Fourth Annual Artist Invitational

Ten member artists in Butterfield have invited artists they admire to exhibit work alongside them during the month of October. Many of these artists will be at the gallery during First Friday Artwalk between 5-7 p.m. This is a great opportunity to discover new talent, ask questions, and learn more about their work. Stop in to see this exciting new display that features a diverse mix of seasoned and emerging artists.

Invited artists include:

Kathy McCall

Carolyn Overstreet

Sherrie Pettigrew

Gayle Prevatt

Nikki Rakov

Juliana Romnes

Mary K. Shaw

Heather Tuttle

Allison Watson

Veronica Webber

ABOUT THE GUEST ARTISTS

Kathy McCall is always looking for the perfect balance between the head, the heart, and the hands – no matter what your craft, talent or medium may be.  While I don’t necessarily consider myself an “artist”, I have been a “maker” for most of my life. Her well-crafted sculptures also display a sense of humor and playfulness, reminding us not to take ourselves too seriously. Susan Smith chose Kathy to display her whimsical creatures since they are the perfect animals to inhabit her imaginary painted worlds.

Carolyn Overstreet returned to her love of painting after raising children and caring for aging parents. She is inspired by the beauty of the beach, where she finds rest, peace, and renewal. “The color and movement of water, sand, and clouds draw me in. As I listen to the calls of seagulls and the sound of the crashing waves, I try to capture all that I feel on the canvas of my paintings.”  Emma Greenfield chose Carolyn “…as a friend and fellow artist who inspires me with her commitment to capturing nature with paint and passion. Her work transports me back to the beach and reminds me why I love Florida so much.” Sydney McKenna has known Sherrie Pettigrew for over 40 years since she was in art school. The hyper-realistic work of Sherrie Pettigrew has been shown throughout Florida galleries such as the Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra Beach, Jensen Studio, and Butterfield Gallery in Saint Augustine, and at various venues throughout Gainesville.

Gayle Prevatt, an owner of Moultrie Creek Studios in St. Augustine, is a Flagler College graduate and longtime resident of St. Augustine. Gail celebrates life around her by creating art: sometimes vivid, sometimes delicate light, line, texture, and color. Her “palette” includes paintings, drawings, pottery, jewelry, and gardens as well as beekeeping, and anything else that captures her imagination. For this exhibition, Gail has focused on the colors of fall, painting subjects that reflect her interest in the natural world. Cindy Wilson’s admiration for Gail as an artist as well as her perpetual curiosity and love of the natural world. “Whatever medium she embraces at the moment is always full of enthusiasm and a delight to behold.”

Mary K. Shaw is a mixed media artist who employs collage, hand lettering, and mono printing to create vibrant, layered artwork. A gifted wordsmith, Mary often includes the written word as part of her composition or as the genesis of specific works. She pursues her artistic impulses with zeal and a dash of spontaneous combustion from her home studio in St. Augustine, Florida. Debra Mixon Holiday thought Mary a natural choice for her invitational guest artist: they both create works with paper and incorporate the written word, and they are both printmakers.

Dave Tuttle chose Heather Tuttle for the colorful and whimsical nature of her art. I worked as a graphic designer for 33 years, now retired and creating more tangible work. Drawn to the human or animal form, her work displays the sense of amusement she finds from the world revolving around her “…and of dealing with an often unpredictable head of hair”. Heather has discovered “creating something handmade and original is more rewarding than I imagined”.

Juliana Romnes specializes in photographs of coastal Florida, from sand patterns and waves to the texture of seawalls. For this display, she will display a collection of miniature portraits of black & white trees in frames that are 2.5 x 3.5 x 1.5 inches deep. These tiny photographs can be hung on the wall or sit on a shelf. Per Hans Romnes selected his daughter Juliana Romnes. “As a former Butterfield Artist, I feel that this opportunity will allow her to explore the gallery potential for some of her new subjects and photographic styles.

Nikki Rakov works in acrylic, oils, watercolor, and drawing media that is layered into her paintings to express her visions of a mysterious world. Her work is influenced by artists who emphasize fantastic otherworldly experiences reflecting on the spiritual, such as Inka Essenhigh, Bill Viola, and Hilma af Klimt. Her paintings reveal figures and animals interpreted from dreams, visions, and ghost stories woven together in dark and spooky landscapes. Nature in her landscapes is derived from memory and imagination, taking on the role of another character in her expressive paintings. Eric Rakov says “While there is a wee bit of unapologetic nepotism with my selection, my wife and partner Nikki is a gifted painter and award-winning artist who I’m honored to share wall space. She has always enjoyed the Butterfield Garage Gallery and the work of artists who grace its walls and hopes to show more of her work here in the future.”

Allison Watson is well known throughout the South for her landscape paintings of Florida and the South East. The inspiration for her paintings comes from her love of the natural environment and her travels and explorations in remote woodlands, lakes, springs, dunes, and beaches of Florida and international locations. She paints in her studio at the CoRK Art District in Jacksonville from her own photographs taken on kayaking and hiking trips along Florida’s trails and rivers. Ms. Watson has had over thirty solo exhibitions including shows at major Universities, private galleries, and museums as well as many group shows. She has been on the teaching staff of the Cummer Museum of Art for 20 years. Deborah Lightfield invited Allison for the passion she exudes for nature and art which is self-evident when viewing her work. “Allison is a compassionate and selfless artist, teacher, and friend of the world.”

Veronica Webber is a Flagler alumnus with a Fine Arts degree. She is currently focused on oil painting and photo-based collage, with an interest in the self and the way external and internal forces affect the body and mind. My work explores the way various layers of the self become exposed in times of struggle and the way they act in relation to one another, as well as separate entities. “ I am interested in distortion of the body as a physical manifestation of struggle and the alternate selves that rise to the surface as a result.” Martha Ferguson, also a Flagler alumnus, reached out to Flagler’s art department for a recommendation. They unanimously suggested Veronica. “I am excited to have Veronica as my invited guest artist and to share her work.”