First Friday in Saint Augustine: A walk through Art Walk

Founded in 1565, St. Augustine is the oldest continually occupied European settlement in the U.S. It’s a city with rich heritage and culture, and it served as the capital of Spanish Florida for over 200 years.

On the first friday of every month in St. Augustine’s historic downtown area, visitors can enjoy refreshments and live music while browsing numerous art galleries. Featuring contemporary art and traditional pieces, paintings, photography, textiles, wooden sculptures and more, First Friday Art Walk has something for guests with every kind of taste.

About 30 galleries are open to the public from 5-9 p.m. Many featured artists are available to discuss their technique and answer questions about their work. The event spans from Aviles to King Streets, and visitors can also explore St. George Street and beyond, crossing the Bridge of Lions toward Anastasia Island and the beach.

Hitting up the galleries

To start off our day at Art Walk, we talked with some local artists about their inspirations, influences and techniques. Despite all three artists’ different approaches to art, they were all equally influenced by St. Augustine’s architecture, environment and history.

Steven Dean Anderson is a St. Augustine-based artist who was “stricken with retinitis pigmentosa and glaucoma” when he turned 50 years old. As his written self-description next to his featured pieces said, “He’s unable to entirely see his own art work. But that doesn’t stop him.”

Anderson uses a computer, 32-inch monitor, reading glasses and a magnifying glass to create his pieces digitally. He uses vivid colors to depict architecture and historical landmarks.

“This is Villa Zorayda, the Moroccan castle just up the street a block. I’m the only artist that has ever exhibited there since they became a museum in 1933. I just concluded my second show there this past week. I was first asked to exhibit there during their 450th party last year, and I sold 18 pieces … They brought me back this spring for two months, and we just finished up,” Anderson said.

“I start off by photographing a building, and I can draw from my original photographs,” Anderson said. “Then I’ll take the photographs into the computer and adjust them a little bit, and do some tricks with the perspective on them. Then I’ll print them out, and I’ll paint from those photographs. This is the end result. Since I only see from a window about the size of a quarter … I work one square inch at a time, just on a little bit of detail. If you look closely, you’ll see how the colors put together are really impressionist when you get up close, although they come off as photorealist almost … All I really do right now is St. Augustine’s architecture.”

Kathleen Hooker was born in South Bend, Indiana, and is now a local artist in St. Augustine. Her artwork frequently features natural and manufactured found objects, both combined with acrylic paint. In the photo above, Hooker used crumbled eggshells to add texture to the bottom right of her painting.

“Our visitors like to gather pictures which are from scenes in St. Augustine, and I thought, well, I’d like to join in the party of painting a picture of something in St. Augustine,” Hooker said. “The form [in the painting of the fort] is a little bit challenging for me because I’m not particularly versed with doing buildings. However, I just took my own approach to it [by] adding a lot of texture with natural elements such as eggshells, tea from my teabags, spent dryer sheets … but the base of it is acrylic.”

“That’s how I compose my photos. I actually do go on site … [The painting of the fort] is from a photo, transferred and enlarged. From there, I can do my own interpretation of what I’d like it to be. I’ll paint over the eggshells, too, because that is the rock portion. At low tide, it does show. I may use some sand or another product to add a little texture to that, but that’s the sidewalk that leads on up into the fort,” Hooker said.

Hooker’s written self-description near her featured paintings said that she “shares thoughtful images to enjoy and inspirational words to encourage people to strive for their best potential.”

Bernard Springsteel is a watercolor artist, oil painter and sculptor with a “BFA degree from Pratt Institute and 30 years experience as Art Director in magazine and book publishing,” he said in his website.

“An artist thinks in terms of design,” Springsteel said while talking to us. “I look for locations where God, or nature, or man has put something together. Usually I like old buildings because they’ve stood the test of time. It’s also about composition. You can walk up and down and find nothing, if the sun isn’t out at the right time or in the right way. The shadow is very important.”

“I used to be an art director, and I worked with design a lot and I worked with a lot of artists. It has to be a pleasing thing. If you enjoy the painting, then maybe it’s a success … I don’t do plein air [a method of painting what one sees in the moment while at the scene]. I use a camera for research … I do a lot of enhancement,” Springsteel said.

Grabbing a bite to eat 

After talking with local artists, we grabbed dinner at a local haunt, Pizzalley’s.

Pizzalley’s is right along the main drag of St. George Street, so tourists and locals alike don’t have to venture off the beaten path to grab a bite, whether it be an afternoon snack or dinner with dessert. Guests can stay in the smaller portion of the restaurant connected to the street, or venture through the courtyard to the full-service Italian restaurant.

After trekking across the Bridge of Lions, guests can stop at Mellow Mushroom, a chain that’s known for its quirky decorations, diverse dishes and fully customizable pizzas.

No matter what galleries one explores or what restaurants, bars, clubs and lounges one visits, there’s a little something for everyone during St. Augustine’s First Friday Art Walk. And if your hunger for art, culture, food and drinks isn’t quite satisfied – just pop back in the next month for more.