St. Petersburg • Clearwater 2009 - (Page 43) :HOW IT’S MADE One of St. Petersburg’s most visible painters and mixed media artists, Lance Rodgers applies his unique twists to realist painting. He works out of Salt Creek Art Works, where he has also been the curator for 15 years. Rodgers’ paintings explore the intimate and human, strength and fragility. Salt Creek Art Works, 727-894-2653. ~LW • Lance projects an image on the wall beside his canvas, then uses a square wooden palette of oils to create his powerful interpretation. • Combining symbolism and realism, Lance brings the ephemeral nature of romance to canvas in this piece called “Looking for Cupid.” • “Not many people get to do what they love and get paid for it,” Lance says after hanging his recent work. “I’m just thankful I’m one of the lucky ones.” Organized art strolls – held regularly in St. Petersburg and Gulfport – are also popular. St. Pete’s Gallery Walk is held the second Saturday of each month from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Nearly 20 galleries take part – spotlighting everything from glassworks to American crafts. They extend their hours, serve refreshments and host live entertainment. In Gulfport, Art Walks are held the first Friday and third Saturday of each month, from 6 to 10 p.m. More than 40 galleries, stores and restaurants stay open late for the occasion. Enjoy the street performers. Free in-town shuttle service is available. The St. Pete/Clearwater area also hosts a number of art fairs. Perhaps the most popular of these is St. Petersburg’s Mainsail Arts Festival. This two-day juried show, held in April, draws artists from across the nation. Art ranges from fiber work to sculpture. Dunedin Art Harvest, held each November in Highlander Park, offers a similar array. Mainsail Arts Festival. »A Museum Tour Any museum tour of the area should start in St. Petersburg. That city’s Museum of Fine Arts houses a collection extending from antiquity to the present. European and American Art are both spotlighted, as are Greek and Roman works and pre-Columbian art. Must-view pieces include Renoir’s Woman Reading and Paul Gauguin’s Goose Girl, Brittany. Nearby, the Salvador Dalí Museum wows visitors with the world’s most comprehensive collection of work by the eccentric surrealist. More than 96 Dalí oils are on view, including masterworks such as the Hallucinogenic Toreador and Slave Market with the Disappearing Bust of Voltaire. The Florida International Museum (open fall through spring) has no > www.VisitStPeteClearwater.com The Craftsman House is a gallery devoted to works by North American artists. 43 http://www.VisitStPeteClearwater.com
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.