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The Lauritzen/Rush Galleries of the Art League, Marco Island’s Center for the Arts proudly announces the opening of “Still Life: Further than Fruits and Flowers”, a juried members multi-media fine art exhibit that features works by 18 members of the Art League, Marco Island’s Center for the Arts.

As a juried exhibition, awards will be distributed and winners recognized at a reception from 4 to 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

Meet the artists, mingle among the guests and enjoy the festive wine and hors d’oeuvre reception provided by Terrracina Grand. Open to the public. Reservations requested.

The intention of the exhibit was to create works that challenge the traditional still life compositions.

Still life is the perfect composition to allow for a variety of subject matter. This is because the items, as well as the number of items, their arrangement, their subject matter, their story, are all dictated by the artist. It is the artist who can select the variety of individual forms and create the relationships these forms share with one another.

Although all the works selected for this exhibit do not breach the barrier of fruits and flowers, it does offer an eclectic collection of original works in a multitude of media. Mediums included are paintings, including oils, acrylic, pastel, watercolor and Chinese brush painting; encaustic collage and mixed media; stone sculpture, fused glass and photography.

The juror and judge for this exhibit is Tom Cardamone. He selected 25 from 46 pieces for the exhibit as well as selected the award winning works. Cardamone studied privately at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and then attended Brooklyn College before finally enrolling in the School of Visual Arts in Manhattan. After graduating, he returned to the school, where he taught for 20 years, during which time he developed a series of advertising courses.

Cardamone also worked as an illustrator and art director in a small ad agency before opening his own art studio in 1970. He has won a number of awards and has displayed his work in numerous galleries and shows throughout the country since 1980. Cardamone is a signature member of the International Society of Acrylic Painters, and some of his slides are in the archives at the Tate Museum in London. In July 2004, he was juried into the prestigious International Guild of Realism.

First place for “Last Light” oil painting by Rick Granneman

Rick Granneman, Ph.D., was educated as a scientist and spent his 33-year career developing new medicines. He and his wife Billie moved from Chicago to Marco Island in 2007.

“I would be classified as a self-trained artist, mostly from reading, visiting museums or artist’s Web sites, and most importantly, learning by doing and experimenting. My style is generally representational, but varied, reflecting what I believe is the best of both modern and classical influences. My goal is to share with the viewer my passion about the unrecognized beauty that surrounds us, using color, design, lighting and texture to accentuate the subject. Embedded in each composition is at least one symbolic message for the viewer to discover. Most of my recent work has been with watercolors, oils or pastels, depending on the subject matter and location. For fidelity of illumination, about 90 percent of my work is done outdoors, either on my lanai or on-site with the Marco Island Outdoor Artists group.”

Second place for “Clematis” Chinese brush painting by Edythe Newbourne

Edythe Newbourne was educated at Pratt Institute, New York University, Traphagen School of Design, Syracuse University and did graduate work at Zhejiang Academy of Art, Hangchow, China. She has taught workshops and seminars in Chinese Brush Painting at Dearborn Art Studio, Henry Ford Community College, Schoolcraft College and the Creative Art Center in Michigan. She lectures and demonstrates for many groups.

Currently Newbourne is education chairman at the Art League of Marco Island and also teaches Chinese Brush Painting there. She also teaches at Big Arts on Sanibel Island. Her paintings are in collections in the USA, Canada, England, Germany and Greece. Newbourne has studied with I Hsiung Ju, Lui Sang Wong Diana Kan, Cheng Kee Chee, Lian Quan Zhen in addition to graduate study at the Zhejiang Academy of Art in Hangchow, China. Her teaching experience includes the Dearborn Art Studio, East Meets West Studio, Creative Art Center, Schoolcraft College, Henry Ford College and Northern Michigan College. She is a member of Palette & Brush, the Scarab Club, Sumi Society of North America, the Michigan Watercolor Society and the Florida Watercolor Society.

Honorable mention winners

Inez Hudson for “Silver Pitcher Bouquet” oil painting; Claire Keery for “Working for the Queen” encaustic collage; and Trinh Mai for “Let Us Be Vessels” oil painting.