​ La Esencia de la Flor 2 YEAR: 2016
DIMENSIONS: 40 x 30 MATERIAL: Oil on Linen

​It has been an exciting year already for Stacie Hernandez, local artist and business owner of Palencia Fine Arts Academy, located in Palencia's Village Square.  Stacie participated in a group show this past January in New York City and will be showing her new works Unbound Perspectives at Agora Gallery located in New York’s Chelsea art district from August 26 – September 15.  An artist’s reception will be held September 1.
     Unbound Perspectives is a series of luminous and highly expressionistic oil paintings that are as rich in color as they are dynamic in movement and energy.  Heavily influenced by the Modern Arts movement, Abstract Expressionism, Stacie continues to experiment with new ways of processing ideas and concepts, using innovative approaches to technique and the rendering of materials. 
     Stacie received her Master of Fine Art degree from Pratt Art Institute in Brooklyn and met her husband Ron while living in Brooklyn’s Clinton Hill neighborhood.  After graduating, Stacie worked as co- director for the premier fine art preservation and restoration firm Lowy Restoration and Conservation in the upper East Side of Manhattan.  Stacie and Ron moved with their two daughters Christiana and Alicia to Bergen County New Jersey where Stacie opened The School for the Visual Arts, providing art instruction classes, private lessons, and presenting exhibitions of student works.  In 1996, Stacie and family relocated to Jacksonville and in 2006 they moved to St. Augustine where she continues in her pursuit to educate, exhibit and promote fine arts. 
     As resident artist and instructor at Palencia Fine Arts Academy, Stacie is proud of the extraordinary development of many aspiring artists including those that have gone on to further pursue their art education and talent.  The Academy provides quality art instruction for committed students of varied ages while also being an active studio space and gallery.  Stacie uses her professional knowledge and experience to push her students to explore all mediums, techniques and ideas in group, semi -private and private class projects. Each year culminates with an impressive exhibition of students’ best works.
     PFAA is already looking to start the Fall session and its 5th year of promoting fine art in St. John’s county and beyond.  Stacie can be reached at 904.819.1584 or [email protected] or [email protected]. You can also visit the home page at www.palenciafineartsacademy.com or www.staciehernandez.com .

​Who are you and what do you do? I am the owner of Nature’s Child Photography, and I “catch” all those special moments you just don’t want to lose with the passing of time. 

Why do you do what you do? I’m a firm believer in memories. But, we’re human. Our minds play with us. We forget, until there’s a trigger that’s pulled.  A smell, a taste, a simple photograph found in an old attic box, or hopefully, an album.  Sitting on the couch with your kids, your parents, your loved ones, pouring over the images, telling stories of way back when…THAT’S why.  Family connections rule. 

How do you work? I’m pretty goofy, and I know it. I can be serious when the moment has to happen, and I’m always professional when it boils down, but the best smiles come from real laughter…and if I have to stand on my head to get that, I will! 

What’s your background? I come from a pretty artsy family. Mom and dad were hands on artists with wood, glass, fabrics, you name it, they created it. It seems like I’ve always had a camera in my hands from the day I could afford one. I took a few classes back in college (film days, so I’m totally dating myself!), and have just been on a “roll” ever since…lol, pun intended. You’re welcome. (oh, photographer humor). 

What has been a seminal experience? I decided to make this a business after my mom passed. I suppose the “wake up” moment (where I made a push to have others in front of the camera, AND myself) was going through my mom’s picture box…and there were barely any of her. She never let herself be on camera. You know the drill...”when I’m less heavy”, “when I’m wearing something nice”, “when my hair is done”.  Here’s a secret from someone who’s lost someone…those left behind don’t care if you’re having a “fat” day, or if there’s a hair out of place.  Take that photograph and embrace it for who you are. You’re you, and you’re beautiful. 

Explain what you do in 100 words: I guess, in essence, I TRY to (and hopefully succeed) capture who you are, what you’re about, and the memory behind the image taken to the best of my ability. I want you to be on that couch, 40 years from now, laughing about the time Uncle Jimmy passed gas during the wedding party photo, or even tearing up about the last birthday party had for Aunt Marge.  Memories matter, and I want to capture them for you. 

How has your practice changed over time: Photography is an evolution as all art is. I started with shooting EVERYTHING, and well…I still shoot everything, don’t I? But I’m better than when I started. :D 

What work do you most enjoying doing?  I LOVE birth photography. LOVE IT. To see the emotions flying during the eons of waiting in the hospital room from mom, dad, nurses, doctors…and then the moment of birth. BEAUTIFUL, and to be there DURING a new life entering the world? Chokes me up every time. When mom gets to hold that baby the first time?  When dad cuts the cord? THOSE are priceless times you NEVER want to forget. 

What’s your strongest memory of your childhood? I grew up on a farm with 5 brothers and sisters, so SO MANY MEMORIES! My mom having bread rise on the wood stove, helping daddy by taking off those durn potato bugs in the garden, swimming in the creek, summers at my grandma’s farm…good stuff.  

What’s your scariest experience? I would say it was while I was shooting at a beautiful swampy pond.  I heard an alligator hiss, so I stepped back…right onto a limb going across the path. I rolled my ankle and CRACKED MY CAMERA LENS (yes, that was worse than the ankle roll). 

What jobs have you done other than being an artist? I taught preschool for umpteen years, directed and managed a preschool summer camp for same amount of years, and was in the Air Force as well. 

What memorable responses have you had to your work? I watched a photo video I had made of a birth story with the parents.  We all held hands, cried, and hugged it out.  It was a beautiful, wonderful, real moment that I will hold FOREVER. 

What food/song/drink inspire you?  COFFEE.  ALL OF THE COFFEE. 

What do you like about your work? Pretty much EVERYTHING. I love meeting new people, making the new friends that actually winds up happening, the locations I get to go, the events and celebrations taking place, the memories you see happening right in front of you, and knowing you get to be the one helping them remember it for the rest of their lives. Yup, I kind of have the perfect job.  
www.natureschildphotography.com/

​Love of nature is evident in Robert Stebleton’s artwork.  His paintings have been described as using the brilliance of acrylics with the eloquence of watercolors to achieve a unique view of the artist’s world.  
     Born in Michigan, Stebleton’s early work reflected his Midwestern roots.  In 1982, following a workshop on Monhegan Island, Robert moved to Maine.  He was hired by the Maine Maritime Museum as Artist-In-Residence and for the next 19 years he studied and painted the coastline and its inhabitants. These paintings captured a rapidly disappearing world of wooden boats and the lifestyle of generations of families that had a connection to the sea. 
     Since moving to Florida, Robert Stebleton’s palate has changed from subtle earth tones to nature’s vast array of color in a visceral sense of beauty and wonder. Whether it’s a lively montage of seashells, alligators sunning themselves on a cool Florida winter day, or an enchanting seascape that captures reflected light on water, his work presents sensitive scenes of Florida’s tropical splendor. 
     Dividing his time between Florida and New England, Robert Stebleton’s appreciation for depicting natural and marine environments remains.  In Northeast Florida, he is represented by Sea Spirits Gallery and Lost Art Gallery at 210 St. George Street, in historic downtown Saint Augustine.   

​Rebecca Trimble is an accomplished fine artist, furniture artist and internationally recognized art teacher who has recently opened Urban Designs, a shop in Julington Creek.  The shop is a wonderland for those looking for beautiful and interesting pieces as well as unique paintings, and other wall art for their homes. 
     Rebecca along with other vendors whose work is available in the store use various painting techniques to re-imagine wood furniture, taking that boring old oak table and transforming it into a stylish art piece with gray legs and a refinished wooden top. There are many pieces already in the shop but Urban Designs will custom-make farm tables or reinvent pieces you have in your home. 
    Rebecca is also the mother of four children and the wife of a Navy Officer. “We have recently moved here from the Pacific Northwest and I have to say I am in love with Florida, but especially this area of St. John’s.  I am a huge fan of the weather (yes even in August!) and the people in this area are simply lovely."
     After their move, Rebecca, who has years of experience in all areas of painting and is the author of a series of art technique books and DVDs called Rebecca's Collections, continued painting furniture and murals, later deciding to open a store front to offer local customers a full spectrum of services. “We also paint kitchen and bathroom cabinets and, as a certified home stager, we offer home staging and design help”.
     Rebecca uses the artist’s eye when it comes to painting furniture and says her process involves viewing a piece and then imagining how she wants to recreate it with paint. As a well-known landscape artist who teaches painting classes across the US and Canada, Rebecca says she has always been an artist, never  without a paint brush in her hand. Her recent passion is for Tuscan inspired landscapes with their vivid colors and beauty. She also enjoys Impressionism art for its color and movement.  Her favorite piece is Edvard Munch, The Scream.
     Rebecca offers painting classes at Urban Design for the experienced and novice alike.
    For more information about Urban Designs and the art of Rebecca Trimble please visit the store in Julington Creek or find it on facebook.