Francesco’s paintings and drawings are exhibited in private and public collections in such places as Germany, Russia, Italy, the U.S.A, and other locations around the world. Francesco was born and spent his childhood in Italy before moving to New York in 1956. While in New York he received his education. He earned a Master’s degree of Fine Arts and a professorship at national and international universities. He enjoyed his first success as an emerging artist together with the likes of Sean Scully, Len Bellinger and David Reed. Francesco moved back to his home in Italy, where he keeps a studio and pursues his passion for painting. While living in Italy he taught at the university and also enjoys tending to his beloved olive garden.

Lynn Aylsworth recently gained national attention when she received an award from the American Artist’s Professional League at the Salmagundi Club in New York City. Her work has been featured on the cover of American Artist magazine, accompanied by a feature article about the artist and her painting process. She has also shown at the Florence Griswold Museum and the Newark Museum in New Jersey. She taught at the Guilford Handcraft Center in Guilford, CT and instructs private classes in her studio at home.

Argandoña, Augusto

Since moving to Sarasota, Augusto Argandoña has seen his art blossom into a growing business. He attributes this success to the support for the arts in the community, and the quality of exposure and clientele Sarasota offers.

Previously a resident of East Aurora, NY., Argandoña was a designer at Fisher-Price Toys. Making a career change, in 1990 he developed an art business showing his art at mall shows and other venues, but it was not until he moved to Sarasota
in 1998 that he began to see the potential for his art.

The exposure to a large international  tourist and  snowbird audience was the nudge that the artist was looking for. It is this type of audience that is the source of his extensive clientele.

It was at an outdoor show that Argandoña noticed the need for prints representing local scenes; particularly beach and other areas that attract tourists. Following a research and development period, he began producing prints of Siesta Key locations in sizes that would be easily transportable, thus targeting directly to the tourist market. The success of this venture fueled his enthusiasm and he began to produce images of other Sarasota area locations.

Currently Argandoña has prints that encompass tourist and attraction locations from Boca Grande to Anna Maria Island. His prints  and other products with his art are available at galleries and gift stores.

Argandoña's  distinctive personal painting style has wide appeal and continues to provide him with commissions and opportunities to use his talent. His paintings of houses, portraits, and pet portraits are in demand and together with his prints are part of private collections throughout North America and Europe. His expertise in the challenging  medium of watercolors has won him a feature article in North Light Magazine, an art publication with national circulation.

Argandoña's  paintings have won numerous awards including first place, and best of show awards at shows in Florida, Western New York and Ohio. For the artist all of this was once a dream.............Now he is living his dream.

Baxter, Julie

Julie is a lifetime and award winning potter. Julie’s teaching career has been with the Arlington County, Virginia, Department of Parks, Recreation & Community Resources. She taught beginning, intermediate, and advanced wheel throwing classes and workshops on surface decoration. She also taught children’s hand building classes at the Arlington County Elementary School. Her undergraduate degree is in pottery and she has taken many workshops over the years to enhance her skills and further her education.

Byrne, Sister Maureen Michael

Sister Maureen Michael Byrne is a School Sister of Notre Dame. She has been living in Florida since 1957 and in Venice since 1987. She graduated from the University of South Florida with degrees in Elementary Education and a Masters in Administration/Supervision. Her present ministry is at STILLPOINT STUDIO CREATING ART where she teaches both adults and children as well as creating and selling her own art work.

She is a member of the Venice Art Center where she teaches the popular CLAYMANIA class in the summer; Art Center Sarasota; Sarasota County Arts Council where she participates in The Artists in the Schools Program; The Arts and Culture Alliance where she was awarded the Muses Award for children’s education in 2007. She was featured on THE GULF COAST JOURNAL with Jack Perkins and on VEE ON VENICE. Her work includes watercolor, acrylic and clay sculpture and is enjoyed by many in their homes and offices.

Bill Buchman, an internationally represented American artist, lived and worked for twenty years in Europe, primarily in Copenhagen and Paris. Now Bill lives in Sarasota, Florida where he teaches and has his studio. Bill gives local and national workshops on both the creative process and on figure drawing and has made popular educational DVD’s on both of these subjects.  He studied painting and drawing with renowned teacher Victor D’Amico at the Museum of Modern Art’s Institute of Modern Art, East Hampton, NY and also with leading American figurative painter Fletcher Martin at the Albany Institute of Art, in Albany, NY. Bill attended Cornell University School of Fine Arts and Boston University School of Liberal Arts and has a Bachelor’s Degree and a Master’s Degree in music from the New England Conservatory of Music. Buchman’s expressive figure drawings and brightly colored spontaneous abstractions may be seen in private and public collections in Denmark, Sweden, England and the US and at galleries in Sarasota, Copenhagen, New York and other locales. Bill is sponsored by the California-based Savoir Faire, importer of the European art materials and gives regular classes on how to draw the human figure at the Ringling College, Longboat Key Center for the Arts on Longboat Key in Florida. Bill’s upcoming book, “Expressive Figure Drawing”, will be published in 2010 by Random House/ Watson Guptill publishers.

Bill says of his work, “Harmony is my keynote.” Ideas from the realm of music are my main source of inspiration. At the same time, a broad spectrum of ideas and techniques of European Modernism of the early 20th century, the artistic philosophy and methods of Chinese and Japanese painting, as well as Renaissance and Classical concepts all provide some bearings for the ongoing voyage.

Marilyn has a B.A. in Sociology and an M.S. in Education from Russell Sage College.  After a full career as a teacher, she began painting.  Studying with several local and nationally known artists she developed her skills.  She now shares her collected knowledge of techniques with adults, conducting Workshops and Classes at the Venice Art Center.  Her goal is to inspire people to create, enjoy the arts, to loose themselves in the wonderful world of watercolor.  She has won several awards, her works can be seen in collections in the United States and Europe.

Jerome received his BS and MS at SUNY College, Buffalo, NY, and the University of Art, Siena, Italy. He has over 20 years teaching experience in high school, which included advanced painting. He also has taught painting at Daemen College and the Chautauqua Institution. He is currently teaching at Art Center Manatee and has won awards for his art work. Jerome is a signature member of the Niagara Frontier Watercolor Society and is also a society member of the Florida Watercolor Society as well as other arts organizations.

Sally received her formal art education at Endicott College and Parsons School of Design. Landscapes, portraits and portrayals of children in pastel are her primary focus and passion.

The combination of Joanna’s experiences and her artistic abilities in the commercial arts to the fine arts field makes her artworks unique in its visual beauty and in it’s depth of meaning. She has received her Associates in Arts degree from Harvard University.  While living in Massachusetts, she worked as a Senior Graphic Designer and Art Director for a large computer firm in which she created sales materials and exhibitory materials. She returned to school and received her fashion certificate from the School of Fashion Design in Boston where she worked as a Fashion Designer and Business Manager for the international fashion company for Victoria’s Secrets Stores and Catalogs. Joanna continued her educational pursuits at the University of South Florida receiving two degrees, Bachelor of Science in Art Education and Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts.  She completed her painting education at Louisiana State University and received a Master of Fine Arts degree in 2005. In addition to her academic degrees, she has trained with nationally known artists such as Michael Del Priore in portraiture and Leonard Wren in landscape painting.  She also studied art abroad in Paris in 2000 and in Venice, Rome and Florence in 2004. She also teaches at Art Center Manatee and the Venice Art Center.

Popular for her “It is Only Paper” approach to watercolor, Nancy makes the medium fun and possible for even the beginner. Known for her use of vivid and bright colors, Nancy continually generates award-winning pieces and achieves wide recognition for her skills. Her enthusiasm for her art and willingness to share her techniques makes her popular both as an instructor and as part of the art community. Her works include primarily murals, both commercial and private. Her business has expanded to include furniture, glassware, and watercolors. She now focuses on painting, exhibiting, and teaching watercolor classes.

Ruth Hook Colby chooses to express her vision through the medium of pastel for its versatility, immediacy and rich, vibrant color. Her enjoyment and perfection of this medium, in both the abstract and realistic interpretations has guaranteed her numerous awards. She has attained signature membership with both the Southeastern Pastel Society and the Degas Pastel Society. Ruth is also a member of the Petticoat Painters artist group and is included in the “Best of America, Pastel Artists and Artisans of 2007”. Her studies include workshops with nationally known artists such as Katherine Chang Liu, Alex Powers, Albert Handell, Richard McKinley, Doug Dawson, Allan Flattmann, Carl Dalio and Susan Ogiolvie.

Crafton, Chuck

Chuck Crafton is a longtime photographer and instructor with over sixty years of varied camera and darkroom experiences. He started taking pictures with a simple fixed focus camera, developing film and printing pictures in the late 1940’s. He worked with his college yearbook staff in the 1950’s, photographed weddings in the 1970’s and was a photography and darkroom instructor in Northern Virginia for over five years. Later in the 1980’s, Chuck photographed and recorded the details of several US Department of State design projects in Africa, Europe, Caribbean and the US.

He switched completely from film to digital photography about eight years ago, continues to capture digital photographs and currently teaches Digital Photography and Workshops at several venues in the Charlotte and Sarasota County areas. Chuck lives with his wife, a fine artist, in their home on the Myakka River along with two Yorkies.

Cruz, Alberto

Alberto Cruz, a tropical bonsai specialist with over 18 years of experience styling, collecting, judging and teaching bonsai. Alberto is a member of the Florida Bonsai Society, the Sho Fu Bonsai of Sarasota, South Florida Bonsai Society and Port Charlotte Bonsai Club. He is now in the process of forming the Gulf Coast Bonsai Center, which will be operated and managed by him. Alberto has learned from and participated in workshops given by Bonsai masters such as John Naka, Ben Oki, Cheng Cheng Kung, Roy Nagatoshi, Jim Smith, Joe Samuels, Mary Miller and Carlos Consuegras. His specialty is tropical bonsai, which given the climate of southern Florida, makes it both enjoyable and well-suited trees to style and collect as bonsai.

Josephina studied at the Institute de Bellos Arts in Colombia, South America. She went on to teach both children and adults a wide range of media including drawing, painting, glass fusion, and stained glass. Her work is known throughout the world.

“I like to explore motion in my work and use bright colors, because for me, painting is a celebration of life.”

Jamie Friedli has been a professional artist since 1964. She attended Harris Institute of Art in Nashville and later went on to study at the Atlanta College of Art. She has studied under such renowned artists as Joseph Perrin (Atlanta, Georgia) and Wolf Kahn (Sebasco, Maine). She has also been teaching various art forms to other artists and students since 1970. Jamie has held many leadership positions in the art community such as the Vice President, local chapter of the National Women’s Caucus for the Arts: President, Petticoat Painters; President, Florida Suncoast Watercolor Society; and Area Chairman, Florida Artist Group, Inc. She has won numerous awards for her art, including the prestigious Fonchen Lord Memorial Award, Jacksonville Museum of Contemporary Art, juried by David Levy, Director of the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. Jamie’s teaching experience includes teaching pottery, book making, mono types, and painting (watercolors and acrylics). She has taught such groups as teachers, other professional artists, and the general public. Some of her teaching experience includes teaching continuing education classes at Oglethorpe University (Atlanta, Georgia); teaching recertification classes at Holy Innocence Episcopal School (Atlanta, Georgia); and teaching at a retreat for the Women’s Contemporary Artists (Ellenton, Florida). She has also juried numerous art exhibits throughout Florida.

Jamie’s paintings are exhibited in corporate and private collections in Georgia, Florida, New York, Hawaii, Maine, Switzerland, and Venezuela. She currently exhibits in her Main Street Studio located in the heart of the art district in Sarasota, Florida.
Wolf Kahn, artist - “Jamie is  talented above all else. ”Mark Ormond, art critic - “Jamie Friedli delights the viewer with her loose, spontaneous oils.”

Suzanne H. Havens, creative Muse, is a life-long student and lover of visual arts, creativity and motivation. Suzanne earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts, taught art at the high school level, earned a Masters degree in International Business, worked as a communications strategist and a marketer and continues to make her own personal art. Suzanne "quit her day job" two years ago and enjoys expressing herself through painting, photography, wearable art, gardening, Photoshop, mixed media and leading "playshops" for fellow artists.

Nancy’s interest in three-dimensional art began as a youngster along the beaches of New England, building sand sculptures. It was love at first touch when her high school art instructor introduced terra cotta clay to the class.  From that moment on, working in three dimensions is a passion she has pursued diligently between raising three children and completing two master’s degrees.
Nancy has taught sculpture to adults and children for many years. Her work has been exhibited throughout New England in numerous galleries and art shows. She has received many awards for her sculptural masterpieces. Her energy and enthusiasm are evident in her portrait and animal sculptures.

Karen is an award winning artist who received her art training at Parson’s School of Design in New York, majoring in Illustration. Karen’s classic background and training are ever evident in her style, along with her love of capturing the figure and the effects of light in all of her scenes. Notably Karen has been a participant in “Paint the Parks” & “Paint America” National Competitions, plus 2006 recipient of the Muse Award Sarasota County. Karen’s paintings have been collected by private and corporate collections nationally and abroad. She is a published children’s book illustrator and her works have been published and distributed nationally in a line of gifts. Karen is the founder of the Venice Plein Air Group and signature member of Plein Air Florida.

Dr. Mary-Louise Biasotti Hooper is a professional artist and teacher. She is an award winning oil painter of landscapes, seascapes, cityscapes and still-life. She has exhibited her oil paintings in gallery and non-gallery venues across the country—including many solo shows. Her work is in private collections from California to New Jersey. She was awarded a major national Fulbright Senior Researcher Grant; is life-juried into the Biennale in Florence, Italy; and worked with international projects. She holds a doctorate in Education and a MA in Clinical Counseling and a BA in Education and AA & BA in Fine Arts.

Pat is a graduate of The Rochester Institute of Technology with a degree in Graphic Design.  She also studied ceramics at the School for American Craftsmen with such notables as Franz Wildenhaim and Jim Seacreast.  Her work has sold in department stores and specialty shops, among them, Dean and DeLucca and Tiffany’s of New York City.  Her pottery has been featured in publications such as: House and Garden, House Beautiful, and Country Living.

Maria, Gary

Gary Maria is a graduate of Kutztown University of Pennsylvania with a degree in Graphic Design. He first worked in the book publishing industry in New York City as a designer before commencing life drawing and painting study in 1979 at The School of Visual Arts and The Art Students League of New York. Studying with notable artists at both schools, Gary has illustrated paperback romance novels for Silhouette Romance in New York, and Barbour Publishing in Ohio; he has also worked for many years drawing pen and ink illustrations for Dell Publishing. Monitor for the Life Drawing Open Studio for the last two seasons, Gary's portrait and figure work has won recognition in recent 2009 VAC exhibitions. His aim as an artist is to continue working toward the traditions of Old Master draftsmanship and craft in portrait drawing and painting.

Katrina Meyer is a certified secondary educator, Adult Education administrator, ballroom dancer and award-winning wire artist. She began her fascination with gemstones and minerals in 1987 when she left her hometown of Toledo, Ohio and moved to the Washington, D.C. This is where she joined the Rockville MD Rock Club. For several years, she made semiprecious gemstone beaded jewelry to sell at craft shows in D.C., MD, and VA.  In 1995, she began studying wire wrapping at William Holland School of Lapidary Arts in Georgia and in private sessions with master wire artists from around the country.  Katrina enjoys selling at area rock and shell club shows, juried art shows, as well as teaching wire craft jewelry workshops.

Parent, Roger

Roger Parent is an award winning, Signature Member and serves on the Board of the Florida Suncoast Watercolor Society. His work has attracted attention through his use of vibrant color. Roger studied at the Boston University School of Fine Arts and the Swain School of Design in Massachusetts. He holds a Masters Degree in Library Science and worked as an art librarian at the Springfield Library and Museums Assoc. in Mass. Before he retired and moved to Sarasota he served as a senior executive at two national associations, as Deputy Director of the American Library Association, Chicago, and as Executive Director of the American Association of Law Libraries, Chicago. Since retiring he has attended watercolor workshops with Don Andrews, Paul Riley, Sue Archer, Frank Francese, Nicholas Simmons, Janet Rogers, and others.

Parins, Kris

Kris Parins is a professional artist and teacher. After a fifteen-year career in graphic design and art direction, she now employs her camera and computer in the planning and analysis of her watercolor paintings. Her award-winning work is exhibited nationally in solo and juried shows, and is held in private and public collections.

A delight in nature was instilled in Kris in her childhood, where she spent time  at the edge of a lake in northern Wisconsin. That same small lake now provides the view and inspiration from the windows of her summer studio.

After receiving a degree from the University of Wisconsin, she worked in fibers for several years. She had a career as an Art Director, working for Advertising and design firms and Lawrence University. This led her to an interest in illustration and  watercolor. She has studied with Bridget Austen, Gloria Miller Allen, Nita Engle, Ratindra Das, and many other professional artists. The unpredictability of watercolor introduces randomness and spontaneity to her work. While she paints a wide variety of subjects, she utilizes the transparency of the medium to capture the effect of strong sunlight, an ongoing theme in her paintings. Since moving to Sarasota in 2003, Kris has been stimulated by the riot of color and texture in the local scene.
In the past several years she has enjoyed teaching watercolor in Florida and Wisconsin. She finds the shared enthusiasm with students to be a source of energy and inspiration.

Rob Robinson has been taking pictures, lots of pictures, since he was in grade school. An active photographer his entire adult life, he was fascinated by the magic of working in a darkroom. He began working with computers from the early 1980s and today he is still a computer power user. In his professional life Rob taught seminars in time management and best practices for professional groups. Rob is retired from a long career in public broadcasting.

Ron Sanders began pursuing art as a small child, working in oils by age nine, studying anatomy soon after and selling his first commissioned work by the age of eleven.  He studied illustration at the Columbus College of Art & Design in Columbus, Ohio. He has produced illustrations for advertising and promotional material, calendars, and newspapers for clients that include Spike TV, Doubleday Book Club, Harcourt, Chase Financial, the Boy Scouts, BF Goodrich Tire Company, the Detroit Free Press, Minneapolis Star Tribune, and others for more than 15 years.  Ron studied with noted Chinese artist Huihan Lui as well as the former President of the Plein Air Painters of America, George Strickland.

Frances attended Boston Museum of Fine Arts School and Ringling School of Art. She has been a freelance artist for over 30 years specializing in acrylic, watercolor, and pastel; also stained glass, calligraphy, and wall murals. Her animal art is featured in Ann Jacobs Gallery in Highlands, NC. Frances has taught both children and adult art classes for many years and won numerous awards for her work.

A native of southwest Louisiana, he left Louisiana after graduating from the University of Southwestern Louisiana in pursuit of his art.  His journey took him to Texas and Connecticut. After 25 years of successful illustration and executing ideas and concepts of others, he now paints subjects that are of interest to him. His work hangs in private collections as well as the permanent collections of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Coast Guard and the permanent collection of Golf Digest Magazine.

Dana is very excited about sharing Art & Healing with the Venice Art Center community. She received her BA in Psychology from the University of New Hampshire and her Masters Degree from Babson College. She has received advanced training in Art & Healing at the Ringling College of Art and Design Certificate Program. She also has a background in holistic health which included training with the Mind/Body Medical Institute in Boston. She is currently a facilitator of a variety of expressive arts sessions in the Sarasota community.

Barbara is known for her exciting technique with transparent watercolor. Her work can be found in private and corporate collections around the globe. In 1993, Thelen retired from a successful career in sales and marketing. It was then that she began to pursue her love of art. A self-taught artist, she began by spending many hours studying books by her favorite artists and attending watercolor workshops. Through much trial and error she has been very successful in her unique colorful style.  Dramatic, larger-than-life florals, floral gardens, seascapes, and landscapes show her distinctive style. Thalen’s love and enthusiasm for watercolor, combined with her past teaching and motivational experience has evolved into fun and really exciting watercolor workshops. People from all over the United States have enjoyed this workshop. An added feature to each workshop is a guide to organization and a sharing of business tips.

A versatile artist, Sue received her BA in art at William Patterson University and MFA at Pratt Institute, New York. She works in mixed media and photography. Her works are in corporate and private collections as well as museums. She is an adjunct professor of art history and art appreciation at State College Florida in Venice and has lectured throughout the U.S. and Europe.

Amy is a graduate of Illinois State University. She holds a degree in Communicative Arts and a certificate of Architecture. She has over 20 years experience in commercial art and 15 years in the residential architecture field.  Her art work is a reflection of the beauty she observes in nature.  She is a freelance, award-winning ceramic artist who has designed decorative and commissioned art work.  As an instructor, she teaches adults as well as children at Booker High School in the Visual Performing Arts program, summer outreach programs and at the several art leagues within the Sarasota/Bradenton community.  Amy is not limited to just ceramics. She is a painter and an award winning photographer, selling her work commercially.

Caroline began oil painting in an adult education course in the Hudson River Valley, New York.  Her continued study, at home and with noted artists: Lee Hockberg, George Peter, Robert Gary, P.J. Steadman, Richard Ochs. This  has  enabled her to become a very effective and well rounded artist and teacher.  Her love of nature and the desire to perpetuate moods that are “pleasant and romantic”, led her naturally to floral and garden paintings. Her work is in a number of private collections in the New York area and she has done many commissioned pieces.  Beginners will be delighted with the ways to see values and shapes, and become familiar with a simple palette of nine colors.  Students will learn all the basic techniques of watercolor.

Life in Europe and Asia influenced her mastery of art forms. Her students will find her classes to be stimulating and rewarding. Her early mentors include a collection of artists in France and Senda San of Japan (oils). She began her floral watercolor painting more than twenty-five years ago with the well known artist Ethel Todd George, as well as workshops with other renowned artists such as Katherine Chang Lu, Ed Whitney, and Robert Calrow.  Her prize winning paintings are in many private and corporate collections.

Walter received his BFA in art from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana and also studied art and art history at the University of Illinois. After receiving his MFA in ceramics, he taught at Westchester Art Workshop in White Plains and the Silvermine School of Art in New Cannan, Connecticut and became head of the Ceramics Department at the City College of New York.  After working in the academic world, Walter and his wife, Pat established Depot Creek Studio in upstate New York. His work can be found in the homes of the rich and famous and has been sold by Tiffany & Company, Saks 5th Avenue, and various galleries and shops throughout the U.S. His work is also in the Smithsonian permanent collection in Washington, D.C.