Art & Artists

Few writers have had such an impact on the way knowledgeable Floridians view their state as Carl Hiaasen, whose wickedly funny takes on Florida’s foibles and follies have been the basis of eight best-selling novels, including Lucky You, Sick Puppy, Stormy Weather and Striptease.

It is hard to pin down what sparks that creative charge inside our brain.

AE “Bean” Backus, best-known for his Florida landscape paintings, was an exceptional artist who lived an unusually liberal lifestyle.

On a sunny afternoon, with rays of light shining through the windows, Virginia Knapp leans back on a sofa, crosses her long legs and smiles.

The Sporades Islands, which include the islands of Alonissos and Skopelo, lie east of the Greek mainland.

More that anywhere else, the Treasure Coast is the focus of paintings by the Highwaymen, that loose-knit group of black Fort Pierce artists who produced a cultural explosion unlike any other in our state’s social history.

In this day when you think you’ve seen everything and experience has jaded your reasoning, it is a jolt to discover something truly unique which takes your breath away.

Elke was a flight attendant from Paris. Richard was an engineer from California.

It’s a long way from the small, plastic Kodak Brownie with no film that he acquired as a 6-year-old to the incredible collection of world-famous cameras he owns today, but Larry Wapnick wouldn’t trade that journey for anything.

Her art form is called assemblage – a cross between sculpture and collage that involves more cutting and fitting than the traditional skills of molding and carving.

Rita Bernstein is a lot of things, a regular tossed salad of visual artist, educator, singer, storyteller, actress, dollmaker, icon painter, art collector, aromatherapist, chef and caterer.

Cuban artist Carlos Pérez Vidal is a recent arrival in Vero Beach.

Sapphires. Rubies. Black spinels. Diamonds. Emeralds. With a rainbow-hued palette of gemstones and gold – lots of high-karat, luscious gold – one Vero Beach woman has made her dream of designing fine jewelry a reality.

From December 5, 2009, through January 3, 2010, the public enjoyed the opportunity to view the Indian River Photo Club’s annual print exhibit at the Vero Beach Museum of Art.

Italian-born Ivo David is an artist for whom the mantle of “maestro” is neither heavy nor constrictive; indeed, the term clings to him as gracefully as a hand-tailored Armani suit. And why shouldn’t it? The term was made to order for Ivo, paid by him over a lifetime of experience with the cold, hard currency of work.

Just one month after its official opening, Vero Beach’s Youth Transition Center, which provides a home for young people ages 18-23 who have “aged out” of the foster-care system, held its first major event.

British actor and writer Julian Fellowes arrived at the pinnacle of his life’s work in 2002 when he won the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for Gosford Park.

"Love and work...work and love, that’s all there is,” said Sigmund Freud. But how many of us can combine those seemingly divergent realms of meaning and state that we love our work?

The fiesta has already started, but you’ve got an open invitation so don’t worry about being late.

Wanted: Good-humored men and women from all walks of life who like to work with their hands.