Girl with Red Earrings by Anne Whitney
Gallery Installation
"A Celebration of Women"
Featuring:
Christiane Casella
Sandy Johnson
Anne Whitney
Opening Reception:
Sunday, January 12, 2025
11AM-3pm
Stay with Me by Christiane Casella
Lyrical Lillies by Sandy Johnson
The Galleries at First Pres began in January of 2017 and was founded by Dr. Jacob Craig, with Peter and Carole Coe as curators. Their mission is to feature a wide variety of works by local artists, on rotation quarterly throughout the year. The Galleries are located throughout the campus of First Presbyterian Church. They are open for viewing from 12pm to 3pm, Monday through Thursday. Guided tours can be made available upon request. Admission is free and open to the community.
Our current curator is Mrs. Susan "Suze" Lavender. Suze was born and raised on the south shore of Long Island, NY. Her two loves were always Art and the Sea. She loves to draw and paint moments to release emotions. Although she has never been formally trained in Art, except for the odd class in a variety of different mediums, her art shows a natural talent and beauty that exhibits a deep love and the heart and soul she puts into her work. Since meeting and studying under Frits Van Eeden in the last five years, she feels that he has opened up a window of what could be. Suze’s art now has the energy, emotion, color, and passion that she’s always strived to put on canvas. Suze says, “I have been an artist my entire life, but I have had no formal training until recently. I knew I had so much to say and had no idea how to transfer my thoughts onto canvas. There was a time when I viewed photographic and detailed production as the epitome of artistry. Gratefully, that is no longer the case. My New York upbringing is especially present in my cityscapes, and I've discovered how to communicate my ideas emotionally through textures, color choice, and subject. I've yet to travel the world however my paintings have created a world for me.”
Our Artist in Residence, Sheila Lougheed, has some of her artwork displayed throughout campus. Her most recent religious-inspired works can be found lining the stairwell of the Center for Christian Life- a 7-painting series that was created live during Sunday services in the Lenten Season of 2018. Each piece represents a different theme during the period of Lent. The final work of this series is a 12-foot tall painting of a dove to represent to resurrection and rebirth of Christ.
Christiane Casella
Award winning national artist Christiane Casella’s classical figurative training is evident in all her work from bronze sculpture and drawing to the underlying structure in her abstract work. Whether linear, psychic or imagined, it is in the abstract realm where
her works emotional content draws its breath. Whether literal or symbolic, a focus on the connection between beings shines through in her mastery of melding form with material. Casella’s work is best described as maintaining a reverence for the classical
while simultaneously embracing nuance and an outright fondness for modernity. Click here to view all of Casella's Honors, Exhibitions, Education, and Affilications
Sandy Johnson
Sandy came to art late in life. Aside from adult education classes in drawing and painting, Sandy’s early adult life centered around family and education. She and her husband Galen built a hobby farm and raised four children in addition to rambunctious goats, chickens, rabbits, and calves. St. Cloud State University hired Sandy to teach speech communication. She stayed there a decade and loved it.
Her next career involved building a large financial planning practice in Central Minnesota. Client relationships and communication were as critical to her as investment management strategies and portfolio design. There was a lot of left-brain activity going on. She stayed in this career for over 30 years and was able to play a significant role in the lives of her clients and their families.
Retirement was a time to explore new aspects of her life. Sandy put away charts, efficiency models and financial forecasting for something else, something new, something that spoke to another part of her being. With the encouragement of her two Florida based sisters, she bought painting supplies and started art classes at the Vero Beach Museum. She also joined the Sebastian River Art Club and credits so much of her artistic development to the creative and generous support she has received there.
Now there her time to explore and play. She is excited by color and form and is always looking to improve her skills and sensitivity. She now sees the world with different eyes. All her life experiences contribute to how she views her world. The forests and lakes of Minnesota, family life, client relationships, travel and her Florida world inform and shape her art.
Anne Whitney
Having loved creating art since finger-painting days, I've always found joy and fascination in finding the personality in faces and figures. After starting art classes at a young age in Montclair, New Jersey, I went on to the Art Student League of New York to build a portfolio, and then on to Boston Museum School and to Tufts University. Then it was off to Europe and Mexico for extended stays, to soak up as much art history as possible. After four years of teaching in New Jersey, I came to Vero Beach in 1982 to work for Peter Benedict at Saint Edward's School as an art teacher and subsequently as head of the Art Department. During my 30-year career at St. Edward's, I was privileged to attend many summer art workshops around the country. Now retired, I continue to enjoy seeing the world through the eyes of an artist.