Duncan McLellan and the Highwaymen Converge at Selby Gardens

Stephenie and Steve with "Sacred Oak" and "Communication"

You've got to hand it to Selby Gardens. I can think of few things less appealing than trudging through a botanical garden on a hot and humid summer day. (Spoken like a true nature lover, I know.) But Selby lured me in for a visit with two indoor exhibits that celebrate the beauty of nature. 

For the fourth year running, works from the Duncan McLellan Gallery are being featured in an exhibit entitled "In Dialogue with Nature: Glass in the Gardens." With the Highwaymen taking over the Museum of Botany and the Arts, this year's exhibit was housed primarily in the somewhat steamy Tropical Conservatory. So much for staying cool!  

"My Garden" by Duncan McClellan

McLellan is nothing short of a studio glass genius. No matter how many times I've seen his work, I always marvel at both their size and the detailed images he creates. Stephenie and Steve are in this picture both because they're so darn cute and to give a sense of scale. While they are a few steps back, you can see that McClellan's pieces are are quite large -- many are close to two feet high. And the works definitely have some heft. McClellan has said it often takes four people to blow one of these vessels, which can weigh as much as 40 pounds coming out of the kiln. McClellan calls the required choreography "a ballet with molten glass." 

What really blows my mind, though, is McClellan's etching on each work.  After creating a sketch of the world he wants to create, McClellan uses an exacto knife to carve the image. It must be an incredibly delicate process. To read my take-away from a lecture McClellan gave at Selby a couple of years ago, click here. And to explore what's happening in his gallery in St. Pete, click here. Better yet, stop by for a visit. 

"Royal Poinciana on the Indian River" by Mary Ann Carroll

After enjoying McClellan's art, we headed to the Museum to take in "We Dream a World: The Highwaymen." Here's a confession: Historically, I haven't been a huge fan of the Highwaymen's art. Having seen a handful of these artists' paintings, the colors have struck me as a bit strident. It's not fair, of course, to lump the work of all 26 artists categorized as "Highwaymen" together. And that's one of the ideas behind the exhibit -- to allow viewers an opportunity to look at the work of these artists as individuals. Thanks to Selby's educational programs, I've learned that while many of the artists knew each other, their art shouldn't be considered a movement like impressionism or neoclassicism. In fact, the label "Highwaymen" wasn't coined until 1995 -- long after most of these artists had put their paints away -- when Jim Fitch wrote a book about artists who sold their works from the trunks of their cars on Florida roads. 

"Old Florida" by Alfred Hair

Back in the 1950s, when the United States was still officially segregated, young Alfred Hair was a student of Zenobia Jefferson at Lincoln High in Fort Pierce. She recognized Hair's budding talent and introduced him to A.E. "Beanie" Backus, a white artist who was colorblind when it came to human beings. Backus taught Hair both art and marketing skills. Hair learned that landscape paintings depicting tropical sunsets and the flora and fauna of Old Florida were popular with both locals and tourists. And so he painted scenes like the one here fast and furiously. Volume was important if he was going to make a living doing something other than manual labor or picking fruit in the fields. "Paint slow when you get old," Hair said to fellow artist James Gibson. (Gibson took this advice to heart. His own business strategy also included checking out paint and carpet stores to see what colors were popular so he could create paintings perfect for OTC -- over the couch.)  Hair is considered the first of the Highwaymen artists.  

"Rough Surf Crashing" by Harold Newton

Harold Newton deviated from the mode of working as quickly as he could. He considered himself a serious artist rather than a person just painting to make ends meet. Like most of the Highwaymen, Newton was primarily self-taught. Newton used not only paintbrushes and palette knives to create his works; he also wielded pocket knives and the occasional spoon to attack his canvas.

"Palm on the River" by Harold Newton

It's worth noting that these artists' canvases generally weren't of the cotton or linen variety. The Highwaymen often painted on upson board, a building material that could be purchased inexpensively at lumber yards. A single piece of upson board could be cut into several canvases of different sizes. Like his fellow artists, Newton would create frames for his works from crown molding. This was a practical as well as aesthetic choice. The paintings needed to be stackable in the artists' cars as they headed out to sell what were often still-wet works of art. 

After visiting the exhibit and learning the stories behind the Highwaymen and their art, I have a greater appreciation for their work. Kudos to these artists for their entrepreneurial spirit and to Selby Gardens for putting this exhibit together. 

"In Dialogue with Nature: Glass in the Gardens" and "We Dream a World: The Highwaymen" are on display through September 26. For more information, click here.