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ART

 

'Fashion is art and you are the canvas' - COCO CHANEL

Eight artists are featured at Canvas. Original works and commissioned pieces are available in store. Learn more about these talented women and we are sure you will love them as much as we do...

 

 

Alison Curtis

 When did you begin creating art?

 I began creating art in my early elementary years and I really concentrated on drawing/painting in middle school. I would lock myself in my room for hours and just draw, draw, draw. I then moved on to more professional training at Gibbs High School for the art magnet program, where I was able to practice in advanced drawing, painting, photography, sculpting, history, pretty much anything and everything related to fine art. In my college years, I branched out and had extensive training in Fashion Design and Illustration at Parsons School of Design in NYC.

 Where are you from?

 I am one of the very few born and raised in our very own St. Petersburg. I did move to Tallahassee and NYC for college and then started my fashion career in Miami. I moved back to the Berg 10 years ago and couldn’t be happier.

 Who are your favorite artists?

 I have many… Elaine de Kooning, Andy Warhol, Matisse and Michelangelo I looked up to a lot in my childhood. I still often refer to their pieces when I need some inspiration. I do have some younger artists that I am in love with such as Deann Hebert, Teil Duncan, Alisa Burke and Flora Bowley. I would love to paint with any one of those ladies for just one day!

 What inspires your art?

 It really depends… I get inspired everywhere, everyday – it may be flipping through a fashion magazine, listening to music, walking through an art store, the smell of paint or simply a color. Really it’s when I am creating the piece, I get inspired the most. Painting is so therapeutic to me and is my release. I am the most free and “ME” when I have a paint brush in my hand and paints on my pallet.

 How would you describe your style?

 I would say that my pieces are abstract decorative art. I love color and get so excited to see colors work together that one would never think to use. I start out with two to three colors and then get inspired to use other’s to bring the piece together. I follow the direction of the stroke or the shape that the combinations of the paints create. I just go with it and am very free in my painting, but I do have a method and am a perfectionist and only know when the painting is complete when I get that intuitive feeling inside. I just know.….As far as my portrait paintings, I start off with a very stiff image and then create it into an abstract and whimsical piece, again using the colors and paint strokes to customize the piece. All my training had always been so strict when it came to painting techniques, now I go with what I feel and looks good to the eye. If it makes me happy, then I stop – or come back to the same piece weeks later. No painting is perfect, which is what I love the most – as neither are we.

  

Kelly Aldridge

When did you begin creating art?

 I started painting in 2007 for fun one afternoon with a friend and it just stuck with me ever since. I've developed my style over the years since those beginning stages.

 Where are you from?

 I'm originally from St. Petersburg but have lived in Miami and Los Angeles for several years before returning home.

Who are your favorite artists?

 Cy Twombly, Franz Kline, Picasso and Jackson Pollock.

 What inspires your art?

 I get inspired by all kinds of things but mostly fashion, glamour and street art. I'm also inspired a lot by textures and patterns.

 How would you describe your style?

 Oversized. Glamorous. Edgy. High contrast details describe my style pretty well. My paintings are very much a mix of high fashion & edgy texturized works. Men and women both love my work bc it offers a little bit of style with an edgy tone which works for both sexes.

 "I paint to make a statement" -Kelly Aldridge

  

Evelyn Henson

 When did you begin creating art?

 I've always been creating art to some extent! I was always doodling growing up and I used to spend hours on the old Microsoft Paint Program designing my own patterns for birthday cards, school projects, etc. I didn't start painting until the end of college though. My friends gave me a box of old craft paints and I decided I'd paint my mom some flowers for Mother's Day. I haven't put down the paint brush since! Art brings out my happiest, brightest self.

 Where are you from?

 Columbus, GA

 Who are your favorite artists?

 Donald Drawbertson, Raoul Dufy, Bella Foster, Matisse, Sally King Benedict...

 What inspires your art?

 Practically everything! The other day I illustrated a newspaper, a movie ticket stub, and an umbrella. I just love drawing random things and bringing an illustrative charm to them. For me, the fun part of art is uncovering the joy in the everyday, and I often find that joy in very unexpected places.

 How would you describe your style?

 Happy, feminine, and bright!

 

 Ann Schwartz

When did you begin creating art?

Art has always been a big part of my life.  I asked for my first art easel on my 7th birthday!  While I have always studied and created art throughout different phases of my life, I really dove back in once my children were born and have really enjoyed experimenting with different styles and techniques.   

Where are you from?

I was raised in Charlotte, North Carolina but have lived in Charleston, South Carolina for the past 14 years. 

Who are your favorite artists? 

Charleston has some wonderful local artists.  I absolutely love Teil Duncan’s beach scenes and love the impressionistic work of Kevin LePrince.  However, my favorite artist is my best friend’s mother, Frances Fennebresque, who really inspired me from a young age while watching her paint growing up! 

What inspires your art?

I am constantly inspired by my beautiful surroundings in Charleston!  My husband is an avid fisherman, so I spend a lot of time exploring the marshes and various beaches nearby which provides endless ideas for my paintings.    

How would you describe your style?

I venture back and forth between impressionist and abstract art.  With my abstracts, I usually do start with a subject matter in mind, and exaggerate its form as I go! 

 

Sallie Bynum Anzelmo

 From spending time on her family’s farm, to enjoying life along the Louisiana gulf coast, Sallie Bynum Anzelmo has a passion for painting and designing inspired by the colors, textures, and natural elements that surround her life in the South. 

After teaching art for nearly ten years, she now focuses on her growing business, Sallie Bynum Anzelmo Art & Decor. Sallie currently resides in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with her husband, Charles, and bluetick coonhound, Mamie Blue. Her one of a kind décor items, signature gold oyster shells, and paintings can be found in various locations throughout the Gulf States.