BRADENTON – The Artists’ Guild of Anna Maria Island’s 11th annual juried art exhibition, “Boundaries Erased,” is on display at ArtCenter Manatee in downtown Bradenton through Friday, Feb. 7.
The exhibition opened Tuesday, Jan. 14. The opening reception and awards ceremony took place Thursday, Jan. 16.
Marianne Hiland and Wendell Graham co-chaired the exhibition that took place for the first time this year at ArtCenter Manatee. In years past, the exhibition took place at The Studio at Gulf and Pine in Anna Maria.
Guild members and non-members submitted the 60 works on display in the Kellogg Gallery, all of which are for sale. Renowned Florida artist Dean Mitchell judged the competition.
Cortez resident Susanna Spann won Best in Show and the $500 prize for her “Friday on Frenchmen Street” painting.
“I’m doing a whole series of musicians, primarily from New Orleans. I go there every year for the Jazz & Heritage Festival. This was at The Maison, one of the bars there. I take photos, come back home, rearrange and redesign them and paint with watercolor. I want to tell stories and what I want is the feeling I felt. This was a red-hot jazz band and I wanted that feeling to come out in my painting,” Spann said.
“Friday on Frenchmen Street” was previously one of 10 winners in The Artist’s Magazine’s nationwide Over 60 Art Competition.
“I’m real proud of this baby, it’s been real good for me,” Spann said.
Many Guild members are also ArtCenter Manatee members, and some dual members entered other pieces in the ArtCenter’s “Annual Member Show” currently on display in the Searle & Reid Hodges galleries.
“I’ve got another one in the other room that I also won an award for, ‘Washboard Willie at The Cat.’ I wanted the same feel – the feeling I got when I was listening and watching the musicians,” Spann said.
“Busy Day in Thailand”
Holmes Beach resident Cheryl Jorgensen’s “Busy Day in Thailand” watercolor painting won first place and a $400 prize.
“I was in Thailand and I saw this guy with this beautiful orange outfit and decided I had to paint it,” Jorgensen said. “To me, it says no matter where you go, people are busy. That is what life is all about.”
Doreen Renner’s “Cardinal Rule” was awarded second place and Lu Ann Widergren’s “Morning View from Rod-n-Reel” was awarded third place.
Excellence in Photography
Anna Maria resident Cathy Tobias won Excellence in Photography awards for her “Great Migration” and “Flamingo Delight” photographs.
Tobias took “Great Migration” in Tanzania while watching wildebeest migrate.
“It was on my bucket list of things I had to see. They stand at the riverbank and they can stand there for hours before the first one starts to cross – they’re worried about crocodiles,” Tobias said.
“It was late morning and this reddish dust was everywhere. They crossed for 30 minutes and I cried the whole time. It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen and this is very close to the true color of what was going on,” Tobias said regarding the color tones in her photo.
She took “Flamingo Delight” at Jungle Gardens in Sarasota.
“This is a gorgeous bird. I liked the detail of the feathers, the eyes, the black tail and the shape it was in,” Tobias said, noting she cropped out the natural background.
“The background was competing with the flamingo and I thought it would stand out much better with a black background,” she said.
Change of venue
“I want to thank ArtCenter Manatee for hanging the show and for being so supportive. It’s a great venue,” Hiland said. “A number of our Guild members are not on the Island, so this is more centrally located for our membership and participants. It’s been a wonderful experience. The galleries are gorgeous.”
ArtCenter Manatee is located at 209 Ninth St. W. in Bradenton. For more information, visit the ArtCenter online.
The Artists’ Guild Gallery is in the Island Shopping Center at 5414 Marina Dr in Holmes Beach. For more information, visit the guild online.
