Stellers Gallery at Ponte Vedra to feature renowned Florida oil painters
Henry Von Genk, III and Peter Pettegrew
-Masters of the Southern Landscape exhibit to open on May 21, 2010

The opening of the exhibit Masters of the Southern Landscape will be held on Friday, May 21 from 5 pm. until 8 pm at Stellers Gallery at Ponte Vedra, 240 A1A North, Ste. 13 in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.  According to gallery owner Hillary R. Tuttle, as part of the exhibit Von Genk and Pettegrew will act on an idea that they have discussed for years. They will be collaborating on two paintings. Each will start a painting and then leave it to the other to complete. The two artists are friends and contemporaries who have a deep respect for each other’s talent and they are very inspired to be combining their distinctive styles to create a truly unique piece of art.

Von Genk’s magnificent landscape work has been displayed at galleries, museums and commercial mural installations worldwide, yet he resides and works in northeast Florida. Von Genk’s work is widely collected and respected in the oil painting field and offers the viewer a unique and visionary interpretation of our natural world.

Pettegrew’s captivating and impressionistic paintings are also highly collected and feature landscapes painted by the artist who is a naturalist and outdoorsman. Pettegrew works and resides in central Florida.

Stellers Gallery at Ponte Vedra has displayed the works of Von Genk and Pettegrew since 2002. “We are very excited to feature Henry and Peter together and appreciate their relationship as long-time friends and professionals in the fine art world. We are honored to host them on May 21,” said Tuttle.

Von Genk is a self-taught artist who has mastered a realistic style true to his Dutch heritage. Capturing the ocean and the salt marshes of Florida, his work can be “felt” due to his “real as life” paintings. His extraordinary detail and use of shadowing and glazing techniques brings richness and depth that captures life’s subtle nuances and brings his paintings to life. Von Genk’s artistic abilities became apparent at the two years of age. His mother recognized his abilities and inspired her son to developing himself as an artist. At the age of 30, Von Genk mastered his signature, realistic style and his unique techniques in shadowing and realism. After a long and successful career executing murals for museums and clients around the world, he focuses on his life long destiny of fine art.

Von Genk’s love for the tropics and the ocean shines through his work, which centers on the beauty and nature of our earth from the jungles of Costa Rica, to the salt marshes of Florida, and the Caribbean Sea. Von Genk has had many one-man exhibits and has donated paintings for select charity fundraisers. His works are owned by private collectors across the country as well as internationally and include many well known celebrities and major corporations.

Peter Pettegrew is an artist who has devoted his life to capturing the timeless beauty of the natural world on canvas. His spent his early years living in Monterey Bay, California and it was here that his compelling encounters with the natural beauty of the region inspired his first sketches. Recognizing his talent, Peter’s aunt, who is an artist, insisted that he only be given blank paper, no coloring books. As a result, his childhood sketches symbolized the sights and sensations of the ocean landscapes near his home. It wasn’t long before more serious efforts resulted as he turned his focus toward painting.

Peter’s formal art education began when he qualified for admission into Harbor High School, a prestigious and progressive school in Santa Cruz, California dedicated to advancing the development of artistic skills and creative freedom. This was his first introduction into printmaking, as well as an opportunity to study drawing and painting with the school’s gifted and highly dedicated faculty.

In 1980, Peter moved to Florida where he went on to attend The Art Institute. Here he continued to develop his drawing skills by working from the live model and furthered his study of the graphic art techniques which he now employs in his work with hand-pulled serigraphs and stone lithography. In each year that followed, he has furthered his study in individual mediums through private art workshops including oil painting, watercolor and charcoal drawing with respected artists including Florida Highwayman, Sam Newton.

Peter Pettegrew has developed a captivation impressionistic style using delicate tones, subtle luminous lighting and savory blends of color, which have resulted in distinctive paintings for his collectors, and he continues to search out his timeless compositions. The need to completely lose himself in his subject matter is the primary focus that nurtures his inspiration, which he pours into each canvas that he paints. Peter is also inspired by his diverse travels, but he spends a great deal of time exploring Florida’s waterways and marshlands. It is here that he finds the conditions he most loves to express on canvas.

Peter Pettegrew is represented by prestigious galleries throughout the Southeast as well as in California. His paintings have been included in numerous museum exhibitions and can be found in permanent museum collections such as the Polasek Museum in Winter Park. He continues to act on his commitment to promote, protect and preserve the environment through his paintings which are a direct expression of the natural world.

Stellers Gallery at Ponte Vedra is open from Monday through Friday from 11 am until 6 pm and Saturday from 11 am until 4 pm. Phone number is 904.273.6065.

For more information, contact the gallery at 904.273.6065. Visit the website at www.stellersgallery.com.