The City of Fort Myers has one of my paintings in their public art collection

Among my proudest accomplishments are the contributions I’ve made to public art collections in Southwest Florida. For example, the City of Fort Myers public art collection holds in its portable works collection my 3 x 5′ painting Freedom.

 

The painting hangs in City Council Chambers at city hall in downtown Fort Myers and is included in cultureNOW’s Museum Without Walls compendium, an online public art registry that encompasses more than 11,000 sites and 21,000 images of public artworks from across the country.

I painted the canvas live during the preliminaries of the Second Annual Southwest Florida’s Got Talent Contest held July 25, 2010 at the Edison Restaurant in the Fort Myers Country Club on McGregor Boulevard. In the time it took Leann Rimes to belt out God Bless America, I painted the bald eagle in front judges Randy Henderson, Mayor of Fort Myers; Fort Myers Chief of Police Douglas Baker; Pam Cronin, Vice President of Fund Stuff at the Shell Factory; and “Wild Bill” Woods of Fox-TV’s Morning Blend. I left the beak and feet for the end. As the song was ending, the audience let out a gasp when they recognized the eagle.

I donated Freedom to the City of Fort Myers during a city council meeting on November 15, 2010. I met the mayor before the contest and felt he was very patriotic. Because of that, I wanted the city to have the art under Mayor Henderson’s watch.

Come back tomorrow and I’ll you about another work of mine that’s in a public art collection.

I'm partnering wiht Vino's Picasso for fourth consecutive year

Vino’s Picasso hosts painting parties in our gardens, helping participants create their very own Leoma-inspired painting. Don’t know how to paint? No worries. Owner Mercedes Price and her artists will walk you and your friends through the easy-peasy process. You absolutely don’t need any prior experience to make a painting you and your family will cherish forever.

If you’re not familiar with Vino’s Picasso, they’re a co-op of local artists who believe that everyone has an inner artist that’s just waiting for the right circumstances to emerge. Over 90% of the folks who attend one of their events have never painted before, and you won’t believe the fun you’ll have as you make your very own Lovegrove-inspired masterpiece!

But don’t just take my word for that. Vino’s Picasso has been voted the #1 paint bar and art gallery on TripAdvisor by travelers and locals just like you! You’ll quickly discover that the reason they have such an impeccable reputation is because they love what they do and they make their own rules! And I’m proud to announce that we’ll be partnering for a fourth consecutive year.

 

If you haven't painted in my garden with them before, you must put it on your list for 2017. The artists are a lot of fun and you never know when I'll pop in with my glitter gun or to sign your canvas. Their calendar is out and you can reserve your seats now. Parties begin in January and run through April. But you better hurry, because these events sell out fast!

They’ll have paint, brushes and everything else you need, including aprons. But come dressed to paint! Wine and light refreshments will be available, with music and good company as well. RSVP to Vino’s Picasso now by calling 239-431-8750.

WGCU will announce the 2017 Makers inductees on December 1

Matlacha artist Leoma Lovegrove is among the group of women who have been nominated as Makers 2017 for leaving a special, lasting impact on the people, environment, economy and/or culture of Southwest Florida. Leoma Lovegrove is known for impressionist works characterized by exuberant strokes (applied to canvas not only via brushes of all sizes and shapes, but with her fingers and hands as well) and a palette bursting with vivid tropical color.

 

Her mural, The Catch of Matlacha Island, greets visitors to the island, and she has work in the City of Fort Myers and Florida Gulf Coast University public art collections. Her subjects have included former President Jimmy Carter (who hung his portrait in his presidential library in Atlanta) and Sir Richard Branson (whose portrait was commissioned for Virgin Airlines’ headquarters in London). Her work can also be found in the presidential library of George W. Bush and the private collections of actress Sharon Stone, actor Jesse Metcalf, and uncounted collectors across the United States, in Europe and Canada.

 

Leoma has worked tirelessly over the years to promote Southwest Florida and attract tourists and other visitors to the area both for the Lee County Tourism and Visitors Convention Bureau and as the creative force behind a line of casual wear, totes, luggage, beach towels, Tervis drinkware and more that is available in each of Bealls’ 74 department stores in the State of Florida, as well as online.

 

For all she's done and continues to do to promote the arts, education and culture in Southwest Florida, Leoma Lovegrove has garnered a nomination for inclusion in the select group of women who've been chosen over the past five years as MAKERS.

On this Thanksgiving, I'm grateful for ....

Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you are counting your blessings as the holiday draws to a close.

I’m thankful for so many things. I am thankful to be with my precious family in Indiana and Ohio. I’m thankful for my husband, Mike. I’m also thankful to have enjoyed the opportunity to stage a Holiday Art Happening in the storefront window of the Franklin Shops on First in the historic downtown Fort Myers River District. Here’s a one minute 38 second video shot byEric Taubert.

 

I’m also extremely grateful to Jim Griffith and the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center for the chance to share a retrospective of my art with Southwest Florida in just six short weeks. Palette: Past Present and Pursuits opens on Friday, January 6, 2017 at 5:00 p.m. and will run through January 24. Please make plans to join us!

Check out Bealls' Holiday Gift Guide

I am pleased beyond words to report that Bealls has included my line of casual wear in its Holiday Gift Guide catalogue. There are lots of different styles from which to choose – big shirt cover-ups, scoop neck tops, side ties, cardigans, and more – and you’ll find all the motifs you’ve come to love, including Florida fan club, pink flamingoes and my scenic line. I love popping those colors!

And there’s more than just casual wear at Bealls. You can shop for men, children, sleepwear, accessories, jewelry and home accessories. I’m proud to be continuing my affiliation with Bealls in 2017, and I am devoting an entire section of my retrospective at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center in January to my Bealls designs. Make plans to attend the opening on January 6.

Check the Holiday Gift Guide, and do some early Christmas shopping. And if you stop by the gallery, I’ll grab a sharpie and sign your shirt.

Hope to see you, perhaps on Small Business Saturday. Until then, everyone at Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens wishes you and yours a happy and festive Thanksgiving!

Help us celebrate Small Business Saturday on November 26

Next Saturday is November 26. It’s kind of a big deal here on the island. That’s because November 26 is Small Business Saturday and Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens is one of the organizers for this year’s Shop Small Saturday.

Small Business Saturday was launched by American Express as a way to remind local and out-of-town shoppers support small and local businesses instead of spending all their holiday money in the big box stores on Black Friday or online on Cyber Monday.

According to the National Federation of Independent Business, Small Business Saturday generated $16.2 billion in spending in 2015, a 14 percent increase from 2014.

Many Matlacha Island businesses will be taking part in the event this year, and it all starts at Lovegrove Gallery and Gardens. When you come in, we’ll provide you with maps and the specials offered by participating Matlacha Island businesses.

And did you know that American Express offers bonus reward points for users who shop at participating venues like Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens on Small Business Saturday.

We open at 9:00 a.m. and stay open until 6:00 p.m. Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens is located at 4637 Pine Island Road on Matlacha Island.

For more information, please call us at 239-938-5655 or follow us on Facebook.

Hope to see you here.

 

Celebrating November's supermoon

This year, the full moons of October, November and December all take place when the moon is the closest point in its orbit around Earth. And because the moon is so big and bright, people call it the supermoon. The one this past Monday was even more special. It is nearer to Earth than it’s been since 1948!

 

As a result, it appears 14 percent larger than when it is at its farthest point away. Besides appearing larger and brighter than usual, Monday’s moon (also called a Perigee Moon) had a more dramatic effect on the tides.

If you missed the supermoon on November 14, don’t fret. According to NASA, there will be another on November 25, 2034. I’m already making plans.

You may have heard some people refer to the full moon on Monday as a Beaver Moon. That comes from a term given to November’s full moon by the colonists and Algonquin tribes. It was the time to set beaver traps before the swamps froze so that they’d have an ample supply of warm fur for the winter.

 

Other Native American tribes called November’s moon the Full Frost Moon.

Did you know that the time it takes the moon to spin on its axis is identical to the time it takes the moon to revolve around Earth? It’s true, and that’s why the face of the moon is almost always the same.

Need to drop a few pounds before the holidays start? Multiply your weight (in pounds ot kilograms, it doesn’t matter) by 0.165 and that’s what you’d weigh on the moon.

All kidding aside, I am a firm believer in celebrating one-of-a-kind events. So the paintings you see are three I created to commemorate last Monday’s Beaver, First Full Frost, Perigee supermoon. Hope you enjoy them.

Help me 'raise the roof' for a good cause

Let me tell you about another event in which I’m partnering with Vino’s Picasso.  On Wednesday, March 15, 2017, the Cape Coral Art League is offering a Leoma Lovegrove  "Raise the Roof" paint-a-long through Vino’s Picasso! It is being held at the Cape Coral Art League’s gallery and studio at 516 Cultural Park Boulevard in the Cape from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m.

Vino’s Picassso owner Mercedes Price my exclusive instructor in the USA and she will walk participants through the easy-peasy process of creating their very own Lovegrove-inspired painting. She’s great and you absolutely don’t need any prior experience to make a painting of your own that you and your family will cherish forever. And I will be present to offer insights, advice and encouragement to participants as Mercedes works her magic. In fact, I will be happy to write a special message on the back of your masterpiece as soon as it’s done.

Wine and light refreshments will be available, with music and good company.

The cost is $50 person, and all materials will be provided. You will paint a Florida-famous original on a 12x16 canvas (you may upgrade to a larger size canvas for $5-$10 upon arrival). For $50, you will take home a Leoma-inspired painting and priceless memories!  

 

The Cape Coral Art League is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and all proceeds will be applied to the new roof on its  building at 516 Cultural Park Blvd, Cape Coral, FL. Chartered in 1965, the Cape Coral Art League promotes the advancement of art in Cape Coral and nearby areas. The current studio location was built and opened in the fall of 1984. A beautiful gallery addition was opened in April 1991. With the help of a state grant a second art room studio was built in 2002 providing more space for art classes, workshops and many more art events. The League offers year-round classes for adults, youth and children; eight major art exhibits each year in our gallery; other art shows, including our annual art fair; workshops with world-renowned artists and scholarship programs. 

 

Sign up now as we expect to sell out fast! To reserve your spot, call the Cape Coral Art League at (239) 772-5657, or email them at ccal@capecoralartleague.org. 

 

For more information, check back here from time to time. You can also keep tabs on the event on the Cape Coral Art League Facebook timeline and event pages, or go to www.vinospicasso.com or www.capecoralartleague.org.

 

 

Help me support the Mariner High basketball team this Sunday

Mariner High School’s basketball team has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to travel to New Orleans for an invitational game. Of course, that’s gonna cost some coin, so I am partnering with Vino’s Picasso for a unique fundraiser this Sunday, November 20, at Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens.

Admit it. Haven’t you always wondered what it’s like to paint like me? Well, Sunday’s your chance to play Leoma and reproduce one of my colorful seahorse paintings. Here’s how it works. From 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. an artist from Vino’s Picasso will be at the gardens to help show you how to recreate one of my colorful seahorses.

If you’re not familiar with Vino’s Picasso, they’re a co-op of local artists who believe that everyone has an inner artist that’s just waiting for the right circumstances to emerge. Over 90% of the folks who attend one of their events have never painted before, and you won’t believe the fun you’ll have as you make your very own Lovegrove-inspired masterpiece!

 

But don’t just take my word for that. Vino’s Picasso has been voted the #1 paint bar and art gallery on TripAdvisor by travelers and locals just like you! You’ll quickly discover that they have such an impeccable reputation because they love what they and make their own rules!

 

They’ll have paint, brushes and everything else you need, including aprons. But come dressed to paint! Check in starts at 1:30 p.m. and while you cannot venture into the designated painting area until 2:00 p.m., you can stroll through the rest of the garden or wander through the gallery and take in all the art. In fact, come early and enjoy lunch and an ice cream in beautiful Matlacha.

While I’m not the one who will be giving the instruction, I will be dropping in to lend my encouragement and for photo ops! So bring your camera or just use your phone for a selfie or two. You’re going to have fun. I guarantee it.

The cost is just $50, and includes a donation for the team.

 

Space is limited so RSVP to Vino’s Picasso now by calling 239-431-8750. You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance, but after that, there are no refunds and no credit for no-shows, and they don’t accept AMEX. This is a rain or shine event, but should there be lightning or a major storm (neither are in the forecast), the fundraiser will be pumped to December 4.

Park at the Community Park and take the short walk over to the studio/garden. Please do not park in front of the gallery.

Be sure to participate in next year's Slow Art Day

Slow Art Day is a annual worldwide event that aims to transform the art-viewing experience. One day each year, people all over the world visit local museums and art galleries to look at between one and five works of art for 5-10 minutes each. After studying the art on their own at a slow, leisurely, deliberate pace, participants meet at a local restaurant to share lunch and discuss their experience. Many have found it to be a life-changing event.

This will be the fifth consecutive year that I will be participating in Slow Art Day. It’s been a fabulous event each of the past three years, and our little art community on Matlacha Island has been delighted to be part of such a worthwhile global event. We’ve had visitors waiting at the door each year and the hundreds that visited the gallery that day also took part in looking at art slowly. Lunch is always a delight and we all made new friends as we discussed the art. It really unites art lovers that normally would not have connected.

The date of the next Slow Art Day is April 8, 2017 and viewing will take place (where else?) at Lovegrove Gallery and Gardens beginning at 11:00 a.m. The last four years, we've been the only place in all of Southwest Florida that's participated in Slow Art Day!

While we’ve yet to choose the restaurant where we’ll eat lunch, I am happy to announce that Bob Phillips, Rick Webber and Kirsten Troyer will be participating with me in this fabulous event.


Rick Webber is a photographer, the author of Pink Lips and Fingertips, and a contributor to three Chicken Soup for Soul books. He is also a two-time APSE award winner and recipient of the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. Rick loves journalism because every assignment contains an element of mystery that he wants to unravel. He cherishes the opportunity to tell somebody’s story. He wants to know how they felt and why they felt that way, and he wants to convey that to the reader. He has been fortunate to do that in over 10,000 magazine and newspaper articles.

"Photography has been a passion of mine since I was very young,” says Kirsten Troyer. “I enjoy framing the beauty of nature and capturing those treasured moments that slip by so quickly. I decided to start my business after staying home to raise my three children and being an advocate for my son with Autism. I specialize in Children and Family, Event/Party, Sports, Engagements, Maternity and Senior Portraits. I also have a passion for children with Special Needs and providing those families with comfortable and stress free opportunities to get their Family Portraits as well."

Bob Phillips is also a photographer. "I don’t always shoot film, but when I do… I prefer Dos Chromas. Keep shooting, my friends."

As you know. I am a painter. But in addition to painting, I am a wife, celebrity, local historian, patriotic, colorful, energetic, business savvy, kooky, vibrant, a playwright, a marketing genius, Midwest transplant, animal lover, fisherwoman, devoted friend, art educator, illustrator and, did I mention, humble? I paint every day for the good painting, one brush stroke at a time.

I hope you will join us in April for Slow Art Day. Space is limited, so reserve your spot now.

Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens is located at 4637 Pine Island Road NW, Matlacha, FL 33993.

Reflecting back on 'Painting Peace' as Davis Art Center retrospective nears

As you know from past posts, I have painted a Beatles series that will be included in Palettes: Past Present & Pursuits, my retrospective at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center that opens on Friday, January 6, 2017. I also participated a couple of years ago in a campaign that coincided with the opening of Yoko Ono Imagine Peace by the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery on the Lee campus at Florida SouthWestern State College (formerly known as Edison State College).

I called the project Painting Peace. It was a collaborative project designed to enable thousands of Southwest Florida residents and visitors to imagine peace in an experiential, artistic way. I took a 9 x 12 foot canvas to various locations around Southwest Florida and invited the public paint peace symbols on it in various shades of blue.

Of course, Imagine was one of John’s most touching songs and the lyrics were inspired in part by Yoko. Back in the 1960s, Ono created so-called “instruction paintings” that were nothing more than textual instructions for imagining scenes or objects that would fill empty frames. One of those conceptual paintings was called Cloud Piece, whose instructions begin “Imagine clouds dripping ….” That thought fragment later inspired Lennon’s 1971 song Imagine, which John recorded with Yoko by his side.

One of Yoko’s more recent projects is called the Imagine Peace Tower. It is a light tower located on Videy Island in Kollafjörður Bay near Reykjavík that soars two and one-half miles into the sky on a clear Icelandic night. Erected by Yoko Ono in 2006-7, it is conjured by 15 searchlights with prisms that act as mirrors, reflecting a column of light vertically into the sky from a 30-foot wide wishing well base. Power for the lights is provided by Iceland’s unique geo-thermal energy grid. It uses approximately 75 kW of power. Written on the tower’s base in 24 languages are the words “Imagine Peace,” an abbreviated slogan that traces its origins to the “War Is Over! If You Want It” billboards that she and husband John Lennon erected in cities around the world during their successful Year of Peace campaign to end the war in Vietnam.

Yoko lights the tower a different times of the year. It goes every night between the anniversary of his birth on October 9 and his death on December 8. It’s also turned on from December 21-31, on February 18 and again between March 20 and 27.

If there’s room in the grand atrium of the Davis Art Center, I plan to bring my Painting Peace canvas. I have lots of surprises in store for the retrospective. So save the date.

Come celebrate with us over a glass of champagne

Hooray! As promised, Donald J. Trump won yesterday’s election and will become our next President. And to celebrate America’s victory, we will be offering free champagne and shooting off confetti guns on the hour all day long. So come to sunny Matlacha Island. Come to Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens. Come celebrate the first day toward making America great again!

And why I am so ebullient about Donald Trump’s victory? Because I fervently believe it marks America’s return to being a Godly and God-fearing nation, a nation of laws. Sadly, we’ve lost out spiritual direction over the course of recent years. But as President, Donald Trump will uphold our Constitution and statutory laws, rather than circumventing them through the nonstop issuance of executive orders as we’ve seen with the current administration. People cannot be expected to respect the law when the President himself does not follow it himself. Donald Trump respects the law and will restore us to being a nation of laws.


Further, Trump will recognize and protect the sanctity of life. That’s a huge issue for Mike and me. While I suspect that this is an issue people are reluctant to talk about even now, I really believe that it’s his pro-life stance and the nominees he will make to the Supreme Court of the United States that put him over the top last night.

So let’s mark the occasion of taking our country back again – of returning America to its rightful position as the leader of the entire world. Stop by and have a glass of champagne with us. And watch out for falling confetti!

Like the man himself, Trump sign is indestructible

Well, on the eve of the election, it has happened yet again. Someone vandalized one of my Trump signs. Can you believe it? They cut a big "V" into the sign - no, not the one on the roof that's composed of five individual 3 by 4 foot letters that I painted on durable, heavy canvas, but the one I put on ground level outside the gallery right on Pine Island Road! This is not the first time someone has stolen or destroyed one of my political signs. Not even the second. It's the seventh time one of my signs has either been stolen or vandalized! It's such a disgrace.

I was prepared to fix, even replace, the sign, but passing motorists can still read it even with the huge gash cut into one side. Then it dawned on me. Just like Donald Trump himself, my campaign sign is indefatigable and irrepressible, too. So, Pine Island. So, Matlacha Island. So, Fort Myers and Cape Coral. the movement that is Donald Trump is indestructible. It will endure beyond tonight, beyond tomorrow's election. It will endure for many years to come. It will endure because Donald Trump speaks the truth about the state of our Union and the individual rights we all treasure. And, folks, one of those rights is free speech. Is the right to political speech. To support the candidate of our choice in spite of the opposition.

And if you cannot respect that, well, then you don't really understand what it is to truly be an American. If you cannot respect the right of people to advocate for the candidate they support for this country's highest office, then you don't really love this country. So shame on you!

The botanical garden at Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens is a living work of art

In my last post, I bragged a little on the Certificate of Excellence that Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens received from TripAdvisor. So give me a few moments to tell you about the gardens you will discover outside the back door and windows of the gallery.

When you venture outside, the very first thing you’ll notice is how lush the vegetation is. The garden is festooned with an array of palms, shrubs and tropical and semi-tropical plants that flourish in the sunny, warm climate we enjoy year-round on beautiful Matlacha Island. We’ve gone out of our way to include cascading vines, broad-leafed succulents, bamboo and ferns that provide lots and lots of texture.

 

You will also find a variety of orchids, bromeliads and flowering plants with yellow, orange and crimson blooms. You may even find banana plants and fruit trees if you look closely enough. Some crane their necks into the Southwest Florida sky from brightly-colored ceramic pots. Most occupy beds joined together by intentionally meandering footpaths that connect the garden’s four corners.

Someday, we hope to label the specimens interspersed throughout the garden. We may even create an acoustiguide audio tour or one you can listen to on your cell phone. We have big plans. But the overarching purpose of the gardens is to provide a peaceful, positive respite from the tensions and pressures of our rush-all-day daily lives.

 

And to enhance that effect, all of the wood walkways, handrails, fencing and footbridges are colorized with the same vibrant pigments you will see on my palette and the paintings inside. The dock is powder blue with French ultramarine blue pilings where boats can tie off. The fences are a cheery Thalo green.

 

There are wood benches topped with lavender seats, and a gently arching green-planked footbridge with pineapple-painted uprights that support pink-taffy hand rails that usher guests from the gallery to the gardens and then back inside again.

The garden is dominated by bottle bushes (not to be confused with bottle brush trees). These bushes are completely artificial.

 

I make them myself from empty midnight blue Saratoga Water bottles. My sister died from cancer several years ago. She didn’t smoke and watched what she ate and always drank bottled water. I’ve always wondered if the chemicals from the plastic caused the cancer, so I got together with Saratoga Water and now offer water in glass bottles to the people who visit me here. They leave behind the empties – more than 3,000 of them every year.

 

I just had to do something with them. This is what I came up with. At night, the fluorescent-trimmed white bottoms glow in the dark adding to the garden’s ambiance for nighttime events.

As I mentioned, the gardens end in a southerly-facing dock that overlooks a canal leading out to Matlacha Pass.

 

That’s where Captain Jack docks the Leomatized powerboat that he uses for his back bay eco-tours. I’ve also been known to go out in the boat to paint from time to time, taking a page out of Claude Monet’s playbook. It’s a wonderful experience.

In the center of the garden I’ve built an elevated stage that looks back toward the gallery and is bordered by a circular maze painted on a concrete floor.


The stage has served as the platform for individual musicians, small bands, authors and artists, and a smattering of politicians too. I’m not just saying this to get you to come and spend some time and money with us, but you truly owe it to yourself to attend one the events we hold in the gardens this season. You’ll have a great time and create some terrific memories that you will treasure a lifetime. We knock ourselves out to make sure you have an awesome visitor experience.

We’ve also placed a host of artifacts in the gardens, from an old boat hull to metal and glass sculptures. You’ll have fun discovering the gems that peek out at your from beneath palm fronds and the broad leaves on the footpaths along the way.

You know, art is not just a painting on canvas or a glass or metal sculpture. Just like a mural or a sculpture garden like Louise Nevelson’s Dawn’s Forest at Artis Naples, you will find that our botanical garden is a work of art. And it’s an artwork that you can discover and re-discover time and again. And it is one of the attributes of a visit to Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens that has people writing positive reviews on TripAdvisor.

But don’t take my word for it. Come and see for yourself!