Jim Draper painting exhibit opens today at Arts on Douglas

Courtesy photo. This is one of painter Jim Draper's works on exhibit, starting today at the Arts on Douglas, 123 Douglas St., New Smyrna Beach. The exhibit is free.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- Each month one of the 57 artists represented by Arts on Douglas Fine Art and Collectibles, the downtown New Smyrna Beach art gallery, is featured in a solo exhibition. During the month of May, the gallery will feature Jacksonville painter Jim Draper.

The opening reception is this afternoon, from 4 to 7, at 123 Douglas St. Jim Draper’s solo exhibition Paintings will include subject matter ranging from Florida’s wetlands to farm animals.

Draper’s vivid representations forego the traditional landscape; rather wetlands, palm trees, cows, chickens, and other animal life forms are materialized as an expressive portrait of place.

Draper’s fascination with the constantly changing Florida landscape has provided him with a lifetime of subject matter.

Draper explains, “I try my best to catalog nature’s regenerative qualities. There are many places in Florida where you can see nature slowly taking back terrain that man failed to conquer. Plants and animals, belonging to an environment or not, begin to morph into an unstoppable force that pulsates up and down the peninsula.”

Draper, raised in Kosciusko, Miss., attended the University of Mississippi where he earned a bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He later received his M.F.A. from the University of Georgia at Athens.

Draper has taught extensively at the college level and currently maintains a studio in historic Springfield near downtown Jacksonville. He has been featured in countless exhibitions, and today his work can be found in myriad corporate and private collections.

FAST FACTS:

In addition to special shows, Arts on Douglas regularly mounts a continuing group exhibition of work by artists represented by the gallery. Arts on Douglas is unparalleled in Florida for its exhibition space (5,000 square feet) and artistic stable (over sixty Florida artists), offering both collectors and casual viewers a chance to enjoy a wide range of styles and approaches under one roof. For a more leisured walk through our galleries, please visit www.artsondouglas.net online.