Fine arts fest draws crowd to St. Armands Circle

St. Armands Circle turned into an open-air fine art gallery May 27-28, with artists’ tents covering the green for the annual St. Armands Fine Arts Festival.

The artists showing their work were accomplished in a variety of media, including oil and acrylic paints, metalwork, ceramics, and fossilized shark teeth. The one common denominator among the artists was that most were from Florida.

Painter Victoria B. Cooley of Sarasota described her work as “more traditional and coastal.” The Ringling College graduate said the beauty of fests like St. Armands’ is that it brings artists into contact with “hundreds of different people” in a short time period.

She shows her work at about 30 shows a season. Cooley explained that she’s received a number of commissions through the festivals with commissions booked through July. 

“Summer is when I replenish my work,” she said. Cooley offers a variety of special prints and artwork, including pocket-sized canvases on mini easels, perfect for fitting into a suitcase or carry-on.

“I just want people to have art,” she said.

On the other side of the circle, one artist’s tent stopped a number of passersby with a simple sign, “Yes, they are paintings.”

Ken Orton’s paintings prompted a number of double takes from festivalgoers who might have mistaken them for photos. The Venice-based artist hails from Birmingham, England, and taught art in Spain at the Centre de Arte Joan Miro of the Baleares International School in Palma de Mallorca, where among other lessons he imparted the power of the ellipse and transparency to students.

“I can build anything from that,” he said.

His Venice studio is called The Workhouse, which he jokingly described in Dickensian terms. While Orton paints there he said he prefers the rhythm and cadence of baseball broadcasts or audiobooks. Music would overpower or distract from the painting, which itself is “very musical.”

After years of attending 40 shows or festivals a year, Orton said he plans a more sensible 20 or so shows in the future, yet he still paints in his workshop “most of the night.”

With tongue in cheek, he advised, “Every time someone takes a photo of an artist’s work without permission, a kitten dies.”