The Florida Keys Council of the Arts is pleased to announce the installation of the current art show at the Key West International Airport.  The current show, which ends June first, shows the strength and breadth of the art scene in the Florida Keys. The show is led by Marathon artist, Sara Stites, 2003 winner of the South Florida Cultural Consortium Visual & Media Artist Fellowship.  Three of Ms. Stites’ oil on canvas pieces are currently on display.  

Another award winner, 9-11-Collapse, 2002 People’s Choice Award at Florida Keys Community College by Eileen Elkinson, is featured.  

A strong contingent of Upper Keys artists are also showing.  Jeannine Bean, a marvelous Islamorada artist, displays three of her pastels.  Key Largo artist, Janet Lang, shows one of her remarkable Dream Series oils.  Ms. Lang’s work is for sale at mile marker 103.5 on Saturday and Sunday.  Tavernier artist, Kelly Hostetler, displays one of his spiritually advanced acrylics at the Key West International Airport. Mr. Hostetler maintains a studio at Treasure Village in Islamorada.  

Two Big Pine artists are featured.  Karl Beilmann is a color photographer and has four of his photos on display.  Big Piner Cynthia Cameron displays one of her finest watercolors.  

Regan Santry, who splits his time between the Keys and Central Florida, has one of his large, and breathtaking, silk screens on display.  Santry’s work includes all the large billfish.  They are incredibly lifelike, yet abstract at the same time.  

Key West artists form the backbone of the current exhibition.  Key West institution, Judi Bradford, shows multiple works.  She is joined by Janis Jo Stevens with featured work in ceramic, Raku and oil on canvas.  Noted Key West artist, Scott Gruppe, displays one of his pastels.  William Selesnick shows one of his oils.  Key West newcomer, Robert Buck Gibbs, shows his talent in multimedia.

Three lithographs of original drawings by John James Audubon dominate the west end of the Key West airport.  Audubon, both an artist and a great environmentalist, resided in the Florida Keys more than 150 years ago.  Three endangered Keys birds, the white crowned pigeon, the brown pelican and the carolina parrot, clearly show the beauty and the fragility of our islands.  The lithographs are on loan from the Audubon House and Museum on Whitehead Street in old town Key West.

As always the rotating art exhibition is courtesy of the Florida Keys Council of the Arts, Monroe County Board of County Commissioners and the Key West International Airport.  

For information on displaying work at the Key West International Airport, contact Larry Sullivan at (305) 515-2962 or e-mail houseofspirits@keysdigital.com.