MARK MESSERSMITH(click)

Florida Artist

King Fishers             Mark Messersmith  2011
photo by elizabeth gordon

detail from King Fishers

Ogden Gallery Show 

detail from king fishers

 "Mark Messersmith moved to Florida in the 1980's. He began teaching at Florida State University.  He was immediately stuck by the wildness of the surrounding landscape, a wilderness gone from much of America.  In Mark Messersmith: Maximalist and Naturalist, he continues his exploration of the tension between this wild, living place and ever increasing human expansion.  Drawing on inspirations ranging from the Pre-Raphaelites(click), Martin Johnson Heade, Southern Folk Art and mediaeval manuscripts, the painting of Messersmith are dense, radiant and sculptural depictions of the flora and flauna of Northern Florida struggling to survive."  An excerpt from the Ogden Museum description of Messersmith's work.

Wild as Angels   Mark Messersmith   photo by elizabeth gordon
from the Ogden Museum collection

Florida birds by Messersmith   photo by elizabeth gordon

Wild Florida by Mark Messersmith   photo by elizabeth gordon

The dense swamp of Northern Florida                        photo by elizabeth gordon from the Ogden collection

To Be Honored by One You Honor is a Little Miracle!

Cassandra Gordon Harris

is an artist I have know and admired for many years.  We sat on art councils and did good for arts, kids and school arts programs for many years.   We talked, I visited her art shows and was awed by her talent.  There is a spiritual mystical quality that makes me sure she communes with the gods on a regular basis! She is wise...I mean guru, Tibetan Wise beyond her years on this Earth.  I have followed her through her many moves in life and we have remained friends.  In our talking we also found out it may be likely we are cousins, our Fathers' come from the same small itty bitty community in Mississippi and have the same last name...it was a community of Gordon's.  If you lived there you were related!  We worked together on a huge public arts project for my school and always Cassandra gave her heart and energy with great generosity.
So this week I open my email and see this painting on Cassandra's blog of me with the most touching spiritual insightful words one could ever hope would be spoke in the same breath as your own name!  To say I was touched would be a gross understatement...I was honored...it was like I won the lottery, like I saw rainbows everywhere, like fireworks exploded....it sounded like James Camerons movie, Avatar....I See You!  Now I will share this with you and the talent of an extraordinary woman and artist.

Seeding by Cassandra Gordon Harris /from google image

The description below is from Cassandra's blog Left Turn on a Right Road which you can access by following the highlighted words.

"Finished “Seeding Petals” (above) in midst of all the excitement, illusions and delusions and was quite pleased. She(Betsy) is a another special friend, a former art teacher and a talented artist in her own right who enlightened and seeded so many lives with art and culture.  She brought me into her world and told me to teach the children. It was a special fund raising project and I was one of several artists selected to work with a couple of classes to produce an artistic deer, like the cows of Chicago. Since that day so very long ago, she has always been there though the good and bad times to support, encourage, praise and cover me with words that lift your soul. We were never socially close, always lived far away from each other, but we found out that perhaps we just might be distant cousins coming from the same neck of the woods. It is an enduring friendship."

Cassandra Gordon Harris    Artist 

Guess Who Came to Dinner! Dinner with friends and artist James Michaels

Skippy by James Michaels from the Tom & Mary James, Raymond James Financial Collection/google image 

I am not sure what your idea of heaven or nirvana is, but for me it is to be among artists and creative compassionate people.  Last night was an evening that was almost magical.  We attended a friends birthday celebration in their wonderful home that was filled with art.  Simpatico is a word that the Spanish use for when something or someone is so special it is hard to explain.  The evening was like that...filled with talk of creativity, art and ideas.  Was every one an artist?  No, some were teachers of special education, some worked with troubled teenagers, some were hospice councilors worthing with death and dying and some were artists and teachers of the arts.  There are just sometimes when something feels so right...like when an instrument hits a perfect note, or a gorgeous sunset....it is just awe inspiring.  I felt so fortunate to be among such special people, it is one of the things being in the arts brings and for that I am forever thankful.  The evening just flowed with wonderful food, wine and fascinating conversation. There was humor, serious discussions of the world events, of what one was painting or creating, sadness of aging parents and their care, and joy for sharing a friends special day.

 I want to mention a couple of people that were there you may enjoy getting to know.  One is painter from this area whose reputation is growing nationally. It was such a nice surprise, I had not an idea he and his wife were going to be there.
attending!

  His name is James Michaels(click for link). 
 His paintings are masterful and engaging.  I think you will find them very interesting and skillfully painted.  My friends birthday present was one of Michaels' paintings!
I think this is an artist you want to get to know.  His work is fresh, edgy, a bit pop art, but more.  His language is of modern culture and image.  I just love his work.  I had not seen Skippy before doing this article and I think it is my favorite...but each time I see a new painting I think that one is my favorite.  My friends have enough of James work to have their own gallery and Michael's has a large clientele that collect his work religiously.  I think they all want to buy his work before he is discovered and they can no longer afford it!!!
James and his wife Julia are wonderful people. They are quite humble people that have great passion for art and the creative genius James has.  Over the years Michaels work has evolved and I think in very interesting ways.  I loved his early work and it still appeals to me a great deal, but his new style pops off the canvas and grabs your attention.
Take time to get to know this wonderful artist!

13 Men Raymond James Collection