June 10, 2004 – Have you ever wondered just how those artists create those portraits that catch people just so, those Caribbean landscapes that sometimes exceed or sometimes reflect reality?
Monday, June 14, at the Gallery St. Thomas, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., you'll have the opportunity to see an artist who is known, a release said, for "her realistic and romantic Caribbean landscapes," demonstrate oil painting. Aphrodite will complete a painting she started, she said, two days ago.
The Caribbean is "home," Aphrodite says, and even when she's spending time in Florida, she paints Caribbean landscapes. For the past several months, she's been steadily painting three to four days a week, and she says that results in an evolving style, "a growth spurt in style," if you will. Her colors are softer and yet more precisely applied. Her brush strokes are more free, looser — at a loss for words at that point, she says, "Just come on in and see."
As chairperson of the Citrus County Art League in Florida, she organizes a weekly portrait session with a sitting model for artists — professional or amateur, in their 30s or in their 90s — and she herself paints as well. This has taught her discipine and attention to capturing mood and expression which has carried over into her landscape oil paintings.
For the wedding season, she will be scheduling commissions, and is happy to personalize a painting.
Claire Ochoa's Gallery St. Thomas, midway up the hill from Garden Street and Government Hill, is reached by steps, either up from Commandant Gade just off Main Street or down from Herve's Restaurant. Call the gallery for more information at 777-6363.
For more about Aphrodite and her art, see an earlier Source showcase article, Aphrodite Show Opens at Gallery St. Thomas or the Gallery St. Thomas Web site
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