John L. Hill is best known for his acrylic paintings on large cotton canvases. He mainly uses his fingers as the application tool of choice, blending and layering a wide range of color to create large, iconic portraits that are seemingly both abstract and realistic. Self-taught, Hill began creating art early on in elementary school, taking after his father who was also an artist, in order to escape from the world and dive into his imagination. He has always been fascinated with the thought of bringing a blank canvas to life through the creation of portraits or specific objects that he would idolize. Hill strives to connect with viewers of his work by creating an overall feeling of love and positive energy, hoping to be a motivating force that drives viewers to be the best possible version of themselves.
When you first see Connie Sweet's work, you are taken by what seems to be an explosion of brilliant illuminating color that grabs the viewer and draws them closer. It's as if seeing a painting literally lit from within. Upon closer inspection, you see the intricate detail and shadowing, layer of color over color, rendering the subject three dimensional.
An award-winning artist during the 80's in Alaska, Connie's brush fell still for ten years as a result of personal tradgedy. Inspired to paint again by the beauty of turn of the century lamp shades by Pairpoint and Handel, she struggled for five years unlocking the secrets of reverse painting on glass. Although most noted for her depiction of nature, Connie's technique varies from fantasy to realism in any subject matter imaginable. Most of the pendant chandeliers are custom ordered and reflect a collaboration of Connie's talent and the personal interests of her clients.
Bold, kinetic and sculptural with an elegant interplay of angles and curves, Vanessa Gade's jewelry makes a contemporary statement balanced with timeless style.
She describes her work as contemporary, with clean lines and a minimalist aesthetic reminiscent of Japanese and Scandinavian design. Particular pieces have been inspired by everything from art deco architecture, ikebana flower arrangements, suspension bridges and even crisscrossing power lines. Her designs tend toward an asymmetrical pattern encased within a perfect circle, evident in her debut Inner Circle collection first launched in 2007, which now has become her signature line. She enjoys the challenge of creating a perfectly balanced geometric structure that still maintains an element of movement, all the while utilizing the negative space as an integral part of the design.
Her work is now featured in fine boutiques and galleries around the country, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago, the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Architecture + Design Museum in Los Angeles.
Sarah LaPierre is a painter based in West Palm Beach, Florida. Her heavily textured and vibrantly colorful paintings are inspired by her love of native flora and fauna, the beach, and spending time outside. In 2015, she was chosen to be the official poster artist for Artigas Fine Arts Festival (Jupiter) and Sunfest (West Palm Beach). Sarah is a second generation artist and her late father, Joseph LaPierre, remains one of the biggest influences to her work, having passed down his palette knife technique which has become a principle characteristic of her "thick paint" style.
She can be found exhibiting at many fine arts festivals throughout south Florida, and local community events in Palm Beach County.
Wood turning, Japanese joinery, local Hawaiian wood. Custom requests are welcome! All from sustainably harvested or reclaimed local woods.
Sandra “Sam” Brewster has been transforming raw glass into magnificent pieces of art
for over 25 years. Based out of New Port Richey, FL, her inspirations are drawn from
the gorgeous and unique traits indigenous to the area. Her work travels from under the
sea and through the palm trees, to the most original and fantastical creations of her
imagination. Originally from Washington D.C., She started creating with glass after
moving to the Sunshine State with her former husband. They started Moon Bay Carved
Glass Studio and specialized in commercial and architectural art glass installations,
jokingly calling themselves “The Blue Heron Door Company.” Their gallery was located
in Tarpon Springs, FL.
After parting ways with her former husband in the late 1990’s, Sam continued creating
and began to go deeper into the world of fine art glass. She started collaborating with
other glass artists in the area and learning different, creative ways to express her stage-
carving on glass.
Never formally trained, all of Sam’s skill comes from years of experience and trial by
error. Being an experienced graphic designer has brought Sam to a different level within
her medium. Each sculptural piece is first hand-blown with the team she collaborates
with in St. Petersburg, FL or Kansas City, MO and then brought to her studio in New
Port Richey, where she transforms the blank canvas into a unique creation. Her
drawings are translated directly onto the sculpture, after the piece has been covered in
a sand-blasting mask material and she then meticulously cuts out every detail with a
craft knife. The piece is then stage-carved, using Sam’s own sand-blasting technique
with commercial grade equipment, achieving a multi-leveled design on the glass
surface, comparable to a painter and their canvas.
“I am obsessed with color!!! I am intrigued by an over- examination of my
subject matter. I want to dissect the image, survey the hues, values, and
saturations and leave for the viewer a map of color choices.
I use individually cut paper paint swatches in a collage form to create
pixilated images of landscapes, cityscapes, portraits and famous works of art. From
a distance, the colors blend to create a photo realistic quality, with the individual
‘pixels’ becoming more distinguishable the closer the viewer moves to the piece.
When viewed up close, the meticulous arrangement of the paper is truly
impressive, and the volume of colors used to create each palette is visually
mesmerizing. When viewed through a cell phone or at a distance, the images
become clear and details seem to jump off of the viewing plane displaying Gestalt
psychology and how your brain connects the dots (or squares in this case) based on
experience. The cell phone acts as a filter, and this unique way to view my art
creates a fun and interactive experience for the viewer.
As part of my artistic process, there is something about collecting that I love.
The trip to the hardware store, to gather my materials whets the appetite to create.
The time I spend organizing and cataloguing the swatches is meditative. The
exploration of the subject matter and the scrutiny with which i discern the slightest
subtleties of color and tone challenges me. Each small piece of paper with an
identifier of it’s color source, specifically cut to create for the viewer a digital-age
impressionistic reference to a paint by number - my adult version of a puzzle.”
-Jennifer Lashbrook