With a closing arts center, where will the Longboat Key artists go?

One look at a painting recently completed by Whitney Beach’s Dave Purnhagen reveals the thoughts of a man not thrilled by the center’s closing.

The piece depicts the Longboat Key Center for the Arts on a clear, sunny day — with a wrecking ball crashing through it.

“I wanted to paint a picture of the art center as a fond remembrance,” Purnhagen said. “But my painting deteriorated as I became more and more agitated.”

Purnhagen, whose focus is in watercolor, has been using the center since 2004. He said he’s loved spending time at the location’s studios and garden, and has always appreciated the building’s architecture. The center is one of the reasons he bought property on the Key.

“I was devastated when I heard they were going to knock it down,” Purnhagen said.

Like other Key artists, Purnhagen will need to find a new space for his activities when the center closes in May. Ringling College announced its plans to sell the property to a private developer for single-family homes in February.

The town is working to develop a new arts center — the Longboat Key Center for the Arts, Culture and Education, located at the Town Center on Bay Isles Road. As of now, there is no timeline for the new center, and it may not open until 2020.

So, what are the options for artists like Purnhagen in the interim?

Purnhagen floated the idea of introducing plein air painting clubs — groups of artists who work in outdoor spaces — to the Key.

“One could be staged on Longboat Key where we all go to parks or historical sites,” Purnhagen offered.

Assistant Town Manager Mike Hein said the town has begun discussions with Ringling about the possibility of the college offering programs in the Amore Restaurant property after the restaurant closes in May. The building was acquired by the town as part of the new arts center project. The restaurant itself plans to move to Sarasota and reopen this summer.

While that prospect remains uncertain, Susan Goldfarb, executive director of the Longboat Key Education Center, said she would be happy to include programs offered at the Center for the Arts at her facility.

“I’m happy to do what I can with the space I have,” Goldfarb said. “I’m happy to cooperate.”

Goldfarb expects to have the Education Center’s schedule for next season finished by June.

Some residents have suggested the Bayfront Park Recreation Center as a place to hold classes as well. Streets, Facilities, Parks and Recreation Manager Mark Richardson said his department would be open to the idea as long as programs fit into the recreation center’s activity schedule, which begins in October.

“It depends on what it would be used for and when,” Richardson said.

Alexandra Lillis, a graduate of Ringling College, has taught drawing and painting at the Center for the Arts for three years. She emphasized how important spaces like the center are in giving local artists a sense of community and allowing them to learn from each other.

“Students are always evolving,” Lillis said. “You need facilities to encourage that.”

Janine Hoffman, a professional artist living in Bradenton, has taught colored-pencil classes at the center since 2002.

“These people on Longboat Key are so special,” Hoffman said. “I don’t want to lose them.”

Both Lillis and Hoffman said Ringling understands the need to offer programs on the Key, and they hope some classes will begin before the start of next season.

After the center closes, Lillis plans to continue teaching classes at Artspace Anna Maria on Anna Maria Island and ArtCenter Manatee in Bradenton. Hoffman will teach a class at Keeton’s Office and Art Supply in Bradenton.

Jan Marshall, who has taken classes at the Center for the Arts for four years, is one of Hoffman’s students. With the closing of the center, she plans to follow her instructor.

“I’ll go wherever she goes,” Marhsall said with a smile