The faculty at The von Liebig Art Center brings unique perspectives, experiences, and styles to its students. Our faculty have all been successful in the art field showing their work across the United States and world. We are proud and excited to have such talented professionals teaching our classes. Make sure to register for classes with our gifted teachers!

Rita Argen Auerbach

Rita is an internationally recognized watercolor artist and educator who is represented in numerous museum, corporate and private collections throughout the United States and abroad. Her award winning paintings have portrayed such subjects as Buffalo’s architecture, Chautauqua Institution’s Victoriana, and landscapes inspired by extensive travel in this country and foreign lands.
For more information on Rita, go online to http://www.ritaauerbachpaintings.com

Jean -Marie Baldwin

Primarily a painter, Baldwin works with dyes and paints on various surfaces, from silk to canvas, using ancient and modern techniques. The combination of techniques and her ever-searching experiments simulate her creativity and lead to many new results. Art is her connection with life. It’s a force inherent in all human beings. Art is our means of expressing ourselves as individuals and it should be treated with great respect. The skills that are involved maybe learned as one learns to ride a bike or tie a shoe, yet the result is ours alone.

Lynda Braun

Lynda Braun lives and works in Santa Fe, New Mexico.  She did her undergraduate studies at Cooper Union in NYC, and received an MFA  in painting from Cornell University. She has been working as a professional artist  since 1973 .Residing in the Naples area for over 8 years, Braun won numerous awards and professional recognition.  Florida Gulf Coast University presented her work to the community in a one-person show in 2000.  Braun’s bold and colorful abstract paintings were featured in a 3 person exhibition “Made in Florida/Abstraction”at the vonLiebig  Art Center in 2002. 5 of her  large paintings are in the Neiman Marcus Permanent Collection in Fort Lauderdale and Coconut Grove. She is also represented in the vonLiebig Permanent Collection, as well as the Johnson Art Museum at Cornell, and the Woodstock NY Historical Society Collection. In 2005, Braun relocated to Santa Fe, NM, the 3rd largest art market in the US to study computer-generated techniques for painting and to expand the audience for her work.  In Santa Fe she has been working closely with a number of top-rated contemporary galleries both exhibiting and curating.  She returns to Naples periodically to exhibit and to share her knowledge. Braun brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm for self-expression and for creating art as a way of life. 

Philip C. Calabro

Calabro attended school in Rome, Italy at Accademia de Belle Arti and School of Medalions. Calabro taught for over 20 years at the University of Rhode Island. In addition to this he ran his own art studio from 1960 to 1990 and created numerous commissioned sculpture pieces. Calabro has won awards in Italy, Chile, and the U.S. for his art and is a member of many prestigious organizations including the Rome Art Association.

 Virginia Cascarilla

Virginia earned a four-year scholarship to Boston School of Fine Arts.   After graduating with a BFA in painting and a minor in education from St. Mary’s College, Gini earned her MA in Art History and MFA in Painting and Design at Michigan State University.  Virginia taught at the Cleveland Institute of Art and Cuyahoga Community College as an adjunct art professor for over twenty-five years while raising three children.   Gini has exhibited in National and Regional Competitions and Invitationals;her work is included in public and private collections throughout the United States. Virginia continues to paint and teach workshops. Her philosophy is that Art in all its pursuits keeps one young.

Jose M. Castillo

Castillo, international portrait artist, brings classy, prestigious and traditional art to us with his painterly and dazzling style. Portraiture is Castillo's life-long passion. He became "the society painter" in Puerto Rico. Among his achievements are two portraits of Senators which are now each hanging in their own room dedicated to them at the Capitol in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Castillo studied at the National School of Fine Arts in Lima, Perú. During the 70's, he relocated to New York where he became very successful as fashion illustrator for exclusive boutiques and stores; during this time, he prepared himself as a portrait painter. Castillo studied at Parson's, School of Visual Arts, Society of Illustrators, Fashion Institute of Technology and Art Student's League in New York . At the League he studied and attended seminars with Robert Beverly Hale, an authority in anatomy; Anthony Palumbo, Fogarty, Sanden, Lefell, Shanks, Greene, Teply, and with Faragasso he learned the Reily system among others. There he became interested in the Great Master's which he studied for years from Tizianno, Velázquez and on through the 19th century. Castillo was also an art instructor at the Sacred Heart University in Puerto Rico, and has done demonstrations at several institutes and taught private classes.

Anne Chaddock

Anne has been painting in Richmond, Va. for over 30 years. She is the owner of For Art’s Sake Gallery & Studios where she teaches over 130 students per week in the mediums of watercolor, oil, acrylic, and pastels. Every other year Anne conducts international workshops in wonderful places such as Ireland, France, and Italy. She has won many awards nationally and competes in over 15 exhibitions yearly.
To see more of Anne’s work, please log onto www.annechaddock.com

Linda Chambers

Linda Chambers is fascinated by the natural world around her -- the dance of colors and light, the interplay of shapes and forms and the awesome intricacies of God's handiwork.

After earning a B.A. and Masters in Art Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Linda taught art to first through tenth grades. Following retirement from the public school system and marriage to her number one fan and encourager, Ron Chambers, Linda moved from the hills of Pennsylvania to tropical Marco Island, FL. There, the late Irving Boker introduced her to pastel painting - now her favorite medium. Linda has been juried into numerous fine art exhibitions and has become an award winning artist. She has been accepted as an Associate Member of the Pastel Society of America and has also participated in the International Association of Pastel Societies' Annual Exhibition. Linda is a member of several SW Florida art associations, including the SW Florida Pastel Society, where she recently received second prize in their annual members' show. Linda began teaching adult pastel classes in January 2010 and was so blessed that she is eagerly awaiting another season of teaching the joy of pastels. 

Sheri Chase 

Sheri Chase was born in L.A and grew up in Atlanta until 2001, when she sold her house, quit her bank teller trainer job, and headed for the sandier pastures of Naples, Fla. (She left Atlanta's greener ones for those who like to mow.)

Her passion for designing jewelry began by chance when she inherited some tools, books, and raw materials that once belonged to a jeweler from the roaring 20’s. The moment she picked up her first jeweler's tool, she discovered her niche. On her artistic journey, Sheri was mentored by award winning artists, Kathleen and Robert Dennison along with other supporters of her work who gave her generous amounts of advice, encouragement, and critiques.

Sheri is now immersed in art, using her previous teaching and management experience to help her give back to artists, working, teaching and volunteering at the von Liebig Art Center, an art gallery on 5th Avenue, the Naples National Art Festival and working with patients in the NCH Hospital Arts in Healing program. Her work can be found in galleries in Naples and Palm Beach and among several international collections. chaseoriginals.com. 

Sarah Coble

Coble earned her degree and started working in the field of architecture before moving to theater design in Chicago. Since then she has worked in theater and television in Illinois, North Carolina and Florida. After moving to Florida, Coble focused on sculpture and incorporated costume techniques, book binding, performance art, metalworking, printmaking, water color, and drawing to create her unique style. She now writes about the arts for various publications both regional and national.

Marilyn A. Crawford

Crawford was born in Northern Minnesota and lived in Iowa for over forty years. It was there that she studied at the Des Moines Art Center with various Midwest artists. Her work has been exhibited across Iowa and Naples, Florida. Crawford moved to Naples in 1992 where she continued to teach, jury shows, and exhibit artwork. Her work reflects the rich colors of the Minnesota Iron Range along with other formal landscape elements.

 Harry Danos

Harry Danos is a retired and award winning, New England architect familiar with pen, pencil, and tempura who, has gravitated to watercolor as an exciting and challenging medium.  As an architect, he is trained in one and two point perspective, shades and shadows, balance and composition. He is a member of the CT Watercolor society;, Mystic, CT 

Art association and an emeritus member of the Salmagundi Club of New York and American Institute of Architects.  

Danos is also the past director of Aegean Workshops which has conducted many watercolor workshops to Greece and Islands. He has been a participant of the "The Third on Canvas”, Naples’ premier artist fund raising event sponsored by the von Liebig art association.

The disciplined skills of an architect as well as the creative capabilities of the creative artist, result in exciting and meaningful watercolors. 

Douglas David

Douglas David has painted his way across the country, capturing the beauty and spirit of the things he loves- tranquil country landscapes, sunrises and sunsets on his favorite beaches, a simple pitcher of spring lilacs or peonies, a lemon, lime or a slice of watermelon on a checked tablecloth. Paintings that reflect comfort, warmth meaning and simplicity: similar to everything important to him- his close knit family, life-long friendships, creatively fulfilling work and giving his best. A recipient of numerous regional and national awards and honors, Douglas’ teaching is a way of giving back and sharing some of his journey with those who choose to study with him. For more detailed information, visit douglasdavid.com.  

Sarah Davis

Davis attended American University where she received her BA in International Studies and Religion. She then attended Florida Gulf Coast University where she received her masters in Enviromental Science. Davis now teaches at FGCU and works with the university in various environmental restoration projects. She is bringing environmental interest to the Naples Art Association by teaching “Enviroart” which focuses on helping students become engaged in their surrounding environment through an artistic medium. 

Ted deClercq

Ted de Clercq is a native of Quebec. He now resides in Naples where he continues to paint and teach basic and life drawing. Mr. de Clercq has exhibited in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Atlanta, New York and throughout Florida, including Miami, Sarasota, Ft. Myers, Sanibel Island and Naples.

He is widely known for his ability to paint photo-realistic works of notorious icons viewed in an historical context with references from the 20th century. He also produces sweeping landscapes, imaginative figurative paintings and nude or semi-nude sculptures and drawings. 

Julieta de Palacios

Born in Argentina, Julieta de Palacios has dedicated her life to the exploration of different ways to express her vision through images.  Specializing in the “Trompe Loeil” technique she discovered while traveling in Europe, she has been painting murals professionally in her native country and in North America for over twenty five years garnering numerous awards.  Since coming to the United States, she has  also focused on developing her vision of a world between mystic and metaphysical concepts in oil paintings which has been displayed in galleries in New York City, Washington DC and in New Jersey.  WWW.Livingdreamsart.com 

Cheri Dunnigan

Dunnigan was born and raised outside of Boston, Massachusetts.  She dreamed of being artist from an early age, and was fortunate to have the support and encouragement of her parents to pursue that dream.  She was introduced to silversmithing in school at the age of 15. Designing and creating jewelry quickly became a passion. Cheri earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with a major in Silversmithing and a minor in Enameling in 1978 from the Cleveland Institute of Art.  She worked as an artist craftsman for many years, designing and creating both one of a kind and production jewelry in her studio showroom in Hopkinton, Massachusetts. She taught metalsmithing and design at Rhode Island College and the Worcester Craft Center.  Her work received national recognition in both craft fairs and exhibitions. 

     In 1998, after being diagnosed with Lupus, Cheri began experiencing increasing difficulty with her hands.  It soon became apparent that she would no longer be able to work as at the bench full time, so she began turning her talents towards painting. Painting was less taxing physically, yet equally stimulating creatively, and as she immersed herself in this new medium, she found her health improving.  Before long, she was in a full remission. Working in pastel, she embarked on a second career as a landscape painter.  She soon found herself exhibiting this work nationally.  In 2006 she was designated a Signature Member of the Pastel Society of America.

Dunnigan has been teaching for a number of years in Southwest Florida.  She has also taught workshops in Maine and Florida, and has painted in a number of invitational plein air paint events.  Cheri has exhibited her work extensively and won numerous awards, both locally and nationally. She is a charter member of the Southwest Florida Pastel Society.  Her work has been featured in numerous Southwest Florida publications and she has most recently had a teaching article published in the Pastel Journal. Cheri’s work is represented by Artana Gallery in Brookline, Massachusetts.

 Donald Gilmore

Gilmore graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and was employed as an aerospace engineer for 20 years followed by a second career as a teacher of art for 38 years. Gilmore’s personal artistic interest lies in painting and sculpture that create highly textured canvases that trick the eye along with “combing up” a technique that utilizes combs to apply paint. Gilmore has been a featured artist in exhibititions across the U.S. and Europe.

 Mary Goetz

Goetz has been teaching art for over 20 years in Collier County and Lee County. She was the 2002 Middle School Art Teacher of the Year for the State of Florida. Goetz is currently teaching Art 2D/3D at Barron Collier High School in the morning and Gulfview Middle School in the afternoon. Goetz has been teaching ARTScool for over five years. “I enjoy sharing my knowledge of butterflies and more to the younger students at the von Liebig.” 

Ruth Hablutzel

Creating pottery for over 25 years…it still amazes me what can become from a lump of “dirt.” My pottery connects to the ground, reflecting both form and colors of earth, sky, water and nature. Every piece while unique is also functional with my own use in mind.

David Hammel

Hammel graduated from Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota and has been an art instructor for over twenty years. He has dedicated himself to working with various organizations including underserved and at-risk teens. Working as a studio artist since 1990, Hammel has gained recognition for his wildlife pottery and has been collected by Olga Hishorn of the Hirshorn Museum at the Smithsonian. As a direct descendant of William Wiggins of Wiggins Pass in Naples, Florida, Hammel has devoted himself to the communities of southwest Florida. davidhammel.com. 

Kelly Hollingsworth

Hollingsworth graduated from Columbus College of Art and Design with a double major in printmaking and photography. She began working as a merchandise specialist, sales, and public relations with such organizations as SteinMart, Pottery Barn, and Henri Bendel. She now teaches drawing techniques at ARTScool, The von Liebig Art Center’s summer art program for kids. 

Patty Kane

Kane is an award winning artist, who studied painting and drawing at Crealde School of Art in Winter Park, Florida. She began her teaching career at Crealde upon reciveing a fellowship from the school. Kane specializes in watercolor, acrylics, and teaching artists of all ages. Kane's art has been featured in shows across Florida. 

Genie Kell

Genie Kell’s Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from John Herron Art Institute and Master of Arts degree New York University are complemented by undergraduate study at Yale and Columbia Universities and training at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. While completing her Master of Arts degree at NYU, Genie lived in Venice, Italy, and earlier in her career, she lived for five years in Mykonos, Santorini and Athens, Greece. Three of Genie's largest and most elaborate glitter and mixed media painting works were part of The Longest Winter, an invitational exhibition at Florida Atlantic University, curated by Gean Moreno and including artists Weston Charles, Jon Coffelt, Vincent Fecteau, Sam Gordon, Anne Howard, Udomsak Krisanamis, Robert Melee and Dario Robleto. One of Genie’s assemblage mixed-media works, Primavera, won the MAD Travel Award at the 44th Founders Juried Awards Exhibition at The von Liebig Art Center in Naples, FL. Recently Genie was the featured artist in the Naples Illustrated Magazine. Genie’s most recent solo exhibition, Baubles, Junk, Bangles and Bright, Shinny Beads features 9 assemblage works from the last six years—each combining painting and found objects into large, richly layered works.Genie's teaching focuses on her students' potential to experience art as a journey of self discovery while they explore the most innovative means to express their unique gifts. 

Carol Kinkead
Carol has been making photographs for 35 years, and is primarily self-taught. Over the past two years she has become a full time artist. She studied photography classes at UCLA as pat of her design curriculum and participated in workshops at the Maine Photographic Workshops in Rockport. She continues to educate herself in the digital world.  Her travels through Europe, Mexico and Canada as well as the U.S. have further expanded her horizons. 

She is active in Naples and Marco Island, exhibiting her work in juried art exhibits, volunteering, chairing the Left Bank Art Fest and teaching digital darkroom classes at the Von Liebig Art Center. Carol also has several awards to her credit.

Richard Kirk 

Richard Kirk studied at Palomar College in San Diego, California. He developed an illustration business with customers such as American Express and Fidelity Investments. He has taught extensively. brushmiles.com.

Marti Hagaman Koehler

Koehler is a native of Naples, Florida, is married to a local sculptor, and is raising a son in Naples. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Loyola University in New Orleans, Louisiana, and a Master’s degree in Art Education and Art Therapy from The Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida.  Her continued art education includes studies at the New York Studio School in New York City and at The von Liebig Center in Naples, Florida with noted professional painters. She has worked as an art teacher, a fine artist and muralist, and an art therapist for 2 decades.  Her students have been older adults, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s sufferers, survivors of head injuries, emotionally disturbed children, gifted children, juvenile offenders, adolescents and pre-schoolers.  Marti’s art programs focus on skill building and self-esteem building, empowerment, problem-solving and personal evolution.  She practices the belief that within us all lies the power to heal and grow through our own struggles and triumphs. Art becomes the medium in which to do so.

 Jan Krasowski

Krasowski is an art instructor in the Collier County Public School System and enjoys teaching young artists during the summer at the Naples Art Association’s Artscool program. Prior to entering the art education field in 1999, Jan produced and displayed her work and illustrations in art fairs, locally in various publications (including Gulfshore Life Home Edition and Natural Awakenings), the Collier County Museum, Barnes and Noble Book Store, several local galleries and San Francisco’s Corey Galleries in their Union Square and Fisherman’s Wharf locations. Jan continues her art production and has concentrated on presenting the quest for spiritual enlightenment through her work for several years. Jan graduated from Southern Illinois University where she majored in studio art specializing in drawing and art history.  She is certified in K-12 art and middle school general science. In teaching art, Jan aims to inspire creative and critical thinking, individual expression, positive character traits and an appreciation for the diversity of artists and their works in all of her students. 

Michelle Lee

Lee graduated from Ball State University with a Bachelor’s of Science in Art Education with Arts and Crafts endorsement. Since then Lee has furthered her education with classes at Florida Internal University and the Teacher Education Institute in Naples Florida. She has worked in the Collier County Public School system since 1995. Lee worked with Dave Bell to help create the Southwest Florida Holocaust Museum in July 2000. 

Kathy Lindabury

Lindabury received her degree from Catawba College and worked in various master workshops with other professionals. She taught at the Norris Center in Naples and has worked as an instructor in other specialty classes. Her art focuses on found objects used to create cards, memory books, or fine art.

 Lynn L. Loscutoff

Loscutoff graduated from Staley College, Boston with her BA and has furthered her education at The Art Institute of Boston and Montserrat School of Art at Beverly, Massachusetts. Since then she has been teaching plein air painting for six years at The von Liebig in addition to teaching at Monet’s Garden and on cruise ships once a year. Loscutoff has shown her art across the U.S. and in France.

Mia Mazza

Mia has studied Japanese Brush Painting and Oriental art and culture since childhood.  As a teenager she studied oil painting with the Austrian artist Rudi Helmo.  At the Maulden Bridge School of Art she studied portraiture with Bette Warren of New York and oil scenery painting with William Goetz of Texas.  She studied with William Spring of the American Watercolor Society in New York City.  She received a BA in Fine Art with English and a  Foreign Language Minor from State University of New York.  She specialized in  Chinese calligraphy and language with Dr. Woo at the University.

Her work as been shown in New York State, Montreal, and Key West.  During an extended period of study and travel throughout Hawaii, the Caribbean and Florida, she and her family built a tent house near the Suwannee River to study and paint Florida nature.  She also camped and painted in the Everglades with her husband and children.  More recently, she built a very successful non profit butterfly farm and nature trail in North Naples where she created paper cuttings, acrylics and watercolors .  She has had over  30 years of experience teaching art to children and adults from 6 months old to over 80 years old.  (My new website- www.miamazzastudio.com)

Kim McLaughlin

Never painted but want to learn?  Need a refresher in oil painting? Have you seen Bob Ross painting on TV and wanted to try his method? Then my classes are for YOU! All supplies are included in the price.  No need to bring anything!!  Just wear old clothes or something you don't mind getting paint on.   You leave class with your completed WET oil painting.  All levels of painting experience are welcome!

For more information on Kim, go online to: http://www.happytreesstudio.com/index.html

Jane Mjolsness

Mjolsness has a bachelors degree in Art from Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota. She also studied art in Florence Italy her senior year. Mjolsness has a style that is highly recognizable. She takes a complex idea and turns it into something simple and visually stunning. Mjolsness has worked with such high power clients as Visa, American Airlines, AT&T, and American Express.

 Hedi Moran

Hedi Moran combines realism and impressionism in her rich and lively still life oil paintings. Bathed in a sunlit rush of light and vivid color, her florals resonate with a freshness and spontaneity that mask carefully cultivated composition and brushstrokes.

 Born Åse Pedersen in a Norwegian coastal village, Hedi Moran immigrated to the United States as a child. She began painting in 1973, studying at the Art League of Los Angeles and later at Scottsdale Artists School. She is a member of Oil Painters of America, past president of Scottsdale Artists League, and a long-time instructor in still life oil painting at Scottsdale Artists School.

 An award-winning artist, her paintings have appeared in numerous art exhibits throughout the country, including several juried shows sponsored by Oil Painters of America and Salon International. In addition, she is a three-time finalist in the “Flowers & Garden Competition” sponsored by International Artist magazine. One of her paintings, “Antique Roses,” was recently exhibited at the residence of the United States Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. And she recently lectured at the Phoenix Art Museum, where she discussed “Inside the Painting Process” while demonstrating floral still life painting.

 Hedi also conducts oil painting workshops throughout the United States, in Canada, France, and Norway (where her classes are taught in Norwegian).

 Her paintings have been featured in Workshop Magazine, Art of the West, International Artist, and Kunst for Alle, a leading Scandinavian art magazine. Her work appears in “100 Ways to Paint Still Life & Florals” and “How Did You Paint That? 100 Ways to Paint Flowers & Gardens,” published by International Artist magazine. Her paintings also have appeared in “The Best of Flower Painting” by North Light Books. She also has several DVDs produced and distributed by Liliedahl Video Productions, including videos entitled "Sunflowers,” “Lilies,” “Poppies and Cantaloupes,” and “Roses."

 Currently Hedi Moran is represented by Willow Gallery, Scottsdale, Arizona; New Masters Gallery, Carmel, California; and The Christina Gallery, Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts. Her Publisher is Bentley House.

 Julie Olander

 Julie holds a Master’s Degree in Art and has received numerous awards and recognitions during her 30 years as a painter. Julie has been an art instructor of several mediums at the college level.  She is a member of many art groups in Massachusetts and Florida.  She is represented by My Sister’s Gallery in Sandwich and J. Miller Gallery in Mashpee.  In addition to being shown in museums in the USA, her work has been exhibited in England and Russia.  She is included in collections worldwide, including Austria, Tahiti, Russia and South Africa. www.juliesilerolander.com

Sandra Place 

Sandra Place was born in Manitowoc, WI and developed an interest in drawing as a small child. Early travels with her parents to Florida and Europe, where her mother was born, planted the seeds of an interest in travel and other landscapes, cultures and languages.  She found that the art courses in college were not geared to her way of seeing and wanting to paint and received a B.A. in French from Northwestern University, and then followed a career in the travel industry in Chicago. Through her travels, she discovered the richness and beauty of other cultures.  She later found an opportunity to pursue her art and studied for 2 years full-time at the American Academy of Art in Chicago.  She moved to Santa Fe in 1984, drawn by the physical and spiritual beauty of the environment, the clarity of the high desert light and the diversity of the cultures.  Further travels to Asia and Latin America have led to an ongoing project of painting the beautiful people of ancient cultures as they interact with their fast-changing environments.  Most of Sandra’s current work in pastel and acrylic focuses on the landscape and is inspired by light, weather and natural beauty.

In addition to many national juried and invitational exhibitions and awards, Sandra has had over twenty solo exhibitions throughout the West and Midwest.  She is represented by fine galleries in Santa Fe, Chicago and other locations in the West and Midwest, and her work is in collections including, among others, The Miller Art Museum, Sturgeon Bay, WI; The Rahr-West Art Museum, Manitowoc, WI; The Nature Conservancy, Santa Fe, NM, and many private collections in Europe, Japan, Canada and throughout the United States. 

Sandra is a juried Artist Member of the Tucson Plein Air Painters Society and a Signature Member of Artists for Conservation, based in Vancouver, B.C., from whom she received the Conservation Artist of the Month Award in August, 2010.  Publications include the juried books: ‘Celebrating Door County’s Wild Places’ and ‘Visions of Santa Fe, Photographers See the City Different’; publications and documents of The Nature Conservancy, NM, and others.  Sandra teaches annual summer workshops at The Clearing in Ellison Bay, WI and privately in Santa Fe, and has conducted numerous plein air painting workshops for The Nature Conservancy of NM.  

Website:   www.natureartists.com/sandra_place.asp

Sam Platt 

Platt has studied at the Pratt Institute, East Carolina University, and State University of New York. Since then, Platt has shown his art work across the country and been honored by several southwest Florida organizations including the creation of a scholarship in his name by the SW Florida Pastel Society. He has illustrated for such publications as Naples Illustrated and the Naples Daily News.

Renee Rey

Renée Rey is a multi-disciplinary artist. She was born in Japan, hails from New York, is now living and creating in South Florida.  Renée has studied on the undergraduate and graduate level with numerous experts in various art and creative disciplines including painting, drawing, video, sculpture, graphics, art history, and writing at Parsons School of Design, NY, NY, The University at Albany, Albany, NY, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), Troy, NY, Art Students League, NY, NY and the Westchester Art Workshop, White Plains, NY. She also holds a degree in Interior Design from Parsons School of Design, a BA in Judaic Studies from The University at Albany, an MA in Education from the Jewish Theological Seminary, and an MBA Degree in Management from RPI. An award-winning artist, Rey has exhibited her artwork nationally, and her work is in collections worldwide. She has created custom pieces for Johnny Depp, Actor, Laurie Jennings, Channel 10 Anchor, Miami, FL, Bristol Myers Squibb and First Albany Corporation, New York, New York.  

Mary Parkman Rowe

Rowe is known for her vibrant landscapes painted in oils.

Her paintings have a freshness and spontaneity to them, exhibiting her passion for painting, as well as her facility and mastery of the medium. Collectors in Naples admire her painting style and bright color palette.

Having moved to Naples from New York, she says, “I love the light and air quality here in Naples, and it changes so much throughout the day! When painting landscapes, you really notice the difference.” Parkman also has a gift for painting portraits. She captures likenesses easily, in a realistic yet painterly manner. Rowe participates in local fundraisers including 3rd on Canvas, Zoobilee and one she organized herself for the Conservancy of SW Florida. Galleries show her work in New York, Atlanta, Cleveland, Naples and Italy. Many prominent art collectors in Naples are taking note and including her work in their collections. Rowe earned her BFA from Cornell University, continued development at The New York Studio School, the Art Students League and the International School of Art in Italy.

 William Saladino

Saladino graduated from Indiana University with his bachelors degree and the University of Arizona with his masters of fine arts. Since then he has devoted his life to teaching in Florida and Indiana, most recently at Poinciana Elementary. He has also worked as an art conservator and traveled around the world studying art in different cultures. Saladino has received various awards for his teaching dedication.

Phil Schirmer

Phil Schirmer has been painting in egg tempera for over 20 years. In 1987, he was selected as one of Vermont's top emerging artists. Since then, he has had numerous solo shows and has participated in several exhibitions featuring egg tempera artists from around the world. His paintings are in private collections across the country and overseas. For 12 years, he has been teaching the technique of egg tempera at the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, Maine and on Eagle Island, off the coast of Deer Isle.
In 2009, Schirmer's portrait, "The Secret Garden," was one of 49 paintings selected by the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery (out of 3,300 entries) to hang in its triennial show.

Jill Segal

Jill Segal is an award winning professional artist, an enthusiastic, popular art instructor, and certified Yoga teacher. She conducts demonstrations, classes and workshops for numerous art associations and educational institutions in Canada as well as internationally. She has co-facilitated many workshops on spirituality and creativity and is much in demand as a workshop leader. She is on the Faculty of the Haliburton School of the Arts Summer School.

Jill is represented by galleries around Ontario and in the Caribbean and participates regularly in juried shows. She is an elected member of the Society of Canadian Artists and a signature member of the Toronto Watercolour Association. 

 Her acrylic and mixed media paintings are loose and expressive, characterized by bold vibrant colours, intriguing textures and energetic calligraphy. Website: www.jillsegal.com

Richard Segalman

Richard Segalman has been exhibiting his work in group and solo shows for over 55 years. His work can be found in private collections and major museums including the Arkansas Art Center, Bass Museum, Fogg Art Museum, Hirshhorn Museum, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and Polk Museum. Aside from being an accomplished artist, Segalman has been a sought after and highly respected teacher for over 30 years. A master of many medias, watercolor influenced his early artistic career and remains an important form of expression in his work. Segalman has a unique ability to convey both the emotional and aesthetic of the figure and moment being captured without the use of facial expression but rather through clothing and bodily expression.

Tammra Sigler 

Sigler has painted and taught in the Baltimore/Washington area for the past 45 years.  In 2001 she relocated her home and her studio to Naples, FL. Sigler received her education at Syracuse University, School of Fine Arts, and got her BFA, with honors in painting, from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Baltimore, Maryland in 1965. Sigler has shown her work extensively and been awarded many prizes in the Baltimore/Washington area as well as Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Lexington,  Palm Beach, and throughout South America.  Sigler’s work has been acquired by The National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C. and the Baltimore Museum of Art. It is included in many private collections both nationally and internationally. Her work has been selected twice (1994, 2000) to be represented in the national publication “New American Painting” by Open Studio Press. Some of her corporate collections include Chase Manhattan Bank of New York,  Peat Marwick Mitchell & Co., Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, Health Insurance Association of America, Federal Reserve Bank of Virginia, Ayres/Saint/Gross Inc., Equitable Trust Bank,  Shelter Development Corporation, Murdock Development Corporation of Los Angeles, Deloitte and Touche, The Johns Hopkins Oncology Center, Percontee Corporation, Commercial Credit Corporation, W. B. Doner Inc., Advertising Agency, United States Consulate, Spain, Health Insurance Association of America, Washington, Gordon Feinblatt Rothman Hoffberger and Hollander,  Piper and Marbury, University of Maryland, Towson University and The Maryland Institute College of Art.  Her work was featured in the13th Annual Naples Museum of Art Artists’ Studio Tour in 2008 and has shown at the von Liebig Art Center in their Founders and Encounter, other juried shows. In addition to her Shirley Street studio, her work can be found at The Sweet Art Gallery in Naples, and James L. Pierce in Baltimore, Maryland. In addition to her Shirley Street studio, her work can be found Up Art & Design in Naples. 

David Slonim 

David Slonim earned a bachelor's degree in illustration from Rhode Island School of Design (BFA 1988). For ten years he created images for clients like Reader's Digest, IBM, UPS, Tony's Frozen Pizza, and T.G.I.Fridays.  In 1998 he began to paint full time.
David's oils and pastels are based on observation and memory of everyday subjects, often exploring the line between representation and abstraction. He draws inspiration from a wide variety of masters, including Cezanne, Diebenkorn, Wyeth, Degas, and Levitan.  He has been featured in SouthwestArt, USArt, Indianapolis Monthly, and the Indianapolis Star.  He is also an award-winning children's book author and illustrator. David's work hangs in private, corporate and museum collections nationally.  He lives in central Indiana with his wife, four kids, and a dog who matches the carpet.  davidslonimfineart.com 

Callie Spilane 

Callie is certified through the International Porcelain Artists and Teachers Association as a Master Artist and Master Art Teacher.  She has spent thirty years in the porcelain field where she has traveled and taught in such places as South and Central America, England, France, East Germany and just recently returned from taking part in an art exhibit in the People’s Republic of China.

 Callie is married with two daughters, four grandsons and two granddaughters.

 Urania Christy Tarbet

Urania attended the Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles and later studied with the famous Russian artist, Sergei Bongart.  In the late 70’s she studied portraiture in pastel for six years with Claude Ellington. 

 In 1994 she founded the International Association of Pastel Societies and currently serves as President Emeritus. Urania’s memberships and honors include Signature Life Member-Pastel Society of America; IAPS Master Circle; Artist Member-California Art Club; Artist Member-Salmagundi Club, NY; and holds Honorary Membership with the Degas Pastel Society and the Sierra Pastel Society among numerous other societies in the United States.

 Urania is listed in Who’s Who in American Art, and her work has been published in the American Artist; The Artist’s Magazine; Art Review; The Pastel Journal; International Artist, and fifteen how-to-art books, including the “Artist’s Illustrated Encyclopedia” by Phil Metzer. Her work has been exhibited in Canada, Taiwan, France, Italy, England, Mexico, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and other parts of the United States.

 She serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of The Pastel Journal, and is the former editor of the Pastel Artist International Magazine, and periodically contributes articles to various art magazines.  She teaches pastel and oil workshops throughout the United States and Europe. 

 Most recently she has been invited by the El Dorado County PBS to create two series of art demonstrations that will include six segments on pastel, and six segments on oil/palette knife painting. 

Kim Marhoefer-Willis

Willis was born in 1962 in Chicago, IL. Her family moved to Naples, FL in 1969, where she would grow up. She majored in fine art at the University of Florida, Kalamazoo College and the University of Bonn, Germany. Her work has been exhibited in many galleries on a local and national level, and she has competed in numerous national and international fine art competitions. Willis’ preferred medium is printmaking. She feels challenged by the wide scope of the various printmaking processes. “I like working with a medium that takes away some of the control, and forces me to actively collaborate with the process.” Her work often reflects an observation or commentary on our society and culture. “I believe art is a reflection of our history, our psyche, and who we are as individuals and a society. “ Willis currently lives in Naples and divides her time between her art, teaching, and raising a family with her husband.

Mary Sheehan Winn

I was born in Boston and raised on the South Shore of Massachusetts where I still live with my husband and two cats. Always an artist, I began painting and drawing as a young child and my parents enrolled me in oil painting lessons at a local Art and Frame shop when I was 11 years old. I attended New England School of Art's 3 year program for advertising and design, and went on to work in the, the Printing Industry,  the Restaurant industry and in Hospital Public Relations.

In 2005, inspired by Duane Keiser's Painting a Day blog, I started my own blog and began a quest to paint with a disciplined approach rather than when 'inspiration' struck in an effort to hone my painting skills and create a body of work. I found that the blogging world was a perfect support system which created incentive to challenge myself and also provided feedback and encouragement from artists and viewers alike. It also brought me into a world of other artists whose work inspires me every day and helped me develop a following from all over the globe.

I've studied with many accomplished painters some of whom include Charles Sovek, Alfred 'Chip' Chadbourne, Colin Page, Lois Griffel, and Carol Marine.

I am a longtime member of 4th Floor Artists, Provincetown Art Association, Naples Art Association and North River Arts Society and teach classes at my Rockland, MA studio in both oils and watercolors. My paintings can be seen at Homegrown Arts and Crafts in Duxbury, Massachusetts and The Art Boutique at Tin City in Naples, Florida.

I paint because it's like breathing to me. Web: http://marysheehanwinn.blogspot.com/