6 Easy Ways to Find Artistic Inspiration in Naples, Florida!

It is easy to find artistic inspiration in Naples. It is truly a mecca for artists and art lovers alike!

Artistic Inspiration in Nature

Whether walking along one of the many beaches or nature trails in the area, you will find many sources of inspiration. Colors and textures abound!

Naples Botanical Gardens

The different plants, with their unique bark, colored leaves, and flowers, offer artistic inspiration year-round. Each year, in January, there is an En Plein Air (“in the open air”) Fest. We attended this year, and seeing each artist's paintings was interesting. Several painters painted the same lily pond, but each had very different interpretations of what they saw.

Naples Art District

Spending an afternoon in the Naples Art District was one of our favorite days. Each Thursday, studios are open from 1:00 to 5:00.  Around 100 artists have studios in the district. The day we went, it was like we were on a private tour! Besides viewing artwork up close, each artist readily conversed with us and answered our questions about their techniques and materials. They also shared their personal stories. One artist even shared how she made her French Cleat system (a system artists can use to hang their paintings on while working on them). This artist took the time to show me specifics. Moe is going to build one of these systems for me!

Museums

Naples Art Institute

We have always enjoyed the exhibits at the Naples Art Institute. This year, they had one that offered a lot of artistic inspiration, particularly for Moe. As most of you know, he is fascinated with optical illusions and has incorporated some into his artwork. Most recently in his Café Wall Illusion pieces. Works by artist Victor Vasarely were on display. His innovations in color and optical illusion have strongly influenced many modern artists. Moe is one of them. Moe will write an upcoming blog about how Varsely has influenced him.

The Baker Museum

The Baker Museum is a larger museum with multiple exhibits. We enjoyed the work of Tamara Kostianovsky. Many of her works spoke to us. She created sculptures of tree stumps and logs using clothing that had been her father's. It is her way of keeping his memory close to her. After visiting Corkscrew Sanctuary last year(one of our favorite places), Tamara created a piece titled "Morning Walk in Corkscrew Swamp." Her works are pictured below.

There was also an interesting exhibit, The Art Of Food: From The Collections Of Jordan D. Schnitzer And His Family Foundation.

Galleries Galore

There are eight galleries on 5th Ave South alone. 3rd Street South also has some galleries. Those are in addition to numerous galleries in the Naples Art District along Shirley Street. The great thing is that these areas are walkable, so we picked one area at a time and walked from gallery to gallery. There was lots of artistic inspiration along the way, too.

Art Festivals

The New Year’s Art Fair in Downtown Naples

In previous years, this was held right on 5th Avenue. This year, it was held in Cambier Park. Sunshine Artist Magazine has voted this annual outdoor show among the Top 10 Best Fine Art Fairs in the nation! There are other monthly art shows in Cambier Park during the "season."

Bonita Springs National Art Festival

Bonita Springs has a National Arts Festival (just north of Naples). It is held three times per season: once each in January, February, and March. The park where this is held is beautifully treed along the riverside, making it a very comfortable day, even if the sun is bright. Again, the artwork is outstanding!

Naples Picasso Art Shows

Naples Picasso Art Shows are relatively new. We went to one in North Naples, in the Mercado shopping area. The main strip was blocked off, so we could easily walk up one side to see the exhibits and down the other. Picasso Shows aren't as big as the others, but they are growing.

ArtFest Fort Myers

We planned on going to the riverside in Fort Myers with friends. Little did we know, there was an art festival going on. After already going to three great shows, we were pleasantly surprised to see that many of the artists at this show were different from the ones we had seen at the other shows.  We found one artist who made these spectacular handblown marbles, some as big as 4 inches in diameter. Another artist made beautiful wall sculptures from layered ceramics. 

As you can see, many ways exist to find artistic inspiration in Naples, Florida!

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Beautiful Art for Life Well Lived,

Sarah