Category Archives: Animal Art

Art featuring animals as a subject matter.

Dunedin, Florida

Steven L. Spathelf created a mural sensation in Dunedin, Florida when the long-time muralist started painting oranges on garage doors late at night ala graffiti tagging or Obey stickers. Soon the artist started noticing signs on garage doors asking for an orange to be painted there; the community recognized his contribution to the reputation of the art enclave in North Tampa and commissioned the “Welcome to Dunedin” mural. Currently, Spathelf is working on undersea scene murals for a children’s hospital and managing the artist studios at 608 Vine Avenue, an art center with gallery/studio space for local artists similar to Spring Garden Studios in Philly, The Goggleworks in Reading or the Banana Factory in Bethlehem.

Mural by Steven L. Spathelf, Dunedin, Florid. The artist is working on three separate panels simultaneously to be stretched and framed for exhibition in a children’s hospital. Steven & DoN chatted about how important and calming art is for kids (and grown-ups) who are being wheeled into hospital exam rooms. Spathelf is very familiar with Philly’s Mural Arts Program since he’s done private and public murals in Florida for decades, it’s not surprising Philly has a good reputation for public art.

Steven L. Spathelf‘s studio in Dunedin, Florida housed on the second floor of an office building with many solo and shared studios throughout the large art space. The art scene in Dunedin is integrated into the community just as much as the Baseball Spring Training season with Second Friday events, lectures and art events happening though out the village.

Steven L. Spathelf of Sterling Art Studios, 668 Vine Ave., Dunedin, Florida.

The Dunedin Fine Art Center is the hub of the art scene with workshops, galleries and exhibits in a modern, thoughtful art center designed to draw the community together with art. The center has galleries for special shows, faculty exhibits and most importantly student show spaces with professional lighting and installation.

DoN regrets he doesn’t have the artist info on this piece but it reminded him so much of work by the Philadelphia Dumpster Divers with the use of old bundt pans, their memetic nostalgia vibrating with the wacko sculpture. Visiting the art center in Dunedin really made DoN homesick but a studio/gallery near the Gulf of Mexico is really attractive. The artists DoN spoke with all praised the support they’ve received from the public and their community; art is the glue that holds a town together, creating conversation, developing personalities and opening lines of communication.

Jo Schmidt, 3 Feathered Friends, acrylic @ Dunedin Fine Art Center.

Mary E. Haas, The Dream, stone @ The Dunedin Fine Art Center.

Barbara Kampe, Tu Jest Przyjemny Widok, acrylic and Carol Y. Bardes, Incan Kitchen, colored pencil in the hall of the Dunedin Fine Art Center. The art center used all viable space to exhibit art without seeming crammed.

Student gallery @ Dunedin Fine Art Center.

Carol Ann Loven, River Rock, fiber and Stephen Decaire, In The Drink, mosaic @ The Dunedin Fine Art Center.

Bill Renc of The Painted Fish Gallery paints dreamy tropical landscapes from plein air and memory as well as managing a large gallery & frame business. It’s a wonder the gregarious artist gets any work done since he’s more than willing to chat with all the customers wandering through; even though it was a Monday afternoon there was steady foot traffic through the art district.

That’s Bill Renc on the left, his colorful painting of the quirky Dunedin street signs is available as print and cards, the informative and fun sign posts point in all directions at once. The variety of interesting and colorful object, especially all the bright color which feels so alien to DoN‘s city eyes, comment on the lifestyle of the Tampa Bay area.

Bill Renc of The Painted Fish Gallery in Dunedin Florida.

Ira Burhans ceramics at Clay and Paper Gallery of Art are award-winning collectibles with avid clients, the ceramicist sells his work wholesale! Yet also manages a lovely gallery and interacts with his collectors. Burhans was familiar with the Philly art scene since he comes to trade shows here but the warmth and clear light of Dunedin is a great place to make art. The gallery represents about 25 local artists as well as Ira’s beautiful pots. If you’re ever in Tampa, DoN recommends visiting this enclave of art culture in the midst of beach life, it’s a great mix.

199 “Small Worlds” @ The Plastic Club

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Sibylie Pfaffenbichler, Sailor on Leave, oil. The artist explained to DoN her inspiration came from the forties and the famous images of sailors returning home. The painting is so exuberant, vibrant and distinctive it really makes you wonder why we don’t dance in the street when our soldiers make it home. Pfaffenbichler is chair of The Philadelphia Sketch Club‘s Annual Flower Show.

Paul Davis Jones, Enigma, acrylic.

Gail Morison-Hall, The Burning Bush, mixed media & Elise Arnold, Untitled One, acrylic. With 199 works of art, Small World @ The Plastic Club would have been even bigger if more artists understood that presentation is half the battle, the exhibitions committee refused several pieces (DoN spotted a few suspect entries who passed muster).

Nick Brown, Orange Juice Cup & Mug, stone ware. Brown brings unfired pottery to life study workshops at The Plastic Club and sketches directly onto the clay, often you can hear him scratching grooves into the design to prevent the glaze from spreading when applied. The resultant objects are like ancient vessels found at an acheological dig – future meets ancient.

Lee Mamaluy, Popping Blooms, oil, Kathryn Russo, At Ease, mixed media and Jeanne Chesterton, Dots, oil.

Robert Stauffer‘s photograph, Thorazine Can Kill The Human Spirit, with broken glass in a mirror lined shadow-box frame is like a history of modern art all mushed up like DuChamp meets Warhol meets Ansel Adams. The broken glass reads like disaster, the desert scene feels like being stranded and the infinite reflections on all sides have secret hidden images to uncover.

Alden Cole, Now n Then #3, Mother & Child, wax/clay, 2010 & 1964.

Bob Makoid, Avian Capers,markers. Makoid told DoN this drawing is extra special to him because his kids surprised him by having the design made into a stained glass window.

Michele Jenkins, New Glasses, oil. DoN LoVeS this painting! Timeless, super-fun, nostalgic, funny, happy and executed with aplomb.

Anders Hansen, Earth Goddess, ink/watercolor, Lois Schlachter, Queen of the Night, acrylic and Joseph De Fay, The Cafe’, ink-jet print.

Lois Schlachter, Balloon Release, acrylic. DoN appreciates Lois’ combination of real & unreal, abstract & illustrative, signs & significations – cool.

Alan Clawans, Small Shed, photograph, DoN Brewer, light being (Farrah Fawcett), photograph (it’s not DoNArTNeWs without some DoN news), Sylvia Schreiber, White Flower, acrylic, Susan Wierzbicki, Saim, acrylic and Elise Arnold, Cats, acrylic. DoN is so pleased to have his entries placed so strategically in the beginning, #3, and the end, #196 – the magic of 3.

Photos by DoNBrewerMultimedia Photography.

Explorations…..In The Neighborhood – Ed Bronstein @ Gallery 22

Art Ability @ Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital

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The 14th Annual Art Ability Exhibition & Sale at Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital’s Patron’s Preview Party on November 7th was a sensational event kicking off the extensive art show featuring more than 400 art works by 128 artists from 23 states and 10 countries. The hospital on Paoli Pike is an excellent venue with high, long walls, a fine hanging system, great lighting providing a wonderful stroll or roll along a meandering path to wander and take in the wide array of fine art.

Photographer Linda Fry Goschke was honored with the catalog cove, a beatific portrait of a “Crested Caracara“, a raptor she spent time with in a bird sanctuary. The photograph is poignant, strong and sensitive; at first glance it appears to be a painting with golden light brushing the elegant bird’s feathers, the dark head contrasting the ochre beak and the glint of disinterest in the eye, a perfect metaphor for the theme of the exhibit.

Goschke told DoN that in order to capture her images she had to wait for new technology to catch up with her vision – the lustrous flower photograph is actually created on a flat-bed scanner, then enhanced with Photoshop.

Linda Fry Goschke, Barred Owl, photograph @ Art Ability.

Sal Panasci was commissioned by Bryn Mawr Rehab to create the design for a mural leading to the admissions center, formally along stark hallway to what could be an uncomfortable experience.

Now, the hallway is a colorful, exuberant scene welcomes people to what may be an extended stay to rehabilitate the body, mind and spirit. Panasci’s painting was transformed into wallpaper creating a warm, sunny vista.

Sal Panasci, Late Autumn Palette, oil.

Ken Smith, Blue Flower, photograph pigment ink on paper on board, encaustic. Smith’s serene composition won honorable mention, The Mary Armitage Green Memorial Award presented by Heather and Damien Lubeski, the wax finish means the print will survive for a very long time.

Michael Jameson, Charlois Bull, oil painting on birch panel

Sheryl Yeager, pastels. DoN talked with Sheryl about her inspiration for the delightful pig and zebra pastels, she explained that she portrays lots of different animals because they make her feel free, at one with God & nature and the art heals her past. A self described high functioning autistic, her most popular drawings are of elephants and she’s more than willing to accommodate her customer base. This is Sheryl Yeager’s 5th year with Art Ability, she has been accepted into the Pastel Society of Little Rock and has exhibited her work at the Andrews Art Museum in North Carolina.

The big fish are by Arnie Segal, the drawing is by Mari Newman, Dick Wexelblat created the menagerie and won honorable mention for Fine Crafts presented by Sal & Linda Panasci, the sculpture in the right forefront is by blind artist Tara Arlene Innmon. This tableau is very popular with visitors with the vibrant animal forms delighting the eye and lifting the spirit.

Arnold Segal was a true art star at the Art Ability Patron Preview, selling most of his collection of sculptures and earning commissions – a mixed media artist, Segal uses plaster, paper mache and electronics to enliven his sculptures which often have hidden surprises.

Liam Kennedy, Dreams, bronze, winner of 2nd prize for sculpture, the Sarah Hair Shearer Memorial Award.

Kathy Harris, Double Self Portrait & Winter Bride. Harris created the portraits from life masks – the double self portrait is from 30 years ago and the Winter Bride is a recent mask. Kathy told DoN that the younger version is dreaming of the future and the elder shows aging through time, either way she’s beautiful with a wonderful spirit and wicked wit, we had the best time chatting about her career making paintings, ceramic tiles and pipes.

Michael Tavani, Winter in Chadds Ford, oil.

Jack Beverland, Happy Trails, acrylic & plastic.

Clif Anderson, The Last Rose, oil. Clif told DoN this was literally the last rose in his garden last November.

Beverly Strohecker-Yablin, Favorite Teacup, oil.

David Gerbstadt is one of the famous Philadelphia Dumpster Divers, his mixed media paintings are super-pop, perfect for a hipster’s pad or austere modern interior. DoN was recently in the Dumpster Diver gallery on South Street and a patron bought 27 of his $1.00 drawings as Christmas gifts.

Marilyn Lavins, 40th Anniversary 1969-2009, Moon Landing, collage.

Photography by Jim Knisley @ Art Ability.

Gregory Gans, Spirit Over Waters, photograph, winner 3rd Prize for photography, The Denise Fraunfelter Memorial Award.

Photography @ Art Ability Exhibit in Bryn Mawr Rehab.

Gregory Gans, Forest Cathedral, photograph. DoN had the opportunity to chat with Greg’s biggest fan, his wife, who offers constant support and encouragement and agrees with DoN that if you don’t have something nice to say don’t say anything. Gans’ has been a working photographer for 45 years, creating hundreds of images – now many of his photos have Biblical & spiritual references reflecting his faith and strength to battle the epileptic seizures he endures after having a benign brain tumor removed.

The Art Ability show has so much to see it’s impossible for DoN to share it all – Evan Gozali’s brilliant digital Asian style scroll is transcendental, Elizabeth Core’s imaginative large painting, Christine Severson‘s jewelry…the point is that even though the art is all created by artists with disabilities there are no boundaries, no style, no medium that is exempt from an artist with the will to create from painting to drawing, photography to sculpture, fine art to crafts, an artist is an artist even if they have to hold the brush with their mouth, work from a wheelchair, try to hold steady until the tremor passes or struggle to articulate because the words won’t come.

DoN was so happy to see so many red dots indicating sales – 80% goes to the artist and the remainder is used to improve the facilities to aid people who need rehabilitation everything else is provided by volunteers including the wonderful sales team. DoN had the pleasure of meeting Ellie Pfautz, a volunteer sales rep who absolutely loves Bryn Mawr Rehab since they helped her recover from a brain aneurysm; the two of us marveled at the new Lokomat suite – a robot which helps train muscles & nerves by reminding the body of motor pathways, building new neural networks and strengthening the body without manual manipulation by a technician. To see a short video clip – click here.

Lokomat Robot @ Bryn Mawr Rehab Hospital