art festivals take place in the paradise-like weather outdoors. However, although there are not as many outdoor festivals, exhibitions are still taking place in the cool indoors. I was fortunate to exhibit my art in two nearby towns, Leesburg and Ocala. The Leesburg Center for the Arts is the artistic hub in Leesburg. There are exhibitis, classes, children's camp, lectures and more. The exhibit From Deep Withing - The Artist's Closet gave the artists an opportunity to exhibit pieces that they may have not shown or forgotten. The opening reception had a great turnout. If you missed it, the exhibit will be up until July 20, 2024.

In Ocala, the Marion Cultural Alliance creates a thriving art presence in the area. The current exhibiton Midsummer Dreams gets you into the summer vibes. The exhibition is at the Brick Center for the Arts in Ocala. A beautiful summer display of various mediums and photography. Step into this cool gallery and experience the summer heat. The show will be up until July 7, 2024.

SOBO Gallery Winter Garden

It is always exciting to find new venues to exhibit my art. SOBO Gallery is located in beautiful Winter Garden. This past year I had the honor of being selected to exhibit there. The gallery location makes it possible for people to park at the garage across the street for free, enjoy the art and walk the downtown area for dinner and drinks The space is nicely lit and has big windows to bring in the light. I hope to continue exhibiting at SOBO. Below are a few pieces I have shown there thus far. Stay tuned for upcomig exhibitions.

"Reflections" - Watercolor

"Mellow Yellow" - Watercolor

Welcome to 2024!

The new year is here and how many of you have great expectations for the next 365 days. We have a blank slate in front of us. Let's take each day and do something we wish we had done in 2023. For me, I dont have any goals, but a list of things I need to complete, or start, this year.  This blog has been neglected for the past two years. Its not that I did not have things to share; it wasjust sitting down and putting it into words. I need to work on that and hope you will contimue to read what I write beyond the first week in January.  

Every year, I hope to express myself more in the visual arts.  In conjunction with that, I need to find places that I can show my art. A constant place this past year was the exhibits at the Eisenhower Recretion Center. Below is my first entry for 2024 and my first ribbon there. You may have lots in store for me 2024!!!

Time to Return

 Time flies ! 

Can hardly believe its been two years since I wrote on here. If you look at my last post, I had just relocated to another part of Florida. There have been many changes. Some good and some not so good, but such is life. 

As I become more familiar with the area, I have decided which groups to join in order to grow as an artist. In the past two years, I have met so many creative artists and  had opportunities to exhibit and sell my art. My 2023 The new year 2024 has inspired me to complete a few goals from last year. Stay tuned to se if i complete them this year. Happy painting in the new year!

Miami Watercolor Society 49th Annual Fall Exhibition

The Miami Watercolor Society is still being careful with crowds. This exhibition will take place on line. I am honored to have my art as part of this exhibition.  Below is my piece "Stalking the Marsh". You can also see all of the other pieces that make this an excellent show.

Click HERE to view the show.

My Biggest Fan

Last month I lost my biggest fan.........my mother. She lived 92 years and her life was not without problems. For one, she was not able to walk for the last few years. Still, she loved life, loved us and the beauty around her.

It was so exciting to show her my new creations. She would always respond, "Que belleza" or "Precioso". She may have found them beautiful, but would say that there was nothing better than my clouds and seascapes.  She would get so excited whenever I made a sale. She valued money and would follow her excitement on the sale by asking if I received a good price for it, which always made me laugh. I have not painted anything new since she passed, but I have made sales. It is extremely sad not to share the good news with my biggest fan. 

I was happy she went to all of my art exhibitions and projects, until illness kept her home. She was curious about the Wynnwood Art District. It was difficult to take her in the wheelchair, but she had a tour from the car. She wanted to see the colorful umbrella display  in Coral Gables. She was also able to enjoy that. She enjoyed seeing the beauty at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens and seeing the butterflies.  Her love of life and beauty kept her interested and ready for everything. Like her, I will continue to enjoy the beauty around me and remember her with each of my creations.

No one will ever love me like she did. 

https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/herald/obituary.aspx?n=rosa-gladys-martinez&pid=196326321

Meditation in White

It's 2020!

A new year.....a new decade...... and an exhibition at a new gallery.

The National League of American Pen Women (Coral Gables branch) is a group of very talented women. We have artists that work in oil, acrylic, watercolor and clay. In addition, we have authors and musicians. 

This is our first exhibition of the year and new to:

Hernan Gamboa Gallery.

4000 West Flagler Street,

Miami, Fla. 33134

7-9 pm

We look forward to having you join us for our closing reception on January 24, 2020. There will be refreshments, great music, and, of course great art.

"Serenity" - Acrylic

"Come Fly with Me" - Acrylic

"Here's Looking at You" - watercolor

Irma's Fury" - watercolor/acrylic

Gold Coast Watercolor Society - Wet Paint Exhibition

It is close to the holidays and what a great way to get ready, and maybe even do a little holiday shopping, than to attend an opening reception. Looking at art, having a glass of wine and seeing friends is a great way to relax during these busy days. The Wet Paint exhibit has its opening tonight, December 12th, but the exhibition continues until January 11th.

Stop by and enjoy!

"Art Deco" - watercolor

Miami Watercolor Society 46th Annual Fall Exhibition

It seems that the bar to exhibit with the Miami Watercolor Society gets higher each year. So much talent in this group and the art they produce is outstanding. This is the reason why I am so happy to be part of this exhibition and to have been judged by the great Soon Y. Warren.

Below is the piece I will be exhibiting, along with the detail of the upcoming opening reception.
See you there!

Date: November 2, 2019
Time: 6-8 pm
Place:  Coconut Grove Art Festival Gallery
            3390 Mary Street
            Coconut Grove, Florida

Miami Watercolor Society 46th Annual Spring Exhibition

It is always an honor to get juried into the Miami Watercolor Society exhibitions. It is even a bigger deal when a great artist, that you admire, selects your piece. I am proud to announce that my painting "Here Looking at You" was selected by Iain Stewart to be part of the 46th Annual Miami Watercolor Society Spring Exhibition. Details below. You are all invited.

Date: Friday, April 12, 2019
Time: 6 - 8 pm
Place: Wirtz Art Gallery (First National Bank of South Miami)
           5750 Sunset Drive
           South Miami, Fla. 33143

"Here's Looking at You"

http://www.rosiebrowncreations.com/

Reciprocal Consciousness Exhibit

Reciprocal Consciousness is a South Florida Pen Women Art Basel Collective Exhibition. The National League of American Pen Women Coral Gables Chapter, along with members of Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton Chapters, will participate in Reciprocal Consciousness. A group show that will bring the best art created in South Florida to ArtServe in time to celebrate Art Basel week.

We will be exhibiting works in oil, acrylic, watercolor, photography and more. In addition, we will have music and refreshments .

Invitation with date, time and location plus my pieces in the show below.

"Let's Sail" - watercolor

"Funky Feathers" - watercolor

Miami Watercolor Society 46th Annual Fall Exhibition

It is always an honor to be juried into an art exhibition. It is even a bigger deal when you are up against the great talent of the Miami Watercolor Society members and the juror is the amazing, Paul Jackson.

I submitted two entries and the one below was chosen. It was painted from a photograph by my friend, Niki Simon Blacker. Niki lives in Miami Beach and has a morning routine, which entails feeding all of the stray cats in the area. She also takes great photos as she walks past the art deco buildings, storefronts on Lincoln Road and out to the sand, sea and birds. I have been inspired by many of her photos.

If you are in the area, please join us for a fun evening of beautiful art and a little wine.

"Deco Drive" - Watercolor

Bird Watch

My environment inspires me daily. The lighting and the colors, the shapes of the clouds,  the movement of the ocean bring inspiration to any creative person.  I always enjoy watching the tropical birds and have painted a few small pelicans. In April, I was spending days at my sisters where my Mom lives.  In order to entertain her, I decided to paint a larger pelican from a photo I had. My Mom is biased, of course, and a fan of my art. Her "oohs and aahs", and continual praises, were  the encouragement and support I needed. I then decided to work on a series. I went on to do a second and a third. A recent short trip to Sanibel Island was just the inspiration I needed to work on a fourth one.

Below are the ones I painted recently. Stay tuned for one more

"Fluffing my Feathers" - watercolor (available)

"Nest Hair" - watercolor (available)

"Sandy White" - watercolor (available)

Miami Watercolor Society 46th Annual Spring Exhibition

It is always a great honor to be juried into a show. The bar seems higher each year at the Miami Watercolor Society. This show is even more special because the painting selected by the juror, from the two I submitted, is the one of my granddaughter at the Miami-Dade Public Library. 

Please join us for this fantastic exhibition and see my piece in person. The information is as follows:

Location: Coconut Grove Festival Gallery

                 3390 Mary Street

                  Miami, Florida 33133

Date: Saturday, June 2, 2018

Time: 7 - 10 pm

"Her Passion" - watercolor

My Style? Don't Have One.

I always admire artists that you can definitely tell who they are by their art. It may be because of their subject matter, style or palette. This is great for marketing and business. I could do that since I have been told that seascapes are my "thing" and I love painting them.

I have given it great thought because I know people are right, my beaches seem to sell faster than anything else and will identify me. However, I find that I am inspired by the world around me and that is what makes me paint.I also get inspired by various mediums. Although, oils were my first love, I moved on to acrylics, watercolors and, most recently, alcohol inks. My subjects are varied, the only common source is that I love color, but it is mostly about my surroundings or inspirations from friends and their photos.

Here are a few samples of what I have painted lately...........

Florida Focus on Art 2018

You are invited to  the Gold Coast Watercolor Society - Florida Focus Art  on 2018 at Art Serve.

Details below

The following pieces will be on Exhibit.

"Wash Day" - watercolor

"La Calle" - watercolor

Her Passion

If you have followed my art, you may have noticed that I am a tropical artist. I love seascapes, boats, landscapes, and bright abstracts. Most of my paintings do not include people. Love them......don't paint them.

Last Spring my grandchildren were here and we had to visit the Miami-Dade Public Library. My granddaughter loves to read and loves libraries. I captured the visit in photos. There was one photo of my granddaughter that was so special. The light was perfect and only her profile was showing. I so wanted to paint her, but was scared to even begin. Last month, I took the plunge and decided to do it. If anything, it forced me out of my comfort zone and serves as a reminder of a beautiful day spent exploring downtown Miami.  

"Her Passion" - watercolor

All About Landscapes

I recently joined the Homestead Center for the Arts. I wanted to be able to exhibit in another community. The arts are alive and well in Homestead!

The exhibit is at the Capri Restaurant in Florida City. Jim Accursio, owner, has provided an exhibition room in the restaurant in honor of his mother where we can show/sell our work.

This month the exhibition is about landscapes. It is one of my favorite things to paint, so I definitely wanted to participate. The exhibition will be up until January when another topic will be chosen. Come out and enjoy the exhibit, along with a great Italian meal. 

"Come Fly with Me" - Acrylic