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Ronald Shelley
04.05.11
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Ronald’s paintings of the Everglades have been our focus as we prepare for the exhibition, “Native and Natural: Seminoles and Tropical Landscapes.” The veracity of his style prompts me to reflect on the forces and beauties of Nature. My thoughts extend to the enormity of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan—events that were more than the heart and mind could reasonably handle. And now the specter of a nuclear meltdown haunts the television screen recalling the horrors of Hiroshima, Cold War anxieties, and kids “ducking and covering under their desks. The torrents of sea water sweeping away Japan’s attempts at establishing permanency on this Earth made us confront our follies and our sheer powerlessness against the forces of Nature. That Read more…

Ronald Shelley
04.05.11
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Ronald will be displaying his Everglades paintings in “Native & Natural: Seminoles & Tropical Landscapes.” Four new pieces have been added to this joint exhibit with our friend and award-winning artist, Muffy Clark Gill (Naples). Ronald’s paintings and Muffy’s batiks will be exhibited in the Wirtz Gallery of the First National Bank of South Miami. The bank is located at 5750 Sunset Drive, South Miami. The show, which runs until April 29th will feature a closing reception to meet the artists from 6 to 8 PM. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of art will be donated to ArtSpring, a non-profit that uses arts-based educational programming to develop self-growth and effective life skills for incarcerated women, men and Read more…

Ronald Shelley
02.15.11
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Two of Ronald’s landscape paintings were chosen for an exhibition of 38 artists, “Impressions of Florida” at Bonnet House, a historic house museum located on 35 acres of some of the most idyllic land in south Florida. The Fort Lauderdale attraction is a must-see that almost defies description. The winter retreat of two artists from upper class families, Bonnet House is a true reflection of the love that Frederic and Evelyn Bartlett shared. “Cabbage Palms in the Dry Season,” one of my personal favorites, won the second place ribbon. Both it and “Last Light” hang side by side in the Weinhardt Gallery at the Bonnet House. The paintings depict the Everglades in two different seasons, winter and summer. We hope Read more…

Donna Shelley
01.26.11
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We are pleased to announce that three of Ron’s paintings have been selected for two juried art competitions scheduled for late winter. “Impressions of Florida,” an exhibition to be held at Fort Lauderdale’s famed Bonnet House, kicks off on February 11 and ends April 10, 2011. The opening reception begins at 6 PM on the 11th and more information is available on the museum’s website, www.bonnethouse.org. The works for Bonnet House include “Cabbage Palms in the Dry Season” and “Last Light.” Both acrylic on canvas paintings were developed from sketches made during frequent trips to the Everglades. Ron’s ability to accurately capture the details of palm trees, so often misunderstood by other artists, place them among his signature subjects. The Read more…

Ronald Shelley
01.11.11
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The subject of this work is an abandoned cattle chute in Immokalee sketched in the field on Florida’s west coast. Later, Ronald developed it into an acrylic painting complete with an ominous Payne’s Grey-colored sky. Chutes are used occasionally and so they wait patiently as weeds and self-seeded cabbage palms spring up around them. The artist concentrates on their shapes–wooden ribs rising up like stark sentinels while the storm clouds of summer gather. Turkey vultures wheel in the sky as they forage for food or simply amuse themselves. This unusual subject reveals a fact about Florida unknown to most. Cattle-ranching is a centuries-old pursuit that began when the Spanish brought Andalusian stock to the New World. Ronald favors locations that Read more…