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| Hollywood Women in Hats: Douglas J. Nesbitt |
Lake
Eustis Museum of Art Click on "Paper Works Entries" above for Paper Works 4 Me Call to Artists June 1 - July 30, 2009

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| Ascending Spirits: Douglas J. Nesbitt |
I SEE THE LIGHT: DOUGLAS J. NESBITT Photography at the
Art Museum coincides with NOT
SO LONG AGO: SHIRLEY KEPHART (1934
- 2008) Paintings at City Hall June 11 - July 5, 2009 Lake Eustis Museum
of Art, 200 B East Orange Ave., Eustis, FL 32726 & Eustis City Hall Gallery, across the street
EUSTIS – In time for Independence Day, Lake Eustis Museum of Art presents coinciding exhibits
that capture the essence and drama of people, places, trauma and technologies that shape lives and consciousness in America.
I SEE THE LIGHT: DOUGLAS J. NESBITT, photography, opens with a reception June 11 from 6 – 9 p.m. at the
art museum at 200 East Orange Ave. At the same time, across the street at Eustis City Hall Gallery, a tribute reception opens
a paintings exhibit, NOT SO LONG AGO: SHIRLEY KEPHART (1934 – 2008). Both exhibits
run through July 5, 2009. Nesbitt, of Orlando, uses a perfect synergy of lens, light and composition to redefine the obvious
and visually convey depth of emotion impossible to verbalize. He shares provocative beauty and thought through his camera
that addresses everything and fears nothing. A former resident of New York City, Nesbitt says, “It was
very important to me to do a tribute to the World Trade Center. This place was incredible; I was devastated” by the
destruction of Sept. 11, 2001. After the Towers fell, Nesbitt returned to New York with an image in mind. He would depict people
entering World Trade Center Station at Ground Zero. Later, he realized the blurred figures he captured for Ascending Spirits
were dressed in colors of red, white and blue, adding a powerful, unplanned punch to his photo. Nesbitt shows a lighter
side with Hollywood Women, a saucy team of models staring his camera down in an alley one block off Hollywood and
Vine after a fashion shoot. Whether planned or spontaneous, Nesbitt seizes the moment, as in Home Girls Fishing shot
as he exited I-4 at Lake Ivanhoe in Orlando. “I thought, ‘What a beautiful picture,’” as he stayed
about 40 yards behind the fishing women to in secret capture a moment he has never seen again. “I was stalking these
women for the shot. They never saw me and haven’t seen the photo that I know of.” Nesbitt prefers that his
photos speak for him, because, “To convey the depth of my visual emotion verbally is impossible. My camera documents
a plethora of topics. It sees spirituality, but not religion. It can be biased, yet seek out beauty in all of its many shapes
and forms. As an artist, I am obligated to share what I perceive as beautiful, interesting and thought provoking. Especially
to those too consumed with life’s daily commitments to take a fleeting moment to see, to understand and to appreciate
the beauty that surrounds us.” NOT SO LONG AGO: SHIRLEY KEPHART (1934 – 2008),
paintings and collage. Shirley Kephart focused on profound, political and social issues and the plight
of humanity. From the time her first grade teacher told her, “You’re going to be an artist,”
Kephart followed a familiar path painting landscapes, animals and still life images. However, when she died at 73 in 2008,
greatly influenced by Salvador Dali, she left behind latter day surreal paintings and collage that broke ground depicting
America’s decline though technology, disrespect and greed. Not only did she apparently predict events of Sept. 11, she
followed up with works that show truths behind the actual attacks. “She didn’t like computers and
thought they were the downfall of mankind,” says Kephart’s son, Scott Kephart. “She thought computers would
take over and that would be the death of us. It was Y-2K and people thought it was the end of the world.” Her
works The Chisoms and Eve of Destruction seem to predict events of 9/11, while Tears of Terror
is an expression of Kephart’s emotions after the attacks. In an artist’s statement, Kephart wrote:
“I feel the need to express my disgust through a narrative, surrealistic approach. The viewer will find there is a thread
of forms that play throughout my work and may be perceived as something different in each painting. The figure forms, the
large birds are for the viewer to interpret and to help with the understanding of the work.” Kephart founded the art program at
Eustis High School in 1965, and followed up as an art instructor at Lake-Sumter Community College. Thousands of Lake County
residents benefited from her instruction, as she articulated her personal passion through her own paintings showing a world
ripped asunder. She also designed sets for Bay Street Players in Eustis and IceHouse Theater in Mount Dora. As one of the
first exhibitors at Mount Dora Arts Festival, Kephart went on to extensively follow the Florida exhibition circuit and also
exhibited in a New York City gallery. Lake Eustis Museum of Art at Eustis City Hall Gallery offers the community a chance to look back into
the mind of Kephart to see not only where we’ve been but where we are today. For more information,
see www.LakeEustisMuseumofArt.org or call 352-483-2900. Lake Eustis Museum of Art, 200 B East Orange Ave., Eustis, FL 32726 is open weekdays 10 a.m. –
4 p.m., closed Monday and open Saturday and Sunday noon – 4. Openings and general admission are free to art museum members
and $5 for non-members. Funded by Membership, Sponsorship and Donations. Supported in part by United Arts
of Central Florida, State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, City of Eustis, Lake County and Florida Arts Council. #
CH27639 OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE FROM DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES 800.435.7352. REGISTRATION
DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE OF FLORIDA.
| Cry Out Oh Noble Soul: Shirley Kephart |

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| PHOENIX: Henry Sinn |
| SNAKE: Henry Sinn |

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INTRIGUE & SINN July 9 - Aug. 9, 2009 Winter Park artist Henry Sinn fills Lake Eustis Museum of Art and Eustis City Hall Gallery with INTRIGUE, ENCHANTMENT & SINN, dramatic, eclectic paintings, fabric and bead art, along
with larger- than- life painted figures and small, quirky sculpted entities.
The exhibit opens with a reception
in both venues from 6 – 9 p.m. July 9 and closes Aug. 9, 2009. The opening allows Sinn to give firsthand insight into
the manifestation of his subconscious populated with people and humanized creatures in exotic, fable-like locations engaged
in mysterious interactions.
With a posh palette and unequaled imagination, Sinn, head of the department of painting
and drawing at Crealde School of Art, has lorded over his personal underworld of artistic intrigue since the 1980s. With his
bachelor’s degree in painting from Rollins College and extensive studies with his mentor, revered painter, sculptor
and assemblage artist Grady Kimsey, of Winter Park, Sinn is an extraordinary visual communicator.
His recent painting
Phoenix depicts a regal, winged, red creature with eyes cast beyond a swirling blue and pink background, destined to advance
with dignity and hope into the future.
Sinn explains the work saying, “In the worst of times the best of
humanity shines. Steadfastness above turmoil, concern above apathy, courage above connivance, faith above fanaticism. What
in easy days is carelessly pass over as ‘the way things are’ is suddenly and carefully reassessed, worth against
dross. In difficult times we relearn to communicate, to send messages of belief and to find again that what weighs us down
lifts us up.”
As a child, Sinn “always had that bent to fantasize and create an image in my head. Occasionally,
I will be inspired by something. Mostly, things just come to me. I have to be in the right stage of consciousness to let those
things come out almost metaphysically. Almost always, I am surprised to take a second look (at a piece) and think, ‘Oh,
that’s what I was thinking of.’”
He has a special affinity for animals. “I love them and
sometimes assign them human qualities,” Sinn says. “In the last 10 years, I have slowly come to use a different
side of my brain and my hands to make sculptures such as my beaded Snake. It all comes together in a different way. With painting,
your brain is always working.”
Visitors to Orlando International Airport may walk across Sinn’s massive
floor mosaic, Field of Ferns. His work is exhibited and collected in the Southeast, with representation in more than 20 significant
corporate collections including Wyndham Hotel-Austin, Westin Hotel-Chicago, Orlando City Hall, SunTrust, Corp., and Cornell
Museum in Winter Park.
For more information, see www.LakeEustisMuseumofArt.org or call 352-483-2900. Lake
Eustis Museum of Art, 200 B East Orange Ave., Eustis, FL 32726 is open weekdays 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., closed Monday and
open Saturday and Sunday noon – 4. Openings and general admission are free to art museum members and $5 for non-members.
Eustis City Hall Gallery is open during city business hours.
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Funded by Membership, Sponsorship and Donations. Supported in part by United Arts of
Central Florida, State of Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, City of Eustis, Lake County and Florida Arts Council. # CH27639
OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE FROM DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES 800.435.7352. REGISTRATION
DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE OF FLORIDA.
| GUARDIAN: Henry Sinn |

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| PRIMAL INSTINCTS: Henry Sinn |

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Click here for the press on this exhibition
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