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Tavares Art in the Square - Wood, Glass & Paint

Friday, January 13, 2012

The City of Tavares announces a new art exhibit as part of Art in the Square beginning on January 20, 2012, 5:30 p.m. at Tavares City Hall. Colors of nature is the predominant theme of these artworks, with vibrant hues on canvas, wood and glass, as well as idyllic childhood memories of splashing in the pond and playing by the shore. The exhibit includes stained glass artworks, carvings and oil on canvas.

The collection is presented by three featured artists:

Ron Colgrove displays 15 of his original oil paintings, several wood carvings, and his original oil painting from the cover of 'The Lake & Sumter Counties Florida's Heartland coffee table book. A graduate of the Albright Art School, which later was affiliated with the State University of New York at Buffalo, NY, Colgrove had a 40-year career as Chief Artist for a research and development company--those were the years before the magic of computers when everything was hand drawn. He retired to Central Florida and began devoting all of his time to pen-and-ink drawings as well as oil or acrylics paintings. His pen-and-ink European castle series has sold in the hundreds. He continues to work mostly with oil, but still creates commissions of pen-and-ink drawings several times a year.

He has exhibited his fine art at many one-man shows throughout the United States including Western New York and Central Florida, winning national and regional awards for his graphic designs, pen-and-ink drawings, and oil and acrylic paintings. He has won "The Best of Show" for his pen & ink (with a crow-quill dip-pen) drawing of 'Kelly's Place' at the 2011 Mount Dora, Florida Winter Show. He also won the People's Choice Award, at the show, (most popular by vote) for his oil painting, 'Harper's Mill'.

Vince and Cheryl Christ are combined wood and glass artists. The Christ's spent part of their lives living on Great Guana Cay, Abaco, Bahamas. Island life is their inspiration in their art. This is where their appreciation of nature and ocean formed deeply in their souls. Their displayed pieces include stained glass, driftwood sculptures and wood tables.

An artist's reception will take place on Friday, January 20, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at Tavares City Hall, 201 E. Main Street. Musical entertainment will be provided by The John French Connection. John French has lived in small towns all across the south and often writes about those influences in his music. He started writing lyrics early, at the age of 13, and taught himself to play the guitar 3 years later. It was a natural progression to combine those lyrics with his own guitar playing style. Over the years, he has built a large repertoire of original music which consists of a unique combination of Americana, bluegrass, and folk.

Tavares Art in the Square is a part of the Tavares Chamber of Commerce's Art About Town - Walk on the Wildside event. Visitors are encouraged to attend the Art in the Square artists reception on January 20, 2012 at 5:30 p.m., and then to tour downtown businesses, where additional artworks will also be on display.

The Art in the Square, Tavares City Hall exhibit will be open to the public through April 11, 2012.