N THIS PAGE YOU WILL FIND AN ANTHOLOGY OF ARTICLES ABOUT MATLACHA ARTIST LEOMA LOVEGROVE. Leoma Lovegrove is an impressionist-expressionist painter known worldwide for her splashy, artistic depictions of the Florida lifestyle. In addition to a degree in illustration from the Ringling School of Art & Design in Sarasota, Lovegrove has also studied at the Guild de Beaux Arts, ArtStudy Giverny and ArtStudy Florida. When she is not painting in her studio at Lovegrove Gallery and Gardens on picturesque Matlacha Island, creating colorful fashions for Bealls Department Store or promoting southwest Florida for the Visitors and Convention Bureau, she loves to recharge her artistic batteries touring and painting in Europe with her author husband, Michael J. Silberg. To learn more, please visithttp://www.LeomaLovegrove.com.
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Leoma Lovegrove selling Hurricane Charley art to benefit local chapter of American Red Cross (08-11-14)
This Wednesday marks the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Charley. Following the age-old adage of making lemonade when life deals you lemons, Matlacha artist Leoma Lovegrove converted hurricane debris into artwork. Today, she announced that she’s selling 12 pieces of that artwork for sale in order to benefit the local chapter of the American Red Cross.
“[My husband] Mike and I were traveling home from Michigan when Charley was striking Matlacha Island,” Leoma shares. “When we arrived, we began to clean up the mess at our gallery. Being the middle of the summer, it was unbearably hot. I noticed Mike had piled up over 200 feet of my pink fencing along the side of the road and it made me sad. Then, I had a Leoma moment. I retrieved all the fencing (it took an hour) and stashed it behind an unwanted shed. Mike was delighted (NOT).”
For years, Lovegrove made art out of pieces of the fencing and attached a 
little story about Hurricane Charley on the back of each one. Yesterday, she gathered up the 12 remaining pieces of art she’d made from the pink fence and put them on sale today for $100 each, with 100 percent of the sales price going to the American Red Cross Florida’s Southern Gulf Region (our local chapter).
“I remember how the Red Cross drove around the entire island and passed out water and boxed meals while we cleaned up our homes and businesses,” Leoma recalls. You can purchase the Hurricane Charley art at Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens, 4637 Pine Island Rd. NW, Matlacha Island, Florida, or by phoning 239-283-6453. The gallery will ship it to you within the USA free of charge.
The American Red Cross Florida’s Southern Gulf Region serves Collier, Lee, Hendry and Glades counties. The American Red Cross is where people mobilize to help their neighbors—across the street, across the country, and across the world—in emergencies. Each year, in communities large and small, victims of some 70,000 disasters turn to neighbors familiar and new at the American Red 
Cross. To learn more, please visit American Red Cross Florida’s Southern Gulf Region.
Leoma Lovegrove is an impressionist-expressionist painter known worldwide for her wildly vibrant depictions of the Florida lifestyle. Located in the heart of Matlacha Island on the southwest coast of Florida, Lovegrove Gallery and Gardens is one of the most colorful landmarks in the Sunshine State. To learn more, please visit LeomaLovegrove.com.
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Nova Paints endorses ‘Catch of Matlacha Island’ muralist Leoma Lovegrove (08-07-14)
In 2013, Matalacha artist Leoma Lovegrove rendered a mural on the post office that welcomes visitors to the island. Titled The Catch of Matlacha Island, the mural tells pictorially how an enclave of artists built The New Key West from the ashes of the fishing community that burned their boats when the net ban referendum went into effect in 1992. Lovegrove used Nova acrylic paint for the project, and nowthe California paint manufacturer is reciprocating by endorsing the Matlacha phenomenon.
Nova Color Artists’ Acrylic Paint is a top quality artists’ acrylic paint suitable for use on canvas, paper, fabric, wood, plaster, masonry, and most 
non-slick, non-oily surfaces. Nova Color Artists’ Acrylic Paint is used as a fine art paint and mural paint as well as for fabric painting, decorative painting, fiberglass sculpture painting, interior/exterior faux finishes, set painting, scenic painting, surfboard painting and handcraft painting. It is available in over 80 colors including the traditional artist’s colors plus iridescent paint, pearl paint, metallic paint and fluorescent (blacklight or UV) paint.
Nova is just the latest to recognize the impressionist-expressionist painter known worldwide for her splashy, artistic depictions of the Florida lifestyle.Studios magazine is featuring Matlacha Island artist
Leoma Lovegrove’s traveling studio in their Summer 2014 issue that is online now and on newsstands at popular retailers nationwide like Barnes & Noble, Michaels, A.C. Moore and Jo-Ann Fabrics. Earlier this year, Lovegrove enjoyed the honor of being the first American to paint in Claude Monet’s Floating Studio, Le Bateau-Atelier, near his gardens in Giverny, France, and was also invited by Captain Bertrand de Vautibault and his wife to be the first American to exhibit her artwork at their adjacent home and gallery, Maison du Peintre Pierre Bonnard, where the boat is docked. On February 19, Florida Gulf Coast University added Lovegrove’s 10 x 18′ painting Remember 9-11 Tenth Year to its permanent public art
collection, where it joins works by Albert Paley, Robert Roesch, Clyde Butcher and Karen Glaser. And in January, Bradenton-based Bealls Department Store expanded their line of Lovegrove products to include handbags, totes, luggage, beach towels, Tervis drinkware and more in addition to the ladies’ casual wear and children attire they already carried.
Lovegrove operates out of her studio and gardens on Matlacha Island. Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens is one of the most colorful landmarks in the Sunshine State. To learn more, please visithttp://www.LeomaLovegrove.com.
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Rare YouTube footage shows Claude Monet painting outdoors in gardens at Giverny (07-09-14)
Leoma Lovegrove was recently given the honor of being the first American to paint in Claude Monet’s Floating Studio, Le Bateau-Atelier, near his gardens in Giverny, France. She was also invited by Captain Bertrand de Vautibault and his wife to be the first American to exhibit her artwork at their adjacent home and gallery,Maison du Peintre Pierre Bonnard, where the boat is docked. Lovegrove visits Giverny annually to recharge her artistic batteries and re-energize her joie de vivre by painting in Monet’s famous garden. But have you ever wondered what it would have been like to be in the gardens at Giverny while Monet was there, painting water lilies? Well wonder no more. Compliments of local artist Linda Busch Benson, enjoy this brief (2:26 minute) YouTube footageof Monet painting en plein air at Giverny.
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Lovegrove traveling studio featured on cover of Summer 2014 edition of Studios Magazine (07-04-14)
Studios magazine is featuring Matlacha Island artist Leoma Lovegrove’s traveling studio in their Summer 2014 issue that is online now and on newsstands at popular retailers nationwide like Barnes & Noble, Michaels, A.C. Moore and Jo-Ann Fabrics.
“It is an honor to be chosen for their cover and the 7-page feature where they highlight traveling artist studios,” says Lovegrove. “The Studios summer issue is available in stores and online. I also have a link to the publication on the homepage of my website at LeomaLovegrove.com.”
Lovegrove’s mobile studio is a 14-foot vintage camper from the 1960s. Leoma and her husband, Michael, originally bought it so they could travel with their parrot, Solomon. Over the years, however, Leoma found herself spending more and more time using it as an art retreat so she could keep creating while she was on vacation. Eventually, it became a full-fledged traveling studio.
Cherie Haas, Online Editor for ClothPaperScissors.com said, 
“This issue makes me long for a road trip. I can’t imagine what it would be like to create as freely as artists like Leoma. One of the beautiful things about magazines like Studios is that they connect us with others who share the same passions. It seems like every paragraph of this article pulled me in closer to Lovegrove, as we have so many things in common.”
“In my mobile studio, I like to surround myself with things that inspire me, such as photos, letters, inspirational quotes, and—of course—good music,” Leoma reveals.
“I have filled the walls with both completed and in-progress artwork, and wearable art hangs in the closet. I am thrilled to have the readers ofStudios Magazine across the nation take a look inside. I always enjoy reading Studios and seeing the creative ways in which other artists are expressing themselves.”
Studios takes readers inside the creative spaces of artists who paint, bead, collage, quilt, knit, felt, assemble, stitch, and dream, with dozens of
tips and tricks from artists and professionals.Studios is a special issue of Cloth Paper Scissors published quarterly by Interweave, a division of F+W Media, Inc. To learn more, please visitclothpaperscissors.com.
“The feature in Studios magazine is a look not just into my traveling studio, but also into what inspires me to create each day,” Lovegrove adds. “I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed sharing my story.”
Leoma Lovegrove is an impressionist-expressionist painter known worldwide for her depictions of the Florida lifestyle. Located in the heart of Matlacha Island on the southwest coast of Florida,Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens is one of the most colorful landmarks in the Sunshine State. To learn more, please visit http://www.LeomaLovegrove.com.
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Franklin Shops to feature Leoma Lovegrove pop-up gallery on Independence Day (07-01-14)
Leoma Lovegrove will be inside the Franklin Shops on First during Independence Day, and she is inviting the public to come and paint flags with her from 3-9 p.m. The flags that are painted will be part of a collaborative piece to benefit and promote the Pride & Patriotism performance held at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall later this year, on November 6. The Franklin Shops on First are located at 2200 First Street in the downtown Fort Myers River District. The event is free and open to the public.
Pride & Patriotism of Lee County is an organization that works in partnership with the Southwest Florida Symphony, all public schools in Lee County, and various veterans organizations to 
promote the spirit of patriotism in schools and our community. Its November performance at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall will showcase local students and their patriotic thoughts and talents musically, poetically and visually while honoring our veterans. For more information, please visit http://www.PrideandPatriotism.org.
Leoma Lovegrove is an impressionist-expressionist painter known worldwide for her depictions of the Florida lifestyle. Located in the heart of Matlacha 
Island on the southwest coast of Florida, Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens is one of the most colorful landmarks in the Sunshine State. To learn more, please visithttp://www.LeomaLovegrove.com.
Vino’s Picasso has graciously agreed to donate all supplies for the patriotic pop-up art event at Franklin shops. this benefits lee co schools Pride & Patriotism event for Nov. 6 at bb Mann
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Having painted on Monet’s floating studio, Lovegrove to exhibit in Bonnard’s home next (06-22-14)
Leoma Lovegrove was recently given the honor of being the first American to paint in Claude Monet’s Floating Studio, Le Bateau-Atelier, near his gardens in Giverny, France. She was also invited by Captain Bertrand de Vautibault and his wife to be the first American to exhibit her artwork at their adjacent home and gallery,Maison du Peintre Pierre Bonnard, where the boat is docked.
The Studio Boat (Le Bateau-Atelier) is an exact replica of Monet’s 1800’s studio and was launched for the first time this summer. During her three hours aboard the studio, Leoma signed the boat and created twenty pieces of art in her signature impressionistic style. She was invited to exhibit the pieces she created at Pierre Bonnard’s home and private gallery, Maison du peintre Pierre Bonnard, in October of this year.
“I have always been inspired by Monet and am very grateful to James Priest, the head gardener of Monet’s gardens, for extending such a gracious offer to have me be the first American aboard,” said Lovegrove. “I have been painting and teaching in Giverny for more than 10 years and continue to find inspiration from my trips to France. When I first saw a painting of Monet’s floating studio years ago I came back to Matlacha Island and created my own floating studio at my gallery and gardens.”
Lovegrove is an impressionist-expressionist painter known worldwide for her depictions of the Florida lifestyle. Located in the heart of Matlacha Island on the southwest coast of Florida, Lovegrove Gallery and Gardens is one of the most colorful landmarks in the Sunshine State. To learn more, please visit http://www.LeomaLovegrove.com.
The Studio Boat (Le Bateau-Atelier) is an exact replica of Monet’s floating studio. It is docked at the former home of famous French painter Pierre Bonnard near Monet’s gardens. The owner of the home, Captain Bertrand de Vautibault, had the boat built to allow painters to sail on the Seine in search of the best scenery. The boat will be used for painters who wish to navigate the footsteps of Impressionists such as Monet and Bonnard.
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Matlacha artist Leoma Lovegrove hosting patriotic pop-up art studio in Franklin Shops on July 4 (06-12-14)
Matlacha artist Leoma Lovegrove is hosting a pop-up art gallery at the Franklin Shops on July 4th. It’s your opportunity to display your patriotism in artistic form.
“Join me at The Franklin Shops on First Street in the cool air-conditioning and paint with me,” Lovegrove invites. “I will be painting live to patriotic music and you are welcome to join in and paint an American Flag with me.” The flags that are painted will be part of collaboration piece to benefit and promote Lee County School Corp production of the Pride & Patriotism event to be 
held in November at Barbara B. Mann. “Special celebrity guests will join in to paint throughout the event,” the artist adds.
Lovegrove has created an event page so that you canfollow her on Facebook.
Leoma Lovegrove is an impressionist-expressionist painter known worldwide for her splashy, artistic depictions of the Florida lifestyle. In addition to a degree in illustration from the Ringling School of Art & Design in Sarasota, Lovegrove has also studied at the Guild de Beaux Arts, ArtStudy Giverny and ArtStudy Florida. When she is not painting in her studio at Lovegrove Gallery and Gardens on picturesque Matlacha Island, creating colorful fashions for Bealls Department Store or promoting southwest Florida for the Visitors and Convention Bureau, she loves to recharge her artistic batteries touring and painting in Europe with her author husband, Michael J. Silberg.
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Matlacha artist Leoma Lovegrove to be first American to paint on Claude Monet’s floating studio (05-19-14)
In 1874, Claude Monet decided to abandon his studio and never again paint a single stroke except in front of the motif. So he got a little boat, fitted it with an umbrella and easel, and set out along the Seine to explore the moods and the effects of light on the river scenery. Matlacha artist Leoma Lovegrove will soon become the first American to paint on Monet’s floating studio.
“An exact replica has been made and it was just launched a month ago,” reports Lovegrove, who is in Giverny, painting in Monet’s garden. “The head gardener at Monet’s garden has set it up for me. Along with floating on the Seine, they will drop anchor so I can paint an additional two hours.”
It is an incredible opportunity, replete with historical significance. Monet’s contemporary, Edouard Manet, became so inspired during a visit that he painted Claude working in his open-air studio. That painting now hangs in the Neue Pinakothek in Munich. Lovegrove has yet to announce where she’ll exhibit the works she produces aboard Monet’s floating studio.
Several local artists have also taken to the water to follow in Monet’s wide wake.Gardner Colby impressionist Frank Corso, for example, has been known to use aspecially-rigged kayak as a floating outdoor art studio. “I paint from the kayak,” Corso told American Art Collectormagazine for their February 2007 feature story (Vol. 16), “and am able to go down little rivers, drag an anchor and start painting on an easel I have bungee chorded to the kayak.” The rig allows Corso to access parts of the Everglades few people have ever seen. 
It also enables him to paint into the evening, which permits him to capture twilight and night scenes. “The great thing about painting with the moonlight,” Corso said in theAmerican Art Collector interview, “is that it’s so bright you can paint with no assisted light and it’s surprising at how accurate you can be. The kayak also lets me maneuver through the mangroves and the mazes of waterways that are part of [the Everglades].”
Art Walk/Arts for ACT denizen Linda Benson has also taken a page out of Claude Monet’s playbook. She has outfitted a 46-foot 1969 Chris Craft vintage Aquahome that she’s dubbed Artist Xpress as an art studio and floating gallery which she uses to paint ghost shrimp boats, “Jaws-Sea-Art,” plein air paintings and other nautically-influenced motifs.
Leoma Lovegrove is an impressionist-expressionist painter known worldwide for her splashy, artistic depictions of the Florida lifestyle. 
In addition to a degree in illustration from the Ringling School of Art & Design in Sarasota, Lovegrove has also studied at the Guild de Beaux Arts, ArtStudy Giverny and ArtStudy Florida. When she is not painting in her studio at Lovegrove Gallery and Gardens on picturesque Matlacha Island, creating colorful fashions for Bealls Department Store or promoting southwest Florida for the Visitors and Convention Bureau, she loves to recharge her artistic batteries touring and painting in Europe with her author husband, Michael J. Silberg.
“I’ve had to extend my stay in Giverny [to take advantage of the floating studio opportunity],” Lovegrove adds in her email. Yeah, she’s bragging. To learn more about the artist and her art, please visit LeomaLovegrove.com.
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‘Have You Seen Jesus?’ portraits on exhibit at Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens during Holy Week (04-15-14)
Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens is hosting a new exhibit during Holy Week. TitledHave You Seen Jesus?, the exhibition features portraits of Christ that Matlacha artist Leoma Lovegrove has painted throughout the years. Many were painted live during special performances at various churches throughout the United States.
Large and small canvases will be on exhibit at her gallery during Holy Week from April 12 through April 19. 
The gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. The Gallery is located in the heart of Matlacha Island at 4637 Pine Island Rd. NW. The exhibit is free and open to the public.
Leoma Lovegrove is an impressionist-expressionist painter known worldwide for her splashy, artistic depictions of the Florida lifestyle. Located in the heart of Matlacha Island on the southwest coast of Florida, Lovegrove Gallery and Gardens is one of the most colorful landmarks in the Sunshine State. To learn more, please visit http://www.LeomaLovegrove.com.
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Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens to celebrate Slow Art Day on April 12 (04-03-14)
Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens will be participating Slow Art Day on Saturday, April 12. You can celebrate the day with Leoma Lovegrove and guest artist Karen Jarstad from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Matlacha Island gallery, which is located at 4637 Pine Island Rd. NW. Then, following the event, guests are invited to meet at Miceli’s Waterfront Restaurant at 3930 Pine Island Road to discuss the art they’ve seen and enjoyed.
Slow Art Day is a worldwide celebration of art that encourages people to look at art SLOWLY – and thereby experience art in a new way. For Slow Art Day, Lovegrove will debut a new exhibition of paintings that contains numerous portraits of Christ that she has painted throughout the years. Many of them were painted live during special performances at various churches throughout the United States. These large and small canvases will remain on exhibit at her gallery during Holy Week. The exhibition will be open and available to the public between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. from its opening on Slow Art Day on April 12 through April 19.
Leoma Lovegrove, is an impressionist-expressionist painter known worldwide for her splashy, artistic depictions of the Florida lifestyle. Located in the heart of Matlacha Island on the southwest coast of Florida, Lovegrove Gallery and Gardens is one of the most colorful landmarks in the Sunshine State. To learn more, please visit http://www.LeomaLovegrove.com.
To register for Slow Art Day, please visitslowartlovegrove2014.
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The making of ‘Remember 9-11 Tenth Year,’ FGCU’s newest public artwork (03-11-14)
Click here to read a new article on Examiner about the making of Remember 9-11 Tenth Year, FGCU’s newest public artwork.
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FGCU adds Lovegrove painting to public art collection (03-10-14)
On February 19, Florida Gulf Coast University added a new painting to its public art collection. TitledRemember 9-11 Tenth Year, the work was rendered by Matlacha Island expressionist/impressionist artist Leoma Lovegrove in a live performance in front of a Standing Room Only crowd at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre on September 11, 2011.
Remember 9-11 Tenth Year is a 10-by-18-foot acrylic painting depicting a bald eagle in flight against a field of lemon yellow, bright orange and red. Beneath the eagle’s talons are lists containing the names of the more than 3,000 victims who lost their lives on September 11, 2001 – in the World Trade Center’s twin towers in New York City, at the Pentagon in Washington D.C., and in a barren field in Stonycreek Township, Pennsylvania where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed following an attempt by passengers to regain control of the plane from four hijackers.
Lovegrove created the work on September 11, 2011 in front of a live audience at an emotional event held at the packed Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks. “It was a time to honor the heroes,” Lovegrove explained at the February 19, 2014 dedication in Library West. “The eagle represents the power of America and that freedom will prevail.”
Although the expressionist/impressionist painter does not characterize herself as a wildlife artist, many varieties of birds and fish have appeared in her vibrant artwork over the years. “I’ve always painted the eagle, but never one this large,” she quipped during the ceremony. The regal bird is not only a national symbol; it also serves as FGCU’s mascot, which makes Florida Gulf Coast University a natural home for the painting.
The gift grew from a conversation Lovegrove had last year with FGCU President Wilson G. Bradshaw at a reception where the painting was displayed. “The eagle embodies a spirit of strength and freedom that we value at FGCU and instill in our students,” Bradshaw said at the dedication. “Leoma Lovegrove’s striking work of art is sure to inspire those who view it for many years to come.”
Donations of artwork, as well as monetary gifts to the university, are administered by the Florida Gulf Coast University Foundation. Remember 9-11 Tenth Year joins nearly 100 other artworks in Florida Gulf Coast University’s public art collection, which includes such notable monumental sculptures as Albert Paley’s Cross Currents, Robert Roesch’s Transition 2012, Brower Hatcher’s Archway, Depend du Soleil and Whatever You Say Dear by Mark Fuller, Clayton Swartz’s Skyward, and Verve by fused glass artist Michele Gutlove. Lovegrove also has public artworks in the collections of the City of Fort Myers andMatlacha Island.
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Beall’s hosting Lovegrove “Meet the Artist’ and ‘Painting Live’ performance February 4 (02-03-14)
Beall’s Department Store and Florida artist Leoma Lovegrove will be showcasing Lovegrove’s exclusive new line with Bealls with a “Meet the Artist” event for guests and media at the Fort Myers Bealls Department Store at Cypress Trace Shopping Center on Tuesday, February 4. The event also includes a Painting Live performance beginning at 11:00 a.m., with an autograph session to follow.
Bealls is now offering Lovegrove’s stunning renditions of Florida to customers statewide. Lovegrove’s vibrant, tropical art in multiple product lines including ladies and children’s apparel, handbags, luggage, beach towels, Tervis drinkware and more is available in all of Beall’s 74 department stores located in Florida as well as online at http://www.beallsflorida.com/
Leoma Lovegrove is an impressionist-expressionist painter known worldwide for her splashy, artistic depictions of the Florida lifestyle. Located in the heart of Matlacha Island on the southwest coast of Florida, Lovegrove Gallery and Gardens is one of the most colorful landmarks in the Sunshine State. To learn more, visit LeomaLovegrove.com.
Cypress Trace Shopping Center is located at 13300 S Cleveland Avenue, Fort Myers, FL 33907-3871.
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Bealls launches expanded Lovegrove product line online and in 74 Florida department stores (01-24-14)
Last February, Bradenton-based Bealls Department Store introduced a line of ladies and children’s apparel that featured the casual, colorful Florida motifs of Matlacha artist Leoma Lovegrove. They’ve been such a hit with the store’s customers that Bealls decided to expand their line of Lovegrove products to include handbags, totes, luggage, beach towels, Tervis drinkware and more. The new products were rolled out yesterday at the Bealls Department Store at Cypress Trace Shopping Center in Fort Myers.
“We wanted to share the Florida we know and love with the people who shop in our stores,” noted Bealls President Lorna Nagler at yesterday’s launch. “So two years ago we began searching for an artist whose work would translate well into the kinds of products our customers want and appreciate.” Although the company interviewed a large number of candidates, “Leoma had this spark that let us know right away that she was the artist for us.” Of course, the company convened focus groups and conducted extensive market research and analysis. “But when her tees figuratively flew off the shelves, we knew we really had something special with Leoma.”
The expanded product line is available in each of Bealls’ 74 department stores in the State of Florida, as well as online at: http://www.beallsflorida.
During the event, Lovegrove shared her inspiration with a group of nearly 200 Bealls executives, employees, customers and well-wishers by painting live on a stage set up in the Misses Department of the Cypress Trace Shopping Center store. “When people ask how long it takes me to complete a painting,” Leoma told the group as she tossed hand-painted frisbees into the audience, “I tell them 3 and 30. Three minutes and 30 years of experience.” It took slightly longer than three minutes yesterday, but the folks who turned out for yesterday’s launch were astounded nonetheless as Lovegrove worked with all sized brushes and even her fingers to bring a magenta and purple seahorse to life on the Bealls stage.
Beall’s Department Stores is a division of Bealls, Inc. Founded in 1915 as a dry goods store, the Bradenton-based company now operates more than 540 stores in 17 states under the names Beall’s, Beall’s Outlet and Burke’s Outlet. Besides Florida, the company operates stores in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. Today, Beall’s is the destination of choice for casual lifestyle and priced right apparel and home merchandise. To learn more about Bealls, please visit BeallsFlorida.com.
Leoma Lovegrove, is an impressionist-expressionist painter known worldwide for her splashy, artistic depictions of the Florida lifestyle. Located in the heart ofMatlacha Island on the southwest coast of Florida, Lovegrove Gallery and Gardens is one of the most colorful landmarks in the Sunshine State. To learn more, please visit LeomaLovegrove.com.
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Bealls and Lovegrove announce launch party for new product lines (01-20-14)
Beall’s Department Store and Leoma Lovegrove are introducing Lovegrove’s exclusive new product lines at Bealls Department Store at Cypress Trace Shopping Center at 3 p.m. on Thursday, January 23, 2014. In addition to Lovegrove’s ladies and children’s apparel, Bealls is adding handbags, luggage, beach towels, Tervis drinkware and more.
This event is being hosted by Bealls Department Store President Lorna Nagler. During the event, Lovegrove will “Paint Out Loud” as she shares her inspiration for the new lines. Guests will also get a sneak peak of originals from the collection at the event. Light refreshments will be provided as well as a special giveaway for attendees. Please RSVP to [email protected] by January 21 if you would like to attend.
“For all of our friends up North who may not be able to attend, Leoma’s vibrant, tropical colors are now being featured on a variety of products not just at Beall’s Department Stores statewide, but also online at: http://www.beallsflorida.
Leoma Lovegrove, is an impressionist-expressionist painter known worldwide for her splashy, artistic depictions of the Florida lifestyle. Located in the heart of Matlacha Island on the southwest coast of Florida, Lovegrove Gallery and Gardens is one of the most colorful landmarks in the Sunshine State. To learn more, visit LeomaLovegrove.com.
The Bealls in Cypress Trace Shopping Center is located at 13300 S Cleveland Avenue, Fort Myers, FL.
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Matlacha’s Lovegrove kicks off ‘Painting Peace’ campaign at Marco’s Blue Mangrove Gallery (01-18-14)
Matlacha artist Leoma Lovegrove kicked off her Painting Peace campaign on Thursday in Marco Island at Blue Mangrove Gallery. Dozens attending her solo show had the opportunity to imagine peace as they painted peace symbols on a museum-quality 9 by 12 foot canvas that Lovegrove carted to Blue Mangrove expressly for that purpose.
Inspired by the upcoming Yoko Ono exhibition at the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery, Painting Peace is a collaborative project designed to enable thousands of Southwest Florida residents and visitors to imagine peace in an experiential, artistic way. Lovegrove is accomplishing this objective by taking the 9 x 12 foot canvas to various locations around Southwest Florida and inviting the public paint peace symbols on it in various shades of blue.
At the opening of her solo show at Blue Mangrove on January 16, Lovegrove provided attendees with brushes and ten shades of blue paint. As each applied the acrylic paint to the canvas,
Lovegrove asked them to imagine what life in 2014 would be like if there was “nothing to kill or die for” and “no need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man.” Lovegrove also spread the word about the exhibition of Yoko Ono’s conceptual art that opens January 24 at the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery.
Yoko Ono Imagine Peace presents several of the artist’s most current works, re-imagined anew for the installation at the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery, which is located on the Lee campus of Edison State College. Four recent works, Wish Tree (1996/2014), Imagine Peace Maps (2003/2014), Onochord (2003/2014) and Imagine Peace Tower (2006/2014) offer gallery visitors an opportunity to participate individually and collectively with the artist in the realization of the work. Passages of Light, a video that chronicles the conceptualization and construction of the 
Imagine Peace Tower, and reinterpretations of the works Parts of a Lighthouse and Mend Piece (for Fort Myers, Florida), are also featured in the exhibition. Play It By Trust, a monochrome chessboard and all white-painted lawn-sized game pieces, invites visitors to experience a playful metaphor for the futility and confusion of all types of conflict – where differentiation between opposing sides is difficult if not impossible to distinguish, and the commonality of opponents is exposed.
The show has been presented in several other venues, but the installation at the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery is being configured in direct collaboration with Yoko Ono to reflect the Gallery’s mission and its role as a learning laboratory. The exhibition opens on Friday, January 24 with a Gallery Talk by co-curator Kevin Concannon in the Rush Auditorium in Building J that starts at 6:00 p.m. and reception from 7:00-9:00 p.m. The exhibition will continue through March 29, 2014.
Although Lovegrove is working independently of the artist, Concannon, and the Rauschenberg Gallery, she hopes to inspire people who come in contact with her and the project in much the same way that the Rauschenberg exhibit and associated Imagine Peace billboard on Cleveland Avenue will positively impact those who see them. “I have been a Beatles fan all my life,” Lovegrove expounds. “This is the 50th anniversary of the British invasion, and even today, 
portraits of John Lennon are highly coveted by the people who visit my gallery on Matlacha Island. One of John’s most touching songs is Imagine, and I know that the lyrics were inspired in part by Yoko.” (Back in the 1960s, Ono created so-called “instruction paintings” that were nothing more than textual instructions for imagining scenes or objects that would fill empty frames. One of those conceptual paintings was called Cloud Piece, whose instructions begin “Imagine clouds dripping ….” That thought fragment later inspired Lennon’s 1971 song Imagine, which John recorded with Yoko by his side.)
Lovegrove has yet to set dates for her other Painting Peace events, but she intends to “keep it on the islands – Sanibel Island, Captiva Island, Pine Island, Staten Island, Long Island, Anna Marie Island, Useppa Island and so on.” And between events, the canvas will reside on Matlacha Island, where the 500 or so people who visit Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens each day will have the opportunity to add their painted blue peace symbol to the 9 x 12 support.
For more information about Painting Peace, please call Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens at 239-283-6453 or follow Painting Peace on Facebook. The gallery is located at 4637 Pine Island Road NW, Matlacha, Florida 33993.
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Lovegrove announces ‘Painting Peace’ collaboration with Southwest Florida residents and visitors (01-08-14)
Inspired by the upcoming Yoko Ono exhibition at the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery, Matlacha artist Leoma Lovegrove has announced a collaborative project that will enable thousands of Southwest Florida residents and visitors to “Imagine Peace” in an artistically experiential way. Between January 17 and March 29, Lovegrove will encourage folks to “imagine all the people living life in peace” by painting a peace symbol in various shades of blue on a museum-quality 9 by 12 foot canvas that she will take to various locations throughout the area.
“I plan to kick off the campaign at Blue Mangrove on January 17,” reports Lovegrove, who has a solo show opening at the Marco Island gallery on that date. Lovegrove will have the canvas, brushes and ten shades of blue paint set up at the gallery so that guests attending her opening can paint peace signs on the canvas while imagining what life in 2014 would be like if there were “nothing to kill or die for” and “no need for greed or hunger, a brotherhood of man.”
“Some people will paint ovals or circles, others squares. Some will have hearts inside. It’s completely up to each individual to decide what their peace symbol will look like,” explains Lovegrove, who is thrilled that Yoko Ono’s conceptual art will be represented in Fort Myers at the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery. “Art brings people together. It unites people.” Which is precisely whatYoko Ono Imagine Peace co-curators Kevin Concannon and John Noga and Rauschenberg Gallery Director Jade Dellinger hope will happen at and as a consequence of the Ono exhibition.
The magic of Yoko Ono Imagine Peace is that it works on the collective zeitgiest first of the audience, then of the surrounding community, and ultimately the entire world. Say “imagine peace” enough, and you will. Write your individual wish for peace on a tag and attach it to Yoko’s Wish Tree, and you have converted thoughts to action. Hear that your wish has joined more than a million others at the Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland, and you may just come to believe that peace is not just possible, but inevitable if enough energized people come to share that dream.
And that conviction lies at the heart of Lovegrove’s Painting Peace initiative. Although Lovegrove is working independently of the artist, Concannon, Noga and Dellinger, she hopes to inspire people who come in contact with her and her project in much the same way that the Rauschenberg exhibit and the Imagine Peace billboard on Cleveland Avenue will positively impact those who see them. “I have been a Beatles fan all my life,” Lovegrove expounds. “This is the 50th anniversary of the British invasion, and even today, portraits of John Lennon are highly coveted by the people who visit my gallery on Matlacha Island. One of John’s most touching songs is Imagine, and I know that the lyrics were inspired in part by Yoko.”
Back in the 1960s, Ono created so-called “instruction paintings” that were nothing more than textual instructions for imagining scenes or objects that would fill empty frames. One of those conceptual paintings was called Cloud Piece, whose instructions begin “Imagine clouds dripping ….” That thought fragment later inspired Lennon’s 1971 song Imagine, which he recorded with Yoko by his side.
While Lovegrove is deeply religious
(husband Mike is a preacher and author of religious books), it’s not hard for Lovegrove to imagine people living for today. Or attending her Painting Peace events in order to express their own frustrations with the continuous stream of wars and rumors or war that fill the headlines and news feeds of every paper, news cast and social media outlet. “Painting Peace will enable members of our community to think about war, and the impact it’s had on them personally, and imagine what it would be like if everyone could just get along and live peacefully,” Lovegrove adds.
Tangentially, Painting Peace will serve to draw attention to Yoko Ono Imagine Peace, a result that Lovegrove will buttress by having literature at each venue that tells people about Wish Tree and urges them to go to the Rauschenberg Gallery so that they can attach their personal wish for peace to the tree. All the wishes collected during the two-month exhibit will be sent to Yoko, who will forward them to the Imagine Peace Tower in Iceland, where more than a million other wishes await.
She also hopes that Painting Peace will inspire others throughout Southwest Florida to give voice to their own reactions to both Yoko’s art and the Imagine Peace billboard on Tamiami Trail.
Leoma undertook a similarly ambitious project in 2011 in conjunction with the 10-year observance of 9-11. In Remember 9-11, people chose the name of a victim from a fish bowl and then painted it on an even larger, 12 x 20 foot canvas. “It not only allowed them to process their own deeply emotional feelings about that tragedy, but to connect to the victim whose name they drew. Many actually researched the victim on their laptops and tablets while they were still at the event. Some even contacted the family to tell them that they’d painted their loved one on the canvas,” relates Lovegrove, who shared in their pain and catharsis during the course of the 4-month Remember 9-11 tour.
Lovegrove has yet to set dates for her otherPainting Peace events, but she intends to “keep it on the islands – Sanibel Island, Captiva Island, Pine Island, Staten Island, Long Island, Anna Marie Island, Useppa Island and so on.” And between events, the canvas will reside on Matlacha Island, where the 500 or so people who visitLovegrove Gallery and Gardens each day will have the opportunity to add their painted blue peace symbol to the 9 x 12 support.
For more information, please call Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens at 239-393-2405 or follow Painting Peace on Facebook. The gallery is located at 4637 Pine Island Road NW, Matlacha, Florida 33993.
For more information on Lovegrove’s show and Painting Peace event at Blue Mangrove Gallery, please telephone 239-393-2405, email [email protected] or visit http://bluemangrovegallery.com/. Blue Mangrove Gallery is located in Suite 417 of the Marco Town Center, 1089 N Collier Blvd., Marco Island, FL 34145.
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Bealls expanding line of Lovegrove painted apparel and merchandise (01-01-14)
Matlacha artist Leoma Lovegrove closed out 2013 with a splash. The Business Observer reported two days after Christmas that starting in January, Beall’s Department Stores is rolling out Lovegrove art on all sorts of products, from apparel, handbags and beach towels to drink ware.
“Beall’s is expanding Lovegrove’s products in response to positive results from ladies’ tops adorned with her art that have sold well in stores this year,” the Observernoted, adding that “Lovegrove’s success brings to mind Guy Harvey, whose fish now adorn countless shirts and other goods at stores such as Bass Pro Shops. His art is particularly popular among sport fishermen.
The new product lines build on the popularity of T-shirts that feature hand-painted renditions of Florida life including sea life, birds and Florida landscapes bursting with tropical color, vibrant tones and brilliant hues. “Bealls is committed to bringing fresh and unique merchandise to our customers,” said Beall’s Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Sean Sondrealwhen introducing the line in February of 2013. “We are thrilled to partner with local artist Leoma Lovegrove in an exclusive collection. Ms. Lovegrove’s striking depictions of our Florida lifestyle make her collection a perfect addition to our Women’s Department.”
Lovegrove is known for expressionist works characterized by exuberant strokes and a palette bursting with vivid tropical color. While she is popularly associated with Florida motifs that include birds, fish, palms and coconuts, Lovegrove easily adapts her quasi-impressionist style to both portraiture and entertainment art. Her subjects have included former President Jimmy Carter (whose portrait hangs in his presidential library in Atlanta) and Sir Richard Branson (whose portrait was commissioned for Virgin Airlines’ headquarters in London). The presidential library of George W. Bush also includes Lovegrove’s work, as do the private collections of actress Sharon Stone and actor Jesse Metcalf.
Lovegrove maintains her gallery, studios and a botanical gardens in picturesque Matlacha, a popular tourist destination for visitors to southwest Florida. The artist holds a degree in illustration from the Ringling School of Art & Design in Sarasota, and has studied at ArtStudy Florida and the Guild de Beaux Arts and ArtStudy Giverny in France. She returns to Europe each spring to recharge her artistic batteries by sketching, drawing and painting in the cradle of the impressionist and expressionist movements.
Bealls Department Stores is a division of Bealls, Inc. Privately held since its opening in 1915, the Bradenton-based retail store now operates more than 540 outlets in 17 states under the names Bealls, Bealls Outlet and Burke’s Outlet. To learn more about Bealls, or to shop online, please visit BeallsFlorida.com.
