Jackson Pollock not exactly!

Fred, 81 gets up every morning to paint. This is the beginning of a new body of work. I find his work and diligence amazing. He is a true talent. Stay tuned to follow him periodically and see where these canvases will come alive. For 20 years he was the premier water color painter here, but as age does. He found it difficult to bend over (as you see here) daily to create those fabulous watercolors. Many can be seen by just googling his name.

A while back, opportunity came along that changed his body of work. He was commissioned to do a mural for the University of Miami and he discovered standing upright was comfortable and working on a rough wall was a challenge. His current work has layers of gesso mimmcking a rough wall, then he studies it till he finds what his muses dictate.
Jackson Pollock not exactly! this is Fred Hunt the Fred W. Hunt of Ringling School of Art 1952.

the End

The pleasure was all mine. Here is Arva More Parks, Show Tell and Sell The latest Miami History. "Miami the Magic City" it changes quickly like magic. A worthwhile evening at The Bookstore in the Grove. An independent book seller.
Toward the end of the month the gallery becomes a much needed work space.

Last Pow Wow photo? Thank you from the GMCVB was held for us at the Hard Rock Cafe. Another one is in the works for just the Coconut Grove volunteers from the BID.

Happy B-day to all Gemini friends, we will celebrate together in our gallery next Saturday. Bring a bottle of wine RSVP and we will make sure there is enough cake. Bring with you your alter ego. your id and you and any air signs friends you have and those should be many.

Many things are coming to an end. My intern is gone and that is one end. Pow Wow is done for another 10 years, another end. Today the month is at an end. This leaves open vast possibilities for the upcoming month, however we don't want to end it to soon it's only six p.m. six more hours. For today and this month this is

The End

Pow WOW photos

Stunning seeing everyone in WHITE at the SoBE White Party

The sign said "ASK ME"

From the Jazz stage

I love Miami 365 a clever project executed by Alissia with her subject, from one page, out of one day in Miami, a forthcoming book.

How could not resist a VanGogh

Definitely the VIP's and underwriters of this event.

Miami's Ambassador Plenipotentiary the Honorable George Neary with Miami Beach Mayor Mattie Bower and ( as soon as we identify this lovely woman in black we will edit this blog)

Taking refuge in our gallery during the Deluge of the DineARound evening Channel 6 camera crew. Can you see the watermarks on those blue jeans, check out the shirt too. This was to be the evening that Coconut Grove was to shine.
One of our artists from the Grove, Pauline Goldsmith also at the special Adrian Arscht Closing event for PowWow A fine showing of our artists who were entertainment and behind the scenes.

Pre Pow Wow to opening night

The technology has overwhelmed me. tweeter, facebook, blogs, and the new web site it's all so much and then keeping track of the various passwords. I have surfaced out of the maze, once more. Catching up with what has been going on since the count down. No, I did not keep a journal during those absent days. I kept working and volunteering, much to busy to keep a journal. POW WOW was the major upcoming event and what an event it turned out to be. I did not let go of my camera, a hold over from my photography days. So here is a photographic journal.
Prep time for the gallery, a royal welcome to Coconut Grove and here is artist Jane Harris putting on the final touches to our window. What better way to distinguish ourselves but with the name of our community Coconuts. Now you can purchase hand painted Coconuts or paint them yourself in our Gallery

Richard Issa, my Grove neighbor Jerry Wade and I, ready to do what was asked of us to make these POW WOW visitors welcome.

This is typical South Beach scene

What a WELCOME the "White Party" had 3 stages. Tropical music, disco and club music the 3rd stage had Jazz. What a party it turned out to be.
Ah yes, the girls from Macy, they came they saw and off came their heels very reluctantly. The party was on the beach after all.
The END fire works. Over heard "the best POW WOW in eighteen years". This was just the beginning of the weekend.
This is the crew from Coconut Grove, our entire community made themselves available.
Evening Wed. the 20th, another party at the Adrian Arscht Performing Art Center photo of Jerry Wade and AnnaMaria Windisch-Hunt
Bill Talbert President and CEO of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau thanking me personally.
Artists were seen with their work throughout the Adrian Arscht Performing Art Center as well as performing. Ballet performance right among the VIP's that had invitations to this grand soiree.
These photos from the Coconut Grove Grapevine show our locals and again AnnaMaria Windisch-Hunt of this blog and Tom Falco editor of the Coconut Grove Grapevine.
Both known for their activism in the community.
Here was one of the scenes just prior to the deluge that ended the promise of a fab Coconut Grove evening.

Happy Birthday to Me and Gemini"s

8 days and counting

Fred Hunt revisiting "MacFarlane Poinciana"

In house meetings about what else POW WOW strategic planning. Mondays the Gallery is closed however, May 18 is when 1,500 conventioneers will be dropped in front of our door. I'm calling all friends with skills that will enhance our presence. Who will be at the register, who will mind the wine table, someone to do the floor sales, greeters and lets not forget entertainment. The one thing we have been working on also is the Gallery Website which was taken down and reformated must be up. Before all this we were on the beach 7:30 a.m. our deep breathing and our swim, oh was that ever wonderful. Then to printers to pick up the 2,000 gallery cards to be distributed around Miami. Breakfast out was my treat. It's just nice to get up and go to work without clearing the table and doing the dishes.

9 days to POW WOW visit

Technically the visitors for the POW WOW arrive in Miami on the 15th they will be bused in for a very special evening to Coconut Grove and Coral Gables on Monday May 18. They will each be given a voucher via credit card for $35 to spend as they wish in the Grove. Now that is appealing to all of our merchants. We are getting ready via painting coconuts as greetings that they can purchase and send back home as a memento of Coconut Grove. Not sure these people will know our history. Coconut Grove was here before Miami. We are the pioneer community that grew and grew and grew. Most of the historic elements of Miami are right here. and most of us are activists.


Today the first Thursday of the month is one meeting after another. Started early with Merchants meeting. There I had the pleasure of getting to know our new PostMaster (general )of Miami David Boardman, he heads up all 50 of our postal offices. Big Job. Nice guy. I had an altercation sometime back with our postal service here in Coconut Grove they refused to hand cancel my Inaugural post that I sent out around the world. I introduced him to our mail-art exhibit and the Coconuts that would soon be going though the mail.

Next meeting was the Woman's Club of Coconut Grove, once known as the Housekeepers Club right on the Bay of Biscay. Recently refurbished the exterior still has it's original Coral Stone. This was a delight as I had no idea how well informed my neighbor and friend Jerry Wade was about Orchids. The Woman's club was filled with all variety of orchids for our luncheon.
Jerry Wade Orchid expert holding up the rarest of the 30 thousand orchid species, the Ghost Orchid no, he has never seen it either. It was fascinating listening about the rare breeds that no longer inhabit some of our areas due to the population invasion. Florida alone is home to over 50 varieties. He pronounced the Latin names without hesitation to all the orchids on display.

count down

Flip Flop painting by AnnaMaria Windisch-Hunt

Tuesday our artsbiz group had a lengthy mtg., on our agenda, the forth coming exhibition "Summer Salon" for June at the Windisch-Hunt Fine Art Gallery . Everyone seemed agreeable and Cuquie will be our curator along with two judges selected from the house artists. It is an inclusive show. We discussed who our respective patrons are, what specific items sold and nich marketing.
In conversation a mentioned was made about artists using the gallery as a showroom. This happens when an artist sends in a patron or other art rep, then purchase iscompleted by the artist out of his studio, in other words artist likes to be seen in certain spaces then takes work out, leaving the gallery high and dry. This happened here when a South American galleriest was looking for art their adviser selected work off our walls and the artist came up a few days later needing those particular works.
We all know this is bad form, the economy is down and we all need to survive.
I would like more input from the readers.

Flip Flop painting with mermaid signature

Enough of this i need to spend time in the studio, now there is a concept!
My best seller are my ten by ten inch flip flops, they are all original one of a kind works of art and they can be found in some of the finest bathrooms up north :) however down here in Florida they are used as thank you gifts for hostesses, art for childrens rooms and any beach setting. I've done small versions for wedding parties also. A major convention is coming to Miami in less than ten days and hopefully a % of participants will see them at gift shops and here at the gallery. I don't have enough 10 x 10 flip flop paintings what, with concentrating on painting coconuts for the same crowd.
Most of my nich is the tourist market, 5,000 travel agents, writers are descending on us in less than 10 days time and I would indeed rather be in the studio. Thanks to the Artsbiz marketing group, it made me aware that I have something to sell and a time line to meet the demand.
Get with it!
A very lovely gesture today was hearing my gallery's name and address on the radio via Sheri Freedman's interview on the radio. She mentioned she had two works of art hanging here at the Windisch-Hunt fine art gallery in Coconut Grove. Now that was way to cool as it was so unexpected. Thanks so much Sheri. Her photo appeared on this blog about a week ago. Scroll down and see her drum. "Sea of Possibilities"
With permission I put her painting here. You can see the resemblance to Sheri .

social media education

Irina tweetering she is known as
I was signed up for tweeter about a week after facebook. Do I really want to know when someone is having their oats, was one of my afterthoughts. However I am open and just pushed tweetr to the back of my burners in favor of more immediate duties. This morning I took this lovely photo of Irena in front of The Bookstore in the Grove, before I realized I had met her at the Artbiz workshop. ( saw her from the back and took several candid photos) She came into the gallery about the same time as Tom who does the Coconut Grove Grapevine blog, turns out they are following each other????? actually there is a term for this. It is tweetup. My crash course was not an option between these two. I signed into tweeter for the first time under their supervision and am now following the major art museums.

a thousand words saved

Count down to Eleven p.m. last call and last photo of the artists who gravitated to our gallery.
Artists Audrey Scott, Fred Hunt, Uta, AnnaMaria Windisch-Hunt, Debra Cortese, Debra Starbuck with her two toy boys.
Here a visitors with a special eye for detail is artist Valentina Ramos. This is the work of art that was mentioned on the Coconut Grove grapvine blog and so she came to see.
It's not Saturday Night in Coconut Grove unless you have a sighting of our hare hare Krishnas.
They come in and bless our space. They maintain a bit of our local color.
Coconut Grove on the weekends always attracts young couples, out for dinner, a stroll and a stop at the Windisch-Hunt Fine Art Gallery.
I'm always pleased when I see young people in the gallery. They would normally never enter the hallowed halls of a museum. We are part of the neighborhood and accessible. They get the exposure you can't force them to enjoy, here a curiosity is satisfied.

A photo of myself through the looking glass.
Coconut Grove is the kind of place where you find boaters and tourists from the surrounding 4 star hotels, all in the same place along with neighbors. All equally comfortable. A successful Art Walk.
Artist Johanna visiting from Krakow with Yaro one of our gallery artists meeting up with Debra Cortese who leads the ARTbiz workshop.

Intern Files: Art Stroll May 2nd!

On a personal note my horse pick for the Derby pulled out of the race and therefore my last min pick didn't win, as a Kentuckian it gets me every time the Louisville U band plays "My Old Kentucky Home."

This week has been extremely hectic, we had one week to put up a new show and from previous entries you can tell that we've had a lot of work to do. We've cleaned the gallery and set up the new show, fielded more calls, emails, and long visits from artists that want to be in the gallery. One artist only worked with toothpicks and nails to paint. He picked the wrong week to monopolize our time, and besides it looked so gimmicky that we wouldn't want it in the gallery. I'm only ever scheduled for two days a week, but I often end up here when I'm not doing my other job which is photography. As AnnaMaria blogged I will be going away, out of state to be an assistant in another Gallery and get my Masters of Fine Arts there.Mike Elder, Debra Cortese, AnnaMaria Windisch-Hunt, visiting with pop artist Ed King at his opening, pool side of the Mutiny Hotel. It's hard for AnnaMaria to get away especially on a reception night but as I'm here I covered the gallery so she can show her support.

Can you feel the budgets shrinking?

We have our 1st Sat. of May art stroll this evening. Still the work is never done. Had to double check that each of the works of art had correct tags that the artists who wanted to make adjustments did and one of the last pick ups was done moments ago, still waiting for one more and I'm less than 5 hours from opening. I could not have done it alone. To change the gallery out takes several days. Pictured above are my intern who is scheduled for two days per week and I just found out I will be losing her and Audrey Scott who is a angel in disguise, making the phone calls to artists and in a very polite way telling them they will have to pay $5 per day storage fee. It's not really about storage it's about the paintings being in the way of seeing the new show come together and having to move paintings around cleaning supplies etc. etc. etc.
case in point I cannot hang my show window nor clean wash the floor there because the work featured in the window is far to heavy and the damage could be monumental. So five hours away and my front window is still not done.
Sales have been slow to zero and the news from the capital is not good. Up to two days ago the legislature had a zero budget for art funding which at the last moment they funded cultural institutions very modestly.