ArtiGras 2014 will celebrate all things creative!  Hundreds of  professional artists and eleven emerging artists will show and sell their work, continuing to amaze us by their creative spirit.  Kelly Tracht, a Jupiter-based artist, has been chosen for the 2014 Commemorative Poster.  The Rickie Report hopes you buy your tickets and plan on a few full days of art exploration.  There are interactive children’s art activities, a recycling art challenge, food, live music plus fine art and fine crafts from around the world!  The details about ArtiGras 2014 are in this article.

Presented by

Palm Beach Gardens Medical Center

Produced  by

Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of

Commerce

February 15, 16, 17, 2014

Festival Hours:

Saturday, February 15th, 2014
Gates open to the public 10:00AM-6:00PM

Sunday, February 16th, 2014
Gates open to the public 10:00AM-6:00PM

Monday, February 17th, 2014
Gates open to the public 10:00AM-5:00PM

Abacoa,  Jupiter

Commemorative Poster

 

 

 The ArtiGras Fine Arts Festival is proud to announce painter Kelly Tracht from Jupiter, FL., has been selected as this year’s commemorative artist poster artist. Tracht’s piece, title “Sailing Sailfish”, is bright, lively and uses the sailfish to reference South Florida living. The piece also pays homage to Tracht’s hometown, with the nautical letters on the flag bunting spelling out ‘Jupiter’.

 

 

ArtiGras 2014 Commemorative Poster by Kelly Tracht

 

Kelly tells us, “Our coastal town of Jupiter has always felt a bit like an American Riviera to me, and after watching a classic movie this summer set in the Cote d’Azur, I was inspired to create an iconic painting that would express this connection”.   Tracht was an ArtiGras Emerging Artist in 2012 and has juried into the festival two times since her first show.   She shares, “I took influences from the classic posters of the French Riviera which are full of punchy color, iconic use of imagery, and coastal fun and designed a painting that would showcase the bounty of the ocean as well as a passion for boating found here in Jupiter.”

 

 

Though formally trained as an architect, Tracht’s painting career really started to blossom in 1997, when she took a year sabbatical on the island of Grenada in the West Indies. Inspired by island living, Tracht painted al fresco landscapes and seascapes experimenting with an expressive, painterly style. As she started to sell her  paintings to European tourists and foreign dignitaries, her work quickly gained notoriety. Tracht was invited by the German owner of The Aquarium Club, a stylish beach side resort in Grenada, to hold a season-long exhibition of her work.

 

 

In 2006, Tracht painted the cover for the Junior League of the Palm Beaches cookbook Worth Tasting, a book that she named, helped research, write and conceptualize. Bloomingdales invited her to exhibit at their 2007 Artrageous event, and in 2012, Tracht was awarded the prestigious President’s Purchase Award at SunFest.

 

 

 

 

The 2014 ArtiGras poster will be available for purchase online at www.artigras.org or in the ArtiGras Merchandise Booth at the festival. Patrons can visit Tracht in the Merchandise Booth at ArtiGras where she will be signing posters for patrons on Saturday, February 15 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. and again on Monday, February 17 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

 

 

EMERGING ARTISTS

 

The Rickie Report encourages artists of all mediums to apply to ArtiGras as an emerging artist, if they have not experienced this type of large show before.  Only eleven emerging artists were chosen for this year’s event.  We hope you take the time to stop by each of their displays and speak with them about their artwork and creativity!  The emerging artists are:  Amber Palomres, Robin Neary, Florida Palm Fish Art, DeJaVu Glass Design, Dane Stensen, Makai Project LLC, Kristian Charnick, Larry Hughes, Robert Mayes, The Little Whale and George Darrell.

 

Amber Palomares

Amber Palomares grew up in the Rio Grande Valley of South Texas.   She is an avid nature lover, enjoys gardening, exploring parks, beaches and historical towns.  This appreciation of nature began at an early age when she fished and camped on Padre Island Texas.   Amber also accompanied her mother on trips to local National Wildlife Refuges where she delighted in following nature trails and bird watching.    Her full understanding for the outdoors can be seen in her paintings.   She and her husband, John, moved from Texas to Palm Beach Gardens, FL in the mid 90s, leaving a couple of years to live on James Island near Charleston, South Carolina. Palm Beach Gardens is where they call home now and where Amber paints both en plein air (outdoors from life) and in her studio.  

“Bridge and Weeping Willows” by Amber Palomares

Amber discovered her passion for painting in her forties  and has immersed herself in studying oil and acrylic painting techniques through art courses and instructional demonstrations. Her paintings are light-filled, happy and can be described as being peaceful and whispy.  She works in both oils and acrylics and uses glazing and impasto techniques to create depth and a three dimensional quality to her work. 

“Shrimp Boats”

Amber loves painting water, sunsets and sunrises so you will often find a  stream, marsh, seashore or even a sparkling water fountain in her artwork . She is proud to say that one of her sunset seascape paintings can be found in the guest rooms of the Ron Jon Cape Caribe Resort.  As an emerging artist, she is dedicated and passionate about using her gift for painting and hopes that her paintings will continue to bring joy to people.  With every visit to her easel, Amber continues to develop her own unique representational impressionist style. Amber is a member of the American Impressionist Society and Plein Air Florida.

“Sunset March” by Amber Palomares

Amber earned her B.B.A. and M.Ed. degrees and works at Palm Beach State College as a Career Advisor and Adjunct Professor.   She also serves on their Art Gallery Committee.   She enjoys teaching job development skills and helping students with their career direction.

For more information about Amber’s artwork please visit :  http://palomaresart.wordpress.com/

Blog:  www.CoastalArtPaintings.com   or  https://www.facebook.com/AmberPalomaresFineArtist

 

 

For more information about Kelly Tracht’s artwork please visit:

www.kellytracht.com

 

 

 

“Beach and Sea”

 

 

 

Manon Sander paints everyday scenes with brush strokes that impress the viewer. Her wonder of nature has inspired her work since her childhood.  The Rickie Report hopes you will see Manon’s work and meet her on December 14th at the Juno Beach Town Center sponsored by the Friends of the Arts of Juno Beach.  You will have another opportunity to see her work and meet her when she does a two-woman show at the Palm Beach Cultural Council in the Spring, 2013.

Juno Beach Friends of The Arts

Juno Beach Town Center

 Oil Paintings by Manon Sander

 Juno Beach Town Center, 340 Ocean Drive, Juno Beach

 Show runs from December 12, 2012 – February 5, 2012

Artist reception – December 14th

5:30-7:00pm

   light refreshments

The Circle of Life

Born in West Berlin, Germany, Manon grew up in Berlin and Bavaria. Being exposed to the best of both worlds led to Manon’s appreciation for a metropolitan city’s cultural riches but also to her intimate connection with the outdoors of  Bavaria’s beautiful lakes, mountains and quaint little villages. Her childhood days were mostly spent either drawing and painting or roaming around outside. Manon’s parents instilled the importance of never losing one’s sense of wonder to nature’s beauty.  It is easy for us to see how this translates into Manon’s attention to details.  She truly finds inspiration where ever she goes!

“Afterglow”

She tells The Rickie Report, “Creating art to this day never feels like a pastime but like a necessity”.  After moving to Chicago in her late twenties as a newly wed, Manon pursued her love of painting with a successful business painting murals which are represented in numerous private homes and stores in Illinois, Michigan, Florida and California.

In 2006, being introduced to the work of well known California impressionist painters while living near San Francisco, Manon plunged herself into plein air oil painting, supplemented by studio work.   She says, “Living in Marin County provided a unique opportunity to study with the best and to finally combine my love of the outdoors with the portability of oil paints to create on the spot. Oils quickly became my favorite medium, allowing me to have an ongoing communication with my subject”.

“Catching Up”

Manon studied how to make a painting that combines rich texture and vivid color while capturing the expression of her subject and the impression it left on her. Over the course of several years she learned to simplify and to paint the big shapes before going into detail. Manon learned about her new medium and the importance of value, temperature, and design. She learned how to use technique while conveying what drew her to her subject in the first place.

In 2010  Manon and her family moved to North Palm Beach where she dipped right into painting the trademarks of a tropical setting which proves to provide her with a never-ending stream of inspiration and “an almost magnetic attraction to the ocean and its surroundings”, she says.

“Surf Camp”

Manon puts down her impressions in thick succulent oil paint,  applied with verve and a palette knife.  She describes her paintings as if we are reading a colorful novel,”…the sunlight that creates lavender shadows on the white clothing of people walking by the water’s edge deep in conversation; surfers and paddle boarders catching an aquamarine wave; boats at rest and on a journey; sea creatures and birds that call Florida their home, are among the countless things that get me so excited  that I can’t wait to get out my paints, easel, and big umbrella to capture them on canvas”!

“Morning After at the Square Grouper”

It is that happiness and love of life  Manon hopes to share with the viewer in paintings that reflect the color, light and joy that she is surrounded by and is always grateful for.  Manon’s paintings have been exhibited in numerous exhibitions in California and Florida, have won awards and are in private collections in the US and abroad.  

Locally she has exhibited at the Lighthouse ArtCenter.  We look forward to seeing Manon Sander’s work and our spirits are buoyed by her enthusiasm!  To reach Manon call: 415-606-7685, visit www.ManonDesigns.com or go to: www.facebook.com/ManonSanderArt

For coverage of your events, to place an advertisement, or speak to Rickie about appearing in The Rickie Report, contact The Rickie Report at:

Rickie Leiter, Publisher

The Rickie Report

P.O.Box 33423

Palm Beach Gardens, FL 33420

Rickie@therickiereport.com

561-537-0291