Brevard Artists Are Dedicated, Passionate
By Judy Edwards // May 3, 2013
Art & Culture
EDITOR’S NOTE: Painter, author and friend to the Arts in Brevard County, Judy Edwards is a part of our vibrant arts community on the Space Coast and writes about Arts in Brevard for SpaceCoastDaily.com.
BREVARD COUNTY • EAU GALLIE, FLORIDA — We live in paradise. Seventy miles of beautiful coastline, blue skies, balmy breezes and plenty of sunshine. There is plenty of inspiration here for the 575,000 souls in this county.
I have lived in Brevard for 11 years and have been involved in the arts since I got here. For the last four years I have been part of the Fifth Avenue Art Gallery in Eau Gallie and have met many artists and people interested in art.
Since the economic downturn of 2007, times have been challenging for everyone including the 25 or so galleries that are in Brevard. Now that we are undergoing an upturn in the economy, in my opinion, our forgotten galleries need to be back in the conversation.
‘IT’S IN THEIR BLOOD’
In my experience as an artist for the last 20 years, I have witnessed that artists as a whole are a hard working, dedicated, passionate people. For the most part, they make art because they have to. It is in their blood.
The Fifth Avenue Art Gallery recently had a 24 hour Art Challenge with $4000 raised going to VSA – Very Special Arts in Brevard.
Twenty-four artists committed to making a piece of art in 24 hours and then the pieces were exhibited and sold at an event at the gallery. What was very interesting was the film that was made by a local company, Brandt, Ronat and Company who donated their time and service.
There was a viewing the evening of the exhibit at the Civic Center. Each artist told his or her own story, which was fascinating.
We have artists that have pieces in museums, that are show winners and members of prestigious national societies. We have artists that are unique and work in materials such as wax, wood, silver and copper.
We have a treasure of talent here in the county all the way from Titusville to Sebastian. We have artists that work quietly in their studios and sell work all over the world.
We have artists that have pieces in museums, that are show winners and members of prestigious national societies. We have artists that are unique and work in materials such as wax, wood, silver and copper.
In future articles, I will highlight a little bit of the art scene here in Brevard and present some things that you might not know. For example, what kinds of people buy art? What kind of art do they buy? How do you start a collection? And did you know that if you bought a piece of fine art and put it on your wall no one would notice your couch?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Judy Edwards is a painter and writer who lives in Brevard County, Florida. Edwards studied art at the Honolulu Art Academy, Rhode Island School of Design, Newport Art Museum on Monhegan Island, Maine and at the Ringling School in Sarasota, Florida. Currently, Edwards is a member of the Fifth Avenue Art Gallery in Melbourne, Florida. In art, she places her current emphasis on investigating, creating, and manipulating colors with molten wax. Edwards says, “The additive and subtractive nature of encaustics lends itself to abstraction and is thrilling to work with.”
For more information log on to JudyEdwards.com
CLICK HERE to purchase a copy of her book, “Journeys A Grand Adventure”
