DA Alumni in the Spotlight at The Carling

Artists Ali Isabelle, Brian Shannon and Kathryn D’Elia are in the spotlight as the Douglas Anderson School of the Arts Visual Art Department and the Vestcor Companies collaborate to present the first DA Alumni Exhibition at The Carling.

To see images from the show held at The Carling Gallery December 3, 2008 during the First Wednesday Art Walk click here. The Carling Gallery is on the second floor of the historically renovated luxury apartment building located at 31 W. Adams St.

About the Artists:

Ali Isabelle graduated from the DA Visual Art Department in 1998. After graduating from DA, Isabelle attended FCCJ and then received her Bachelors in Fine Art from the University of Florida. Isabelle is currently a professional artist and art teacher at Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School.

 

 

 

 

Isabelle says, “I gained a lot from attending DA. I think one of the most valuable lessons I learned is the importance of quality and concept. Douglas Anderson has played an important role in shaping the Jacksonville art community. I am glad that I had the opportunity to attend and I believe that it has had an enormous impact on my art career."

Isabelle’s Art Walk exhibition features the series “Houses” which are acrylic paintings on canvas. Seen here: Memory Quilt, Acrylic on Canvas, 20" x 20"

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Brian Shannon graduated from DA in 2003 and is currently working as a graphic designer.

Shannon says, “Whenever a memory, a story, or an idea has been particularly strong in my mind, I've always had an urge to draw it or recreate it in some way. It's in my hard-wiring.” Shannon says his years at DA taught him how to give his work substance and how to challenge himself as an artist. “I learned that you have to be absolutely committed to your art. If you're not, in time you'll find yourself living a very ordinary life.”

 

 

 

Shannon’s Art Walk exhibition features portraits and mythological subjects which inspire much of his current works. Seen here: Portrait of a Girl in Red.

 

 

 

 

 

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Kathryn D’Elia graduated from DA in June of 2008. She is currently a Bachelor of Fine Arts student at Flagler College in St. Augustine Florida where she is majoring in painting.

D’Elia explains that she is an artist because it never felt natural to be anything else. “I think that self-expression is what keeps us all alive,” said D’Elia. “We live for our voices, our ideas. My artwork is my way of getting my ideas out. Apart from that, I am entirely addicted to the perfect hum of internal silence that appears only when creating. For a moment, every fleeting thought goes away. All that is left is you and that brush. The feeling is bliss.”

As a graduate of the DA Visual Art program D’Elia says, “Douglas Anderson provided me with all the basic knowledge I need about art making. Now, when my Professors tell me “what” I need to do, I already know “how” and “why” because of what the teachers at DA taught me about process. DA gave me a fantastic background of art history and an awareness of budding contemporary artists.”

D’Elia’s Art Walk exhibition features a collection of oil paintings of the figure and self-portraits. Seen here: Al Figure Study Oil on canvas 30" x 52."