- April 25, 2024
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The Foxfire Artists Group is displaying their personal favorites at the Peabody during the month of October.
All artists have work they're not particularly proud of. Some slide in under their beds, some let it take space in their garage and some try to mask it with a fresh coat of paint.
"Maybe about one in every seven or eight paintings is something I would consider worthy to show," said local artist Scott Heistand. "They're not all winners."
But when the planets align and the composition, lighting and colors all come together, it's a treat that even its creator can sit back and admire.
The seven Ormond Beach artists that make up the Foxfire Artist Group have equally experienced the joy of a show-worthy painting, and the frustrating practice of sub-par pieces. The Ormond Beach Observer recently sat down with four of the members that will be contributing the "Best of Their Best" at an upcoming art show at Peabody Auditorium, to discuss the best and worst of their creative portfolios.
Marilyn Masters
"I have some older, some new. I have a painting of the big tree, Fairchild Oak, that I was asked to bring it again by the curator. It's so large, I usually don't enter it in shows, but I think the curator wants it probably to take up wall space," she laughed. "I've been doing plein air for a long time, but this has been one long, hot summer, so I tried some abstract paintings in the studio. I find I wind up with a theme, which is kind of weird. It always happens. This time, I was in Santa Fe, and I was so surprised by the fact that the mines out there no longer have anymore turquoise. They aren't mining currently because they can't seem to find any, and that kind of struck me and made me want to paint it. So I looked up to see how it looks, and used my imagination to come up with what the matrix would look like."
How can you tell what's not "show-worthy"?
"It's hard to tell what's a winner. It's really in the eye of the beholder."
Trish Vevera
How did you chose what paintings to show?
"Mine was was easy," she smiled. "They are all acrylics, and most of them are all on paper of some kind or another, and they all have been entered in some show, and they all have won an award. Other people recognize when things work."
Where do you keep your "worst'' paintings?
"Oh I have boxes full of those," she said. "I have a lot of sketch books, because I used to have to do that before I paint, but I don't have to sketch anymore so I threw those away."
Karen Ann Patton
"I've been taking a mix media art class for the past year and half, and I've just recently become happy with a few things I did there. I've always done florals, and never did anything as different as this. There's a lot more expression, line work and much more freedom and brighter colors since I've had my cataract surgery. Since then, I can see colors better."
What do other people think of your "worst" pieces?
"You think they are your worse, but some people like them. I'd bring in my old paintings and start painting over them because I was not happy with them, and people would be like 'What are you doing to that?'"
Guest artist, Scott Heistand
How did you know a painting is one of your "best"?
"I never show a painting unless it gives me a good feeling," he said. "I've got five pieces, all landscape. But to me, the best ones are always the ones that haven't been done yet. When it all comes together, there is no greater feeling.
What do you do with your "worst"?
"I've got a garage full of boards no one will ever see," he said. "Though making good art is what you always strive to do, they don't always gel, so you put it in the garage instead."
Who is Foxfire?
Founded 10 years ago after a Florida marsh plant that glows in the dark, Foxfire is currently made up of seven Ormond Beach members including Kay Botet, Rainey Dimmitt, Marilyn Masters, Karen Ann Patton, Barbara Perrotti, Carol Thornton, Trish Vevera.
If You Go
The Foxfire Artist Group is hosting a public opening of their exhibition titled "The Best of Our Best." The show will run through Oct. 24, and everyone is invited to attend their upcoming reception.
