Get Your Valentine Something Special At Paul Brent Gallery!

staff — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 20:41:37 +0000

Hearts Flutter for the Paul Brent Gallery

If you haven’t picked up your gifts yet for friends or lovers make sure you stop by the Paul Brent Gallery in Downtown Panama City!

They have a great selection of jewelry, blown glass, and artwork so come by and see for yourself all the great gift giving ideas Paul Brent Gallery has to offer!

Don’t forget to check out the FREE 8X10 Print Coupon available on our site:http://travelpcb.com/coupons_details.php?id=50

Don’t know Paul Brent? Here’s a little insight into this magnificent artist!

Paul Brent is a Panama City artist whose work is known worldwide. He first came to Bay County in 1969 and his paintings in watercolor and oil have deftly portrayed the many aspects of the area capturing the innate beauty on paper and canvas. Often he is referred to as America’s best know coastal artist and he is best known for his idyllic watercolors of coastal life. However, his work has shown constant progression and change throughout his career. The first pieces of art work that he sold in 1976 were pen and ink drawings of coastal wildlife that he tinted with light washes of watercolor on illustration board and later 300lb watercolor paper. By 1978 he had dropped the pen and ink and was doing more detailed and volumetric paintings of the same subjects, mostly shorebirds and shells. His paintings still used the white paper for much of the background.

In 1982, after some experimentation, he launched a new style that featured a painted wash background with drips and splashes of watercolor that ran off the image area. The backgrounds had much of the same action of Jackson Pollack’s work. He would then add salt to the wet flow of paint to add texture and depth through the chemical reaction of the dissolving salt with the fluid paint. On top of this loose background, Paul Brent would paint detailed, almost scientific, renderings of tropical fish, birds, shells and flowers along with geometric shapes of French curves, triangles, circles and sometimes three dimensional shapes. This was a blend of his architectural training plus his watercolor techniques and he called this style “Watercolor Montage”. This term means several unrelated images and techniques that are composed together but created in one medium. The composition might look much like a collage that is a series of images that are glued together. As this period evolved in the later 80’s his work become more realistic with less and less splashes and geometrics. The white edge of paper remained but instead of a drip edge he moved to a where the irregular edge of an inner image was painted more deeply and the image flowed past the border. He called this style a “Structured Vignette”. He began to paint scenic coastal landscapes and seascapes and was chosen of one of only two official artists to portray the new town of Seaside Florida when it began to be built. His work of early Seaside became well known as he entered the print publishing business in 1986. Sailboats, fishing boats then followed by landscapes and wildlife of the Southwest, hot air balloons, flowers and garden scenes were all subjects he portrayed through the early 90’s. In the later 90’s he began to surround his inner images with decorative borders that would relate to his licensed work and he continued with many of the same subject that he had worked with in the past as well as visit other coastal areas around the U.S. as well as the Caribbean.

At the turn of the century Paul Brent’s work took another turn when he began to paint seriously in oil, first on tempered board that he hand gessoed and later on canvas as well as board. His first oils reflected the transparent tradition of watercolors but he soon moved in to richer layered paintings that explore the depth of color possible with oil paint. Soon vibrant florals and tropical scenes were being created and the palm tree became the icon subject of his work. A series called “Plantation Home” was painted that reflected vintage Hawaiian subjects. His latest work once more has the feeling of collage as he works with both watercolor and oil to create images that are graphically composed with antique prints, stamps, textures, calligraphy and found objects. In a recent trade publication advertisement Paul Brent used the quote “one artist many visions” and a retrospective of his professional work would validate the claim.

Paul Brent was born in Oklahoma City in 1946. His father, Paul Leslie Brent, and his mother, Aledo Render Brent, were both educators. From the age of five until he was thirteen, Paul Brent lived in southwest Oklahoma in the community of Alden where his father was the superintendent of the school system and his mother taught first and second grades. Interested in art at an early age, his mother encouraged him by providing art supplies and working with him on arts and craft projects. In 1959 he moved with his parents and his older sister, Carolyn, to Long Beach, California. His father had accepted a professorship at California State University at Long Beach and his mother began teaching in an elementary school in Westminster, California. After graduating from high school, he decided to major in art at California State University at Long Beach. There he studied for two years before he decided to change his major to architecture and transfer to the University of California at Berkeley. He completed his Bachelor of Architecture degree in 1968 and following graduation he joined the Air Force where, after training, he was stationed at Tyndall Air Force Base in Panama City in 1969.

He began residing at Mexico Beach and was enthralled with the beaches and the wildlife on the shores and began collecting shells and constructing them into works of art. He also began painting watercolors of the beach and the wildlife. At Tyndall he began his Air Force career as a first lieutenant filling the position of Avionics Officer with the 4750th Test Squadron. A few months after he arrived in Bay County, he met Lana Jane Lewis and in 1971 they were married. Finishing his tour of duty in 1972 in the rank of Captain, he worked for two local architects before he returned to the University of California in 1972 to complete his Master of Architecture degree. Upon graduating in 1974, Paul and Lana Jane returned to Panama City where Lana Jane resumed her work at Sunshine-Jr. Stores Inc. and Paul worked briefly at Flagala, a construction company, as a designer and draftsman. In 1975 Paul began to design homes from his home studio on South MacArthur Ave. in the Cove and pursue his interest in art. With the encouragement of a friend who was an artist, David Bush, and Mary Ola Miller, the owner of the Gallery of Art in Panama City, Paul began to sell his work at outdoor shows and in art galleries in the Southeast. In 1978, Paul and Lana Jane moved into a new home that Paul had designed in the Cove on Dewitt St. The design of the home was totally different for Bay County and was a statement of modern design that responded to the sloping lot and the water view of Lake Van Vac. The new home also incorporated a studio and office for Paul to continue his art and residential design business. Paul also designed the graphics for the Sunshine-Jr. annual reports during the years from 1971 to 1990.

By 1986, Paul’s business had grown and he began marketing prints of his watercolors. In 1987, he became a licensed interior designer and member of ASID, designing interiors for local businesses and homes. Paul initially painted wildlife and progressed to beach scenes, landscapes, underwater scenes, garden subjects and paintings from his travels, including views of the Southwest, the Caribbean, lighthouses, the Northwest coast and historical scenes of Bay County. He was accepted as a signature member into the Florida Watercolor Society, the Southeastern Watercolor Society and the National Watercolor Society. In 1986 he located his business into an office and studio at 747 Jenks Ave. and in 1990 he built an 8000 square-foot gallery, studio and distribution center at 413 W. 5th St. on the corner of Beach Drive in downtown Panama City that he designed. In 1992, his wife, Lana Jane, joined him in his business in the position of president of the company, Paul Brent, Designer.

Every year he continued to add new subjects to his repertoire. He began licensing his work in 1988, beginning with bookmarks, bed linens and insulated barware. In 1996, he illustrated the book, J. Rooker, Manatee, by author Jan Haley. Following its publication he was inducted into the Society of Illustrators in New York. He later had a one-man show in their galleries. Articles on Paul Brent’s artwork have appeared in American Artist, Décor, Art World News, Art Business News and Florida Monthly magazines. In 2002, Paul was a winner in the Best Artist category in the Best of Florida Awards sponsored by Florida magazine. In the same year he was nominated by LIMA, a licensing industry organization, for Best License and Overall Best License for the year 2001. In 2003 he wrote and created the artwork for a book entitled Wonderful Watercolors with Paul Brent for North Light Publishing. In the May, 2006 issues of Coastal Living Magazine Paul Brent was profiled in an article entitled “Watercolor Memories”. He was also included in an article in the Wall Street Journal that described the phenomena of artists achieving success outside of the New York gallery scene. Paul has published over 500 images in print of his work that includes his well-known watercolors as well as his recent oil paintings. He currently licenses his images to over 70 manufacturers who produce products such as wall coverings, textiles, bedding, shower curtains, apparel, paper products, gift items, house wares, decorative home accessories and furniture. In 2002 The Paul Brent print publishing business was licensed to Gango Editions in Portland, Oregon. The studio now published limited edition lithographs and giclees. He has created posters and limited edition prints for organizations such as FSU Panama City Campus, the New Orleans Aquarium, and the Sanibel Jazz Festival. He is also known for his portrayal of local scenes on calendars for Boyd Brothers, The Red Cross, and Arizona Chemical. In 2005 his oil painting, Abstract Violin, was selected for inclusion in the publication Culture Builds Florida’s Future produced by the Florida Department of State, Office of Cultural and Historic Programs.

Paul has been active in Arts and planning organizations both locally and in the state of Florida. He served on the board and was president for four years of Bay Arts Alliance. He was on the board of the Friends of the Bay County Libraries and the Greater Downtown Association. He served as board member and Secretary on the Florida Arts Council and was a board member of the Florida Humanities Council. He has donated his art for many local charities including the Spring Festival of the Arts that he participated in for 25 years. He painted two life-sized dolphins for the community’s “Dolphin Splash” fund raising event and has been participation in the Covenant Hospice Mask Parade since its inception in 2003.

Paul and Lana Jane have two sons, Jensen 26, a graduate of the University of Miami in Ohio and currently conducting research in sports medicine at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and Anders, 17, a senior at Bay High in Panama City.

So pick up a pencil, paint brush or pen and doodle away! It might be worth something to someone someday!

For more information on Paul Brent Gallery, check out: http://www.paulbrentgallery.com

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Get Your Valentine Something Special At Paul Brent Gallery!