- April 19, 2024
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Next weekend's free art walk will feature pieces from two female painters with very different sensibilities.
BY EMILY BLACKWOOD | STAFF WRITER
Meant as a break from the holiday rush, Ormond Beach Leisure Services' Starry, Starry Night art walk will take place Jan. 10.
Participants can take a 5-8 p.m. stroll through the Ormond Memorial Art Museum and down to The Casements, gazing at different pieces along the way. The museum is currently featuring the exhibit "Dandelions and Flying Pigs, a Look at Sustainability'' by artists Maria Lupo and Jimmy Fike. The Casements will be displaying paintings by the local group Foxfire.
The Ormond Beach Historical Society will also show a video on the history of Ormond Beach at The Casements, and there will be refreshments and entertainment by Opis 5.
The event celebrating 25 years in art and culture is free and open to the public. Call 676-3216 or 676-3347.
Head in the Clouds
Carol Thornton was never one for detail. Instead of spending hours painting every crack and crevice into her artwork, she focuses on the feelings she gets from different scenes.
An artist since high school, Thornton said she is inspired mainly by her own Ormond Beach surroundings. With a house nestled on the Tomoka River, Thornton likes to paint her own backyard.
"When I go out on the boat, I have an unobstructed vista," Thornton said. "The cloud formations will just blow you away. That's my inspiration. I'm kind of known as the cloud lady."
Normally working with watercolors and oils, Thornton likes to paint her own impressionistic view of Florida.
"I think our environment here is so beautiful," Thornton said. "I love ole Florida. What's best is what hasn't changed. Some places on the river, like Addison's Landing, Horseshoe Bend, things that have been here forever, I like to preserve them."
Thornton is a retired interior designer and says she returned to painting as a second career. First, she captures a photo of a scene she likes, then she makes that scene her own.
"The paintings are not realistic; it's my impression of what I'm looking at," Thornton said. "I'm just really happy to have the time to paint. It's just in me."
Thornton will be featured at The Casements for the Starry, Starry Night art walk on Jan. 10.
Stretching the creative conscious.
Throughout Rainy Dimmitt's living room, bedrooms, kitchen and studio rest piles and piles of her artwork. And each one has a story stemmed from her wild imagination.
"My husband passed away six years ago," Dimmitt said. "One day he was outside working and I was on the porch painting. I used him as a symbol to paint the story that came out, sort of a war story. I kept seeing different soldiers. I don't feel it necessary to restrict myself to utter realism because I think what is happening inside is very important. "
Growing up in an artistic environment, Dimmitt learned all about oils, pastel, watercolors and printmaking. She even took formal education classes and received her bachelor's degree in fine art from the University of South Florida.
No photographs here: Dimmitt said she works strictly with live models and pure imagination.
Dimmitt, a long time resident has been featured in many books and shows including the book "Picturing Florida." She describes her unique artistic style as subjective realism.
"It is my intent to let the world in and repeat itself on my canvas free of previously learned limitations of my mind or the standards of time," Dimmitt said. "Subjective reality rather than consensual reality conceptualizes my thinking-creative process."
Dimmitt will be featured at The Casements for the Starry, Starry Night art walk on Jan. 10.
