Diverse Art Exhibition Comes to Marco

Possessed of a wit as sharp as the pencils and pens he uses painstakingly to create masterful landscape and architecture drawings, artist George Morissette explains simply why he likes commission work.

“Your ribs don’t show,” he says. “You’re not going to get rich, but it’s nice to sell stuff.” Morissette, a former New England ski instructor and long-time graphic designer with a local newspaper, is one of three artists whose work is now on display at the Marco Island Center for the Arts on Winterberry Drive.

Dubbed the “Duality of Artistry,” it runs now until August 3 from 9 AM to 4 PM weekdays at the popular and busy center, which weathered the pandemic vacuum impressively because of staff enthusiasm and teamwork, according to Center Executive Director Hyla Crane.

The three artists were chosen because of their mastery of work in multiple mediums, says curator and Center Gallery Committee Chair Barbara Parisi.

Morissette, for example, works in watercolor as well as pen and ink (stippling). Joel Shapses sculpts in stone as well as fused glass on metal, while Brandon Bowe produces superb photography on canvas as well as seascape art on surfboards.

While setting up in the gallery a couple of days before the official July 13 opening reception, Morissette said he remembers being drawn to painting from an early age.

“I never had any training,” he says. “I just observed, read and watched videos. I started by doing uncomplimentary cartoons of a nun in my Catholic School. She had a mustache.”

Later, he refined his stippling technique, often working from house and landscape photos he takes in Naples and on regular visits to New England.

“Watercolors are very loose,” Morissette says. “I tighten up with the pen and inks. Basically, you’re working with two colors - the color of the paper and the pencil color - and creating light and shadow.”

The pandemic didn’t faze Morissette as it did so many people “who went stir crazy,” because he accumulated so many paintings and drawings during that time.

“I was cranking away, man. Covid was horrible, but at least I had something to do.”

Sculptor Joel Shapses likes both mediums with which he works. His favorite stones are marble and granite.

“The harder the stone, the shinier it gets,” says Shapses, who finds his second creative outlet by fusing glass onto aluminum pieces and creating abstract sculptures.

Gordon Bowe did the setup in the absence of his son, Brandon, an artist and professional kite surfer and instructor who was in the Bahamas on assignment at the time.

Brandon Bowe’s photography on canvas and resin/epoxy surfboard art is clearly inspired by his love of the ocean.

“We always encouraged our children to have creative lives,” Gordon says. 

During the pre-exhibition setup, curator Parisi - along with volunteers and Center staff - bubbled with enthusiasm as they suggested various pairings and placement of the artists’ work. “We’re setting up so they flow,” Parisi said.

All works will be on sale during the exhibition.