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Matt Cutter and Peter Pettegrew

Frank Smith and Peter Pettegrew

Above, Peter with Windham Hill guitarist and personal friend Frank Smith, who came all the way up from Naples, Florida to perform during Peter’s show.

About Matthew J Cutter (1974 -)
Raised in rural New Hampshire, Matthew J Cutter was introduced to art by his parents at an early age. With their encouragement he spent much of his free time drawing to his heart’s desire. Around the age of ten, Matthew’s grandmother, Helen Cutter, expanded his artistic endeavors by teaching him the basics of painting. They spent many hours together nurturing Matthew’s talent, which would prove crucial to his later development as an artist.

In his teen years Cutter left the art world behind to pursue other interests, but that early attraction resurfaced in his mid-twenties when he participated in a painting workshop with listed American artist, Morgan Samuel Price. From there his interest grew deeper and he looked to the works of the Old Masters, such as John Singer Sargent, Joaquin Sorolla, and the California Impressionists to further his knowledge of painting. Present day painters such as Richard Schmid, Scott Christensen, Matt Smith, and Daniel Gerhartz have also influenced Cutter.

Matthew’s emergence to the art world has been a slow process culminating in his first one-man-show in February 2006. The show was a great success with 30 originals selling on opening night. It is worth noting that while Cutter’s pursuit of art is not a full-time opportunity at this point in his life, it is a full-time passion. He has traveled to places such as Taos, NM, the Smoky Mountains and St. Kitts in search of subject matter and he currently resides in St. Augustine, FL.

About Peter Pettegrew
Peter Pettegrew has devoted his life to capturing the timeless beauty of the natural landscape on canvass. As a youth, his world was centered around Monterey Bay, California, and it was here that his compelling encounters with the ocean inspired sketches. As early as four years of age, his aunt, who was a painter, recognized his talent and insisted to his mother that he only be given blank paper; no coloring books. Childhood sketches symbolized the sights and sensations of ocean landscapes, and soon more serious efforts resulted as he turned to painting.

By ten years of age, the artist was already studying with one of the older marine painters in the Bay Area. His formal art education began when he applied and qualified for admission to Harbor Senior High in Santa Cruz, California, a prestigious and progressive school dedicated to advancing the development of artistic skills and creative freedom. After moving to Florida, Pettegrew went on to attend the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, where he studied painting as well as graphic art techniques that he now employs in his work with hand-pulled serigraphs, stone lithographs, and originals. After his formal education, he furthered his schooling in individual mediums through private artist workshops, including oil painting, watercolor techniques and charcoal drawing.

Finding his inspiration through detailed research of the Master Impressionists and plein air painters of the 19th Century, this work revealed the undeniable course for his life, “to honor the face of nature by painting her portrait in so many ways and in so many places.” His captivating impressionistic style, using delicate tones, subtle luminous lighting, and savory blends of color, has resulted in distinctive paintings for his collectors. From childhood, the landscapes have always been the beloved subject for Pettegrew’s passionate creations.

A naturalist, and outdoorsman, he camps, hikes, and explores, to find his timeless compositions. It is this focus, this need to completely lose himself in the wilderness in order to paint, breathing in the air of dawn and dusk, that nurtures the inspiration he pours onto his canvases. He draws inspiration from his diverse travels. In the last few years he has been to France, the Bahamas, Montana, and California to capture his subject. Most often he is painting in the Southeastern United States. His home and studio are in Orlando, Florida, with another family residence on Marco Island, not far from the Big Cypress Swamp in the Everglades.

Mr. Pettegrew states, “Whether I’m painting in the Everglades or in the marshes of South Carolina, these Southern wetlands have a feel and presence like nowhere else I’ve been. This land is where the spirit within lies very close to the surface. Its beauty abounds and one does not have to struggle to locate its magnificent side.” Mr. Pettegrew always receives high praise from museum and gallery directors throughout the United States for his one-man and group exhibitions. Collectors anxiously await each new painting. The huge demand for Pettegrew’s work is gratifying for the artist, by providing him the means to give back to the natural world. He acts on his commitment to Promote, Preserve, and Protect the environment through his art. His gallery and museum events, and the ongoing sales of some of his work are venues to channel his support for environmental causes. “I think we all need a greater sensitivity of our natural surroundings and what I fully experience when on location is what I spiritually need to paint. My hope is that this emotion is fully communicated, not just in the traditional sense, but rather a message of the mystery and joy in how nature really feels. Through painting, I share my love of nature with others and hopefully help to preserve her beauty.”

For additional information, Contact: Galeria del Mar @ (904) 829-2120 • 9 King Street, St. Augustine, FL 32084 • gdm@cutterandcutter.com

JOYCE SHELTON, our lone returning judge from last
year, is an award-winning illustrator and designer who has enjoyed
a diverse career in art. Her talent is expressed in many disciplines,
including fine art painting in a variety of mediums, as well as graphic
design and illustration.
She currently designs products for the gift and home-decor
industries, in addition to fabrics, stationery and paper products that
are licensed and sold worldwide. Shelton’s previous judging credits
include the Winter Park Autumn Art Festival in Winter Park, Florida,
and the Cape Coral Festival of the Arts in Cape Coral, Florida.
Shelton shares her studio space in Altamonte Springs, Florida,
with her husband, Eddie Metz Jr., a world-class jazz musician.

JAMES LUSSIER is a supporter of visual and performing arts in
the Central Florida community and has co-produced the Orlando
Living and Art Expo in downtown Orlando, Florida. Lussier was the
last president of the Orlando Visual Artists’ League (OVAL), a non-
profit, volunteer-based organization committed to fostering social,
charitable and economic growth in the community. (OVAL operated
the OVAL on Orange Gallery in downtown Orlando for five years,
offering affordable artist studio space and monthly gallery openings
for hundreds of local artists.) He was also a board member of
Orlando’s Downtown Arts District (DAD) for six years, serving as president
in 2004. DAD supports theatres, galleries and artists’ studios in downtown
Orlando, and operates CityArts Factory.
Lussier is a partner in the Orlando law firm of Mateer Harbert, P.A.,
and concentrates his practice in the areas of eminent domain, inverse
condemnation, intellectual property, media law and general civil litigation.
He graduated in 1974 from the University of Notre Dame and in 1982 from
the University of Florida College of Law. He served as a helicopter pilot in the
United States Navy from 1974 to 1983.

DONNE BITNER (middle) is a senior faculty member in the Painting
and Drawing Department at Crealde School of Art in Winter Park, Florida,
and maintains a studio at McRae Art Studio, also in Winter Park. Her
work has appeared in a variety of publications, including American Artist
Watercolor, International Artist and Watercolor Magic.
She has conducted numerous art workshops at institutions such as the
Vero Beach Museum of Art in Vero Beach, Florida; the Arrowmont School
of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, Tennessee; and Rollins College in Winter
Park, Florida. In addition, her work can be seen in the collections of the
Huntsville Museum of Art in Hunstville, Alabama, and the Daytona Beach
Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach, Florida, among many
others.
A signature member of the National Watercolor Society, the Watercolor
USA Honor Society, and the Florida and Southern Watercolor Societies,
Bitner received a Florida Individual Artist’s Fellowship in 2002 and a State of
Florida Individual Artist Enhancement Grant in 2006.

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The famous and venerable Sunshine Artist Magazine reported on the Winter Park Art Festival thusly:

WINTER PARK AUTUMN ART FESTIVAL
Winter Park, Florida
JUDGES’ COMMENTS:
With so many posters this year featuring great artwork, particularly
great painting, Winter Park Autumn Art Festival’s victory is especially
noteworthy. Although the judges said there was nothing out of the
ordinary about the subject matter (a typical Florida landscape), they
were impressed with the simple poetry of its creation.
“[We] kept coming back to it,” Lussier said, “and all
comments were positive.”

The Winning Poster

One of the benefits of having a panel of judges is that
one judge can recuse herself if there is a conflict of interest,
so although Shelton didn’t have a hand in the creation of this
poster, she did let the other two judges make the call because of
her involvement with the Winter Park Autumn Art Festival.

ABOUT THE ARTIST:
“Whether I’m painting in the Everglades or in the marshes
of South Carolina,” said Peter Pettegrew, “these Southern
wetlands have a feel and presence like nowhere else I’ve been.
This land is where the spirit within lies very close to the surface.
Its beauty abounds, and one does not have to struggle to locate
its magnificent side,”
Pettegrew has been capturing the outdoors, as he does
with Ostello View, since he was a child. His aunt, also a painter,
insisted that the 4-year-old be given no coloring books but only
blank paper after seeing his sketches. As a teen, Pettegrew was
accepted into the prestigious Harbor Senior High in Santa
Cruz, California, afterwards continuing his formal education at
the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Acclaimed for his gallery exhibitions, the Orlando, Florida,
artist has attracted collectors such as Dan Quayle, John Travolta
and John Rigsby, but the artist is most thankful for his ability to
protect nature as he shares it with others.
The poster was designed by C&S Press Inc.

Excerpt from Sunshine Artist Magazine

Text and art Courtesy of Sunshine Artist Magazine