By Andrea Martone
Harvard Grad is Having a BALL as a Well-Known Photographer
J.R. St. Jean has smarts for sure, having graduated cum laude in 1999 from Harvard University with a degree in biology and anthropology. But true smarts come from embracing what it is in the world you truly want to do and pursuing the dream. St. Jean did just that, and he’s a happy guy indeed, living in St. Petersburg and channeling “Norman Rockwell” in his photographs.
To understand him is to revert back to his early days when he first worked with Boston’s Museum of Science photographing fossils. “It got old, literally,” says St. Jean, who then migrated south to Orlando to work for Disney in the Fine Arts Dept. He worked in creatives, specially designing backdrops and lighting. Using the skills he learned while working at Florida’s No. 1 tourist destination, he began to incorporate these skills into family portraits, weddings, and created photos that people wanted to use as wall art. Using special effects, he digitally edits his photos and creates a style closer to the Norman Rockwell style.
Sixty-year-old St. Jean says his prized work is a public art piece in Orlando that was commissioned by the City of Orlando: a 6-foot-long photograph called, “Many Journeys, Many Destinations.” The photograph depicts a transportation theme, with Orlando as a key tourist destination that has all different modes of transportation to get to Orlando. St. Jean’s first show in May at the Hickman Theatre in Gulfport. Anecdotal information: St. Jean is listed in the Professional Photographers of America, certified as a photographer, and loves to ballroom dance – a passion he’s followed for years while living in Boston and now Florida. He is a professional square dance caller (45 years of square dancing)! jr@jrstjean.com, www.stjeancreative.com
Susan Hess: A unique art form that will “melt your heart”
Madeira Beach resident Susan Hess is indeed talented, but her art form is an ancient process known as “Encaustic painting” – or “hot wax painting” – a form of painting that involves a heated wax medium to which colored pigments have been added. The technique was used by Greeks around the 5th century BC and the Romans. Since it’s heated and the artist uses it to build up layers and color it, it’s durable and doesn’t fade or mildew. The most famous examples from this era are the Fayum mummy portraits from Egypt, which showcase the use of encaustic for funerary art in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD. These portraits illustrate the incredible durability of encaustic art; they still retain their vivid color today. Since the 1990s, encaustic has seen a resurgence in popularity among contemporary artists drawn to its textural and luminous qualities.
Hess has been using this method for 30 years as an artist living in Madeira Beach. She must be reincarnated from the early Greek empire, since she tells me she was “always fascinated with melting crayons together when I was a young girl.” She went on to study interior design and fine art in college and worked in interior design before morphing into being “just an artist.” Hess says, “For many years I painted watercolors, but I became enamored with Encaustics.” Most of Hess’s paintings are sized at 30×30 and include both realistic and abstract designs. Like many other area artists, she rents space at ArtLofts (2nd floor). There, she gives classes to people who want to learn the process themselves. “I love to share the process and that’s why I love to teach others about this technique.” For more information about Susan Hess, visit her website at: www.susanhessartist.com.
From “Doodle Queen” to Harvard Educated, Peruvian Immigrant Hypnotized by Design, Dr. Corinne Varon is undoubtedly well educated. Born in Lima, Peru, she immigrated to Boston 40 years ago and attended prestigious schools (Brandeis University: Fine Arts, Leslie University, master’s in education & Expressive Therapies, and Harvard where she received a doctorate in art and cognition and “The Psychology of Art”). With a wide range of degrees to use, she chose to work in Cambridge, Boston, as an elementary school teacher and administrator for 39 years before retiring in 2013.
“Always a visual artist since I was 15. I loved to doodle a lot. I drew in between classes while waiting for the next class (geometric shapes).” I was inspired by my father who was a textile engineer. I grew up thinking that’s what I would do (love the patterns and the nature of geometric design).”
Varon was hypnotized by design. Fast forward, she began to use her art skills extensively after retirement, living on the ocean full time in Clearwater. She never married but raised her one daughter solo. Her daughter is now 38 and living as a writer in Chicago. Varon’s next exhibit, part of “100 Women Artists: Now and Then,” is at Dunedin Fine Art Center from June 7 to Sept. 1. Reception date: June 14, 6-7pm, Location: Dunedin Fine Art Center, 143 Michigan Blvd., Dunedin
Website: www.corinnevaron.com
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/varonfinearts/?etsrc=sdt