Fine art featured at Valmar reception

FrameWorks in Coconut Grove has a sister gallery called Valmar in the Bird Road Gallery Walk area and they are part of the Bird Road walk tonight, Saturday, July 20.

Don Calhoun and Judy Kamman Hende's art is featured. The piece above is by Don.

Don Calhoun is a retired industrial arts teacher and administrator with 33 years in public education teaching disciplines that included graphic arts, photography, material processing and technical drawing. As a hobby, he began with black and white printing via film and then pursued a further course of study in graphic arts at Miami-Dade College and FIU. Upon retirement, Don took courses in digital photography and joined a local gallery where he began selling prints in addition to working local art shows. At present, he has a photo scan service for the purpose of digitizing artist's paintings for marketing purposes. Many of you may know Don through the GroveHouse Artists.

"I believe that one of the greatest gifts once can give is the sharing of creativity.  To stop a memory in time and keep it forever is what motivates my passion for photography. Being a free-lance photographer has allowed me the opportunity to share many wonderful images knowing that the impressions I can create for my clients will be theirs forever," says Don.

Coconut Grove resident Judy Kamman Hendel is a hyper-realistic painter whose work is inspired by nature's beauty and detail. Extensive world travel, including journeys to her favorite spots in the Florida Keys, provide her with joy, a sense of exploration, and accomplishment offering creative inspiration for her paintings. Judy's experiences as a dive master have shown her similarities between life forms that reside in the ocean's gardens and those on land, which she has used to create vibrant large-format canvases offering a magnified perspective.

Judy earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago.  She is a Miami Norland High School graduate, returning to South Florida with her husband, Dr. Robert Hendel, after a 30 year hiatus in Chicago.  

"My passion is painting uniquely structured life forms from land and sea gardens. I share my vision with a macroscopic perspective of colors and shapes to make a visceral impact on the viewer," says Judy.

Valmar is located at 4150 SW 74th Court, 
Tel. 305-267-9360

The opening reception starts at 7 pm tonight and the exhibit runs through August 14, 2013.