Thanks to the efforts of the intrepid Lila Blakeslee of Gallery 14 and by an arrangement with the City of Vero Beach we are delighted to announce a solution to the parking problem that occurs the first Friday of each month during the Downtown Art Stroll. We will now have a free shuttle service for all strollers who use the city parking lot at the corner of 20th Street (Route 60) just west of the RR tracks and across the street from Jetsons Appliance Store. The shuttle will run regularly from 5 pm until 8 pm and will make the loop down 14th Avenue and back down Old Dixie so that all the art galleries along the way will be accessible by shuttle service.
There will be signs identifying the parking lot and specifying the shuttle service. This service is being provided by the art galleries for your convenience. So if you come downtown and can't find a spot all you have to do is use that very convenient lot and hop on our shuttle. Restaurant patrons are also welcome to use this service. If you're coming from the beach just head west on Rt 60 and make a left into the parking lot immediately after the tracks.
Host an art party for any age, any occasion here at Lighthouse. We provide an image, all the supplies along with the clean-up and everyone goes home with a master piece!
Call Sam at 772-567-2212 to book your party today!
Giving back and supporting our community is part of our mission. Lighthouse Art and Framing is proud to be partnered with the following nonprofit organizations:
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Browse the selection of art supplies at SLSarts.com and order through us. Enjoy our standard discounts, with no shipping fees!
Join us every Wednesday night from 6:15- 8:15 pm for our Open Studio drawing session.
Sketch a live model with your preferred medium, instruction available, $15 fee.
We are the exclusive dealer of Joseph Foster Easels. Finest easels in production, handmade in the U.S.A!
Celebrating after the successful auction of #WhatDoesYourYogaLookLike? canvases. Lighthouse proudly raised almost $400.00 and brought awareness to SafeSpace.
Featuring Lisa Jill Allison
In the Gallery through January.
Ms. Allison who has been exhibiting her series of birch tree paintings titled “Nostalgia” in the gallery all this month is excited to be doing back to back presentations of her work.
“Lisa Jill Allison is probably our most prolific and certainly our most successful artist in terms of sales” says Barry Shapiro, owner of Lighthouse Art and Framing. “So it was a bit of karma that she came to me and asked for the next available exhibit time. The reaction to her December show has been fantastic and but she had an entirely new series of paintings she wished to premiere and hoped she could get in sooner than later. It was serendipitous that on the day she called we were calling other artists to try to re-arrange the schedule.”
This show expands upon the work that Allison has been processing throughout 2014 and segues beautifully into the New Year. “I believe that RED represents many things” says Allison, “including that energy that one needs to break through to the next level of achievement. With this next phase of my work I feel I’m making that breakthrough.”
Ms. Allison has had several breakthroughs in the last couple of years. Last year she moved her studio from her home in Stuart to the Art Mundo Building in Ft. Pierce. The combination of having expanded space to work and the energy of her fellow artists to feed off of has led to larger canvases, a more focused approach and the development of her own style that seems to appeal to a wide range of artistic tastes. She has also expanded her reach to collectors by exhibiting in galleries as far as St. Augustine and Miami. But it is at Lighthouse in Vero Beach where she seems to have carved out a home. RED will be her 5th show here since the gallery opened almost 5 years ago. For Mr. Shapiro, it is only the beginning. “She’s evolving and we want to make that journey with her. She’s certainly one of the most exciting artists around and she continues to amaze us with her skill.”
"In All Her Splendor"
RED is the color of new beginnings! RED is excitement, RED is love and RED is the most emotional color of all!” - Lisa Jill Allison
Featuring Cindy Leon and Kristen Meek
In our Gallery through the month of February
But all the magic I have known I've had to make myself... Shel Silverstein
It's safe to say maturity won't kill your dreams; but with reality of daily life, adulthood can prove otherwise so with unpreventable circumstances as causing factors in the extinguishing of childhood wonder. Yet when you ask Kristin Meek and Cindy Leon if that's so, both local artists here in Indian River County, paint a different picture. These ladies are utilizing their youthful imaginations to bring to life the hopes and dreams of two little girls growing up, separately, watching the tales of mermaids in such hits as the 80s cult classic "Splash" and Disney's unprecedented "The Little Mermaid"; the desire to live in the depths of the big blue sea as what else, a mermaid. Twisted into an adult version the two women while fusing their talents set out to create art exposing the siren of the sea.
Kristin Meek, a local clothing and textile designer, launched her tropical everyday wear in 2008 and hasn't looked back. Constantly pressing forward she has been able to incorporate her laid back beachy lifestyle to each and every original custom piece. So when asked what's next, Meek simply replies "Mermaids!". Past collections adorning starfish, crustaceans and her signature floral appliqués won't be leaving the shelves anytime soon, Kristin is just making room for something "new and long time planned" she admits.
With the help from local commercial and fashion photographer, Cindy Leon, also no stranger to handwork, has been photographing since her teenage years expanding upon her craft with both film and digital imagery. Amazingly enough these two best friends finally put together a vision from both early childhood role playing and adult daydreams. "I can't exactly remember the first time it came up," says Cindy. "We love the beach, and have always felt inspired from its vastness. Often discussing creation, and the mysteries of the big blue, I guess it just came out one day how much we love mermaids".
Occasional discussions between Meek and Leon revealed lifelong aspirations to be apart of the elusive world of mermaids. For Cindy that would also entail photographing one, while Kristin was determined to create a usable mermaid tail. No more were the days of pressing your legs tightly close together drawing on long breaths and imaginations employed. Mermaid tails and undersea photo shoots were now on the ladies' agendas. Yet to create the underwater world wasn't enough. Both Kristin and Cindy wanted to make art: wearable and printable the two quickly came up with the collaboration, titled “mermaid among us"
Kristin Meek comments "the idea of capturing a underwater scene of a mermaid's life is one that has stuck with us for years, and honestly we just couldn't let it go." So with anything they do collaboratively, the two early on would seek out inspiration; exchanging over 100 images via text and email with correspondence. In the later months: Meek utilized her design skills to construct a tail from scratch, while Cindy tested methods of both digital and film photography under water. Together pulling samples of fabrics, hair ideas and eventually finding the "perfect" model to play the part they forged ahead.
Cindy Leon and Kristin Meek were able to comb their skills creating what they always wanted, a body of work that produced final images to to be printed, as well as wearable textiles. These images and wearable art quickly become a labor of love, after hours/days/weeks of prep and multiple photo shoots these ladies along with mermaid present, will celebrate the launch of a collaboration years in the making, guaranteeing the night will be as magical as their dreams.
Check out the individual works of both artists here:
We are the premier Art Gallery and Frame Shop in Indian River County. Our mission is to serve the cultural needs of the artists and art lovers of Indian River County and beyond. At Lighthouse Art and Framing, we’re dedicated to promoting all art forms and cultural events. We take pride in delivering the finest service backed up by years of experience and study. We believe in delivering a quality product at a fair price and involving our customers in the process. After all, these are your prized possessions and works! -Barry Shapiro, Owner
With a huge selection of custom frame designs, popular readymade frame styles and a creative approach to handling your precious memories and collectibles, Lighthouse is truly the place where art is everything! We frame everything from baseball cards to baseball bats, from died flowers, to fishing lures, from WWII medals of valor to your own original art!
Melibe Thomas: a beautiful antique Japanese painted fan
Janice Woodbury: WWII
Dr. DeMar: diplomas and certificates for his practice
Bonnie Caffray: a vintage cover of Sailboat Magazine
Kathleen Martin: large Peruvian oil painting
Scott Johnson: several old English watercolors for his showroom
JR Fitch: a series of auto races for his garage
Steve Hoffman: a classic CBS Records poster
Craig Rappel: certificates and diplomas for his office
Phil Summers: multipule giclees
Page 2 Design: 2 enhanced sea coral prints
Katy Lynn Designs: custom mirror designs
J. Price Design: fan coral shadowbox
So many people are in need of a reliable and expert way to clean or repair works that have been damaged by age, exposure to the elements, niotine smoke, mold, or simply by having been mishandled or dropped. Here at Lighthouse, we have saved and repaired countless pieces of art.
Recently, we restored a portrait by Marlene Putname of Opera diva Debra Voight. We also cleaned a watercolor from the early 1800's which revealed elements in the painting that could not be seen before.
Currently, we are working closely with Caroline Carson to clean and reapir a trove of paintings by her very skilled grandfather. The ouvre is comprised genre minitures and highly detailed portraits of large ships on panel. The repair work is painstaking but the end result is marvelous.
Richard Currier, "One Red Apple" Oil on Canvas
Much of our showroom is used as an outlet to display art of various kinds by local fine artists and craftsmen. We strive to represent artists who have perfected their chosen medium, who offer unique and beautiful works.
Ron Van Sweringen- Oil, Acrylic
Dave Farrow- Acrylic
Carol Bennett- Watercolor, acrylic, Mixed media
Cindy Leon- Photography
Greg Ingerson- Mixed media, 3-dimensional
Lisa Jill Allison- Acrylic
Aric Attas- Photography
Rich Gombar- Oil
Barry Shapiro- Acrylic
Franklin Faust- Watercolor
Jeanenne Honstein- Oil, Watercolor
Mike Malone- Woodtuner
Sharon Sedlar- Stained Glass
Nikki Farrow- Jewelry
Richard Currier- Oil
Ger O'Sullivan- Acrylic
Gwen McNenney- Mixed Media
Patricia Hope Miles- Acrylic
Helen Benda- Oil, Acrylic
Virginia Best-Oil, Acrylic
Patricia has always been surrounded by art and fashion. Her early career began as a Wilhelmania model where she had the opportunity to tour the world's great cultural centers. Moving from in front of the camera, to behind the scenes, she became one of New York's top celebrity fashion stylists for TV and film. Patricia has worked with Fortune 500 movers and shakers, movie stars, and celebrities from the world of sports. She has been an adjunct professor at New York's Fashion Insititue, and was a celebrity stylist for TV's "Inside Edition". With a stong background in production, she has also worked as a personal style consultant and set designer for several photographers.
Art, music and culture are her passions. Though never a trained painter, she loved to dabble in what she calls "art therapy" and takes a brush to canvas whenever possible. At Lighthouse the thing she loves most is helping customers select a beautiful frame for their home.
What many people don't realize is that they are really selecting a piece of furniture, just as they would a sofa or table, and that the decision is just as important beacuse the piece can the the entire focus of their room.
Barry Shapiro’s entire career has centered on art and media. His first job, while still in high school was working for an art and frame shop in Livingston, New Jersey. He is a graduate of Pratt Institute with a BFA in painting and drawing and a minor in printmaking. After school he worked as an art restorer, an illustrator and designer before eventually segueing to a career in film and television. As a writer/director he created television commercials, corporate films, public service announcements as well as print advertising. After 9-11 he left New York with his wife Patricia and settled in Vero Beach, returned to painting and bought Lighthouse Art and Framing in 2010.
In addition to framing art he serves on the President’s Committee for New York City Relief for the Homeless, is a member of the Director’s Guild of America, sits on the board of the Business Improvement District of Vero Beach, the marketing committee of S.A.F.E.R.
Southwest PPFA Board Member
