We really did raise the roof tonight for the Cape Coral Art League

I am gratified to report that "Raise the Roof" for the Cape Coral Art League was a great success! It was attended by more than 70 people, and we all had a ball painting one of my colorful Florida fish. And special thanks to Vino’s Picasso owner Mercedes Price for all her hard work and boundless energy.

Vino’s Picassso owner Mercedes Price is my exclusive instructor in the USA and tonight, she walked the Raise the Roof participants through the easy-peasy process of creating their very own Lovegrove-inspired painting. She’s great and proves time in and time out that you absolutely don’t need any prior experience to make a painting of your own that you and your family will cherish forever.

Of course, I was there to offer insights, advice and encouragement to participants as Mercedes worked her magic.

The Cape Coral Art League is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, and all proceeds we raised tonight are being applied to the new roof the CCAL needs for 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. 

If you missed the event, you can still make tax-deductible donations to the Cape Coral Art League, and if you want to join in on the fun and create your very own Lovegrove-inspired painting, there’s still time to get in on a Vino’s Picasso class. They paint here in my gardens three times a week!

In the last photo, I am pictured with Cape Coral Art League President Suzanne Sims and CCAL Office Secretary Kimberly Clark Harris.

 

More on tomorrow's Bradenton Bealls' painting demo and meet-and-greet

The media and public are invited to a “Paint Out Loud with Leoma Lovegrove” and signing event at Bealls Florida at 6355 Manatee Avenue West in Bradenton, FL. A graduate of Ringling College of Art & Design, Lovegrove  is excited  to return to the Sarasota/Bradenton area for a special event to showcase her new collection with Bealls Department Stores. 

Lovegrove has been painting for Bealls since 2012. The line of Lovegrove-inspired products revolves around 16 paintings from her recent Florida Floats My Boat series. These paintings were created on a floating studio near Palmetto, Florida along the Manatee River. During a two week long session aboard the Aqua Lodge, Lovegrove splashed paint on her canvas as the house boat rocked from side to side with the incoming tides. 

 

 

During the Bradenton Bealls meet and greet, Lovegrove will share a few fun stories about her time aboard the Aqua Lodge floating studio. Guests will be entertained by a creative live painting performance during which they had better watch out for flying paint. The action begins promptly at 11:00 a.m., with an autograph session immediately following. Visitors are welcome to bring their cameras for a fun photo op with the artist and her zany trademark glasses.

 

 

Bealls offers Lovegrove’s stunning renditions of Florida to customers statewide. They are showcasing Lovegrove’s art in multiple product lines including ladies and children’s apparel, handbags, luggage, beach towels, Tervis drinkware and more. Leoma’s vibrant, tropical colors are featured on a numerous products in Beall’s Department Stores and online at http://www.beallsflorida.com/online/leoma-lovegrove.

 

 

The meet and greet takes place tomorrow, March 14, 2017. The event is free and open to the public. For more information, please contact Lovegrove publicist, Jennifer Danforth of Alestra Marketing, Inc., by telephoning (239) 560-2831 or emailing her at JDanforth@AlestraMarketing.com.

Leoma Lovegrove is an impressionist-expressionist painter and graduate of the Ringling College of Art and Design.

 

She is known worldwide for her splashy, artistic depictions of the Florida lifestyle. Located in the heart of Matlacha Island on the southwest coast of Florida, Lovegrove Gallery and Gardens is one of the most colorful landmarks in the Sunshine State. To learn more, visit LeomaLovegrove.com.

Beall’s Department Stores is a division of Bealls, Inc. The Bradenton, Florida-based company, privately held since its opening in 1915, now operates more than 540 stores in 16 states under the names Bealls, Bealls Outlet and Burke’s Outlet. To learn more about Bealls, please visit BeallsFlorida.com.

Watch me paint live at Bealls in Bradenton on Tuesday

On Tuesday, March 14, I will be painting live at 11 a.m. at Bealls Florida Department Store at 6355 Manatee Ave. West in Bradenton. Come watch me create a painting in a few minutes and see some of the pieces from my "Florida Floats My Boat" collection.

The paintings Bealls used for the “Florida Floats My Boat” collection were created on a floating studio in Palmetto, Florida along the Manatee River. During my two weeks aboard the "Aqua Lodge," I splashed paint on my canvases as the house boat rocked from side to side with the incoming tides. 

My experiences painting on board the “Aqua Lodge” are reflected in many of the new products Bealls has produced using these paintings. During the painting demonstration and Bradenton Bealls meet-and-greet, I will share a few fun stories from my time aboard the "Aqua Lodge."

 

The action begins promptly at 11:00 a.m. with an autograph session immediately following. Visitors are welcome to bring their cameras for a fun photo op. But be sure to watch out for flying paint!

Bealls offers products bearing my renditions of Florida to customers statewide. Product lines include ladies and children’s apparel, handbags, luggage, beach towels, Tervis drinkware and more. Shop for my lines online at http://www.beallsflorida.com/online/leoma-lovegrove.

Today is International Women's Day

Today is International Women's Day. IWD is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. And I'm wishing you a day as beautiful and amazing as you are and that's filled with creativity.

The story of women's struggle for equality belongs to no single woman nor to any one organization, group or country.

Instead, IWD reflects the collective efforts of all who care about human rights. Thus, it’s all about unity, celebration, reflection, advocacy and action – especially at a local level.

And to celebrate International Women's Day, it’s been my honor and pleasure to create a beautiful work of art to celebrate the struggle of women everywhere.

Make everyday International Women's Day. Make your life a work of art. Do your part to ensure that the future for girls is bright, equal, safe and rewarding. It will make each of us and our entire world a better place!

I'm proud to be a Fort Myers Film Festival sponsor

The Fort Myers Film Festival runs from March 8 through March 12. Known for its world-class swagger and support of local filmmakers, the Fort Myers Film Festival consistently attracts a vibrant, intellectual and edgy crowd to its events. Now in its seventh years, the FMff has evolved into a can’t-miss, must- attend extravaganza for the hundreds of cineastes living in Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties who love independent films, revel in groundbreaking documentaries and consider themselves connoisseurs of high-quality, top-notch film festivals. And I am proud to be a Fort Myers Film Festival sponsor.

I have long admired that Eric brings to Fort Myers. As someone who’s promoted tourism in Lee County and all of Southwest Florida for many years, I appreciate the effort that Eric makes to put Fort Myers on the indie filmmaking map. Not only does he attract scores of movie lovers to Fort Myers for the film festival, he brings in hundreds of nationally and internationally-acclaimed filmmakers, cinematographers, actors and extras who might not otherwise have occasion to visit our community. And it’s more than just name recognition. By exposing our own accomplished and aspiring directors, producers, cinematographers, videographers, actors and more to the influence of these filmmakers, Eric is encouraging and inspiring untold numbers of local people to develop their own skills and talents in the art of movie-making.

So thanks for all you do, Eric Raddatz. And here’s to the 7^th Annual Fort Myers Film Festival!

Make plans to help me 'Raise the Roof' at Cape Coral Art League gallery

I hope you're making plans to join me and Vino's Picasso at the Cape Coral Art League gallery on Wednesday, March 15, 2017. That's the date that 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 is my exclusive instructor in the USA and she will walk participants through the easy-peasy process of creating your 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, along 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.

The story behind my midnight blue bottle trees

If you’ve ever been to Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens, you know that we only sell Saratoga Natural Spring Water. Made in Saratoga Springs, Saratoga Natural Spring Water is packaged in iconic cobalt blue glass bottles. The crisp, clean taste and low mineral content makes it a light and refreshing beverage for any occasion.

Most people leave behind the bottles when they leave. Lots and lots of empty bottles. Thousands, in fact. And as an artist who regularly incorporates found objects into my mixed media and collage artworks, I just had to do something with all the empty bottles. So today, the dock and walkways that bisect my gardens are lined with dozens of midnight blue bottle trees that give the gardens an Alice in Wonderland aura. You’ll even see a fence or area divider that’s made of Saratoga Natural Spring Water bottles here and there.

Sometimes we have events at the gallery or in the gardens that take place or end after dark. Rather than lighting the bottle trees with spot, fluorescent or rope lights, I’ve painted the bottom of each bottle included in the trees with fluorescent paint. At night, the fluorescent-trimmed white bottoms glow in the dark, adding to the gardens’ ambiance and mystic.

My inspiration for the bottle trees is my sister. She died of cancer a number of years ago. My sister embraced a healthy lifestyle. She did not smoke, watched what she ate and always kept hydrated with bottled water. I’ve always wondered if the chemicals from the plastic caused the cancer.

 I realize there are people who argue both sides of this question, but in my opinion there’s enough evidence that a chemical known as Bisphenol A (or BSA) that used to keep plastic bottles from cracking can leach into the water inside the bottles in the presence of heat.

Ever left a bottled water in your car or store water in your garage? That’s all it takes, And more than one study has linked BSA to ovarian, breast and prostate cancer. I don’t know if these studies are accurate or not, but I just won’t take the chance that the water I serve you when you visit my gallery and gardens could cause you to get sick. I just won’t. And that’s why we buy water in glass bottles from Saratoga Natural Spring Water. (It tastes better too.)

I know it makes my sister happy on those occasions when she checks on me too. There’s a little bit of her in every bottle tree inside of my gardens here on Matlacha Island.