Naples Neighborhoods, Then and Now

There is a wonderful exhibit at The Naples Depot featuring the works of one of Naples most beloved artists, Paul Arsenault. The show features paintings of historic neighborhoods around Naples with a goal of exploring how they have changed over the years. The Naples Depot is one of 5 museums operated in Collier County, and they all offer free admission. The hours of the Arsenault show are Monday-Friday 9-5 and Saturday 9-4. The show runs through April 24th. I'm sure you will see The Red Pick Up Truck parked there soon!

Chalk Art 2011 & The 14th Annual Naples Invitational Art Fest!

"The world is but a canvas to the imagination."

~Henry David Thoreau

There are a lot of artsy things going on around Naples this weekend! I can tell you right now, you will see The Red Pick-Up Artist working along side popular Naples muralist Gina Fischer on 5th Avenue all day on Saturday, January 29th...They can be found right in front of the blue & white Coldwell Banker Previews building in the 500 block of Naples main street, 5th Avenue South! They are planning to create a masterpiece depicting one of Olde Naples charming homes. This fund raiser is benefiting The Rotary Scholarship Fund, and over 5,000 spectators are expected to watch 5th Avenue turn into a huge, color splashed canvas! Please, if you happen to make your way downtown, Gina and The Red Pick-Up Artist would really appreciate you voting for your "favorite" street painting...and we really hope it's ours!

Also this weekend, The Art Fest will be attracting well-known artists from around the country. Taking place in Fleischmann Park, this juried art show benefits 'Eden Autism Services Florida'. There will be 132 artists showing their work at the park. The Art Fest will run both Saturday and Sunday from 10 AM to5 PM. For more information about this amazing undertaking and the charity that they support please click here: EDEN FLORIDA

These are just 2 of the amazingly artful happenings you can expect to find in Naples this weekend...It's no wonder Naples was named "Best Small Art Town in America"...and it's no wonder The Red Pick-Up Artist lives here!

A few more LINKS to this weekends activities: Bayshore Festival of the Arts and the Harry Chapin Empty Bowl fund raiser in Cambier Park!

Thanks everybody, and have a great weekend!

The Red Pick-Up Artist

Martini Glass Auction

"Painting is so poetic, while sculpture is more logical and scientific...makes you worry about gravity." ~Damien Hirst



...even the artist wore red....
















...this is the glass I bid on and won!














...I love red walls.

There was a lot of excitement in the shoe department at Saks last night...

The Martini Glass Auction, held last night raised a lot of money for The Naples International Film Festival...the beautiful glasses were on display, the artists were there greeting the bidders...everyone looked so good, smelled so good...and the shoes! oh, the shoes were amazing!

laughter & energy filled the room...I was very proud of my dear friend Gina.

Gina painted 13 of the 30+ glasses being auctioned. I was thrilled to bid on and win the very first martini glass auctioned off: painted by Gina, and signed by Candace Bushnell, the creator of

Sex and the City! ~Of course, need you ask, it has shoes painted on it!

Guess Who?

Guess Who?

Any idea who this future artist might be? Well, if you guessed that it's me, you are correct! This painting was done by an artist in New York City in 1959. His name is Francesco Bologna. It is signed by him on the back, which i found very interesting. I was told that his brother is Joseph, who is a movie actor---you may have heard of him. I tried to "Google" him, but couldn't find anything. We actually have two paintings done by him. The other one is of a clown, which now is hanging in my son Rocky's house. [I need to take a photo of it the next time I'm there]. My father did not like this painting at all. Like most daddies, he thought I was prettier than this interpretation. My Uncle Art however, loved this painting, and so my parents gave it to him. My uncle returned this picture to me during his very last visit to see me here in Naples. He told me that over the years, everytime he moved into a new home, this was the very first thing he ever hung on a wall. Uncle Art died last year...Now everytime I look at this painting I think of him...I love the fact that Francesco "put" me in a smock. My mother tells me that when I posed for this picture I was in a dress with a white collar. I think this is much more "Rembrandtesque", and makes me look like the little artist that I was back then....you know, before someone told me that tree barks couldn't be purple...