My Story
I've been creating all my life. My "official" art career began as a teenage studio assistant in my native Minnesota. In 1990 I discovered faux finishing — a craft that grew into a thriving decorative painting and mural business spanning 35+ years. With my talented crew, I designed and installed custom faux finishes, decorative painting, and murals across the country, from faux finishing the entire exterior of the world's largest Harley-Davidson dealership, to painting 800 pirate ship beds for the Caribbean resort, to luxury log cabins in Tennessee and the Bill France Fan Building at Talladega Speedway. The work earned awards, trade magazine recognition, and a career full of collaboration and laughter.
As life changed, so did my scope. My son Jon and I still take on smaller projects, but the big scaffolds and boom lifts are behind us. That transition led me somewhere unexpected: pet portraits, inspired by my dog's daycare, which opened the door to acrylics, oils, cold wax, and alcohol inks.
Becoming a studio artist has been a journey of self-discovery — I'm a daydreaming, night-thinking optimist, and studio time is where my mind goes quiet and the creative process takes over. I'm especially drawn to color and organic movement; a perfect transition from wall to canvas, I blend my former skills with with my curiosity and love of experimenting to create work full of life and character.
In 2019, this journey took another turn when I met a fellow artist at a painting competition — a friendship that grew into a partnership in an art gallery. Check out the Art Spotlight tab to learn more!
Not your average Art Gallery.
Art Spotlight and how it came to be!
I met Thays França as a competitor in a 2019 art competition. Over the next two years, we kept crossing paths at art events and community gatherings — friendly acquaintances trading small talk and artistic conversation, not yet realizing a deeper friendship and partnership was forming.
In early 2021, an unexpected opportunity arose to lease a commercial space already set up as an art co-op. Neither of us was looking to start a new venture — I was nearing retirement, and Thays already owned her own gallery and had her hands full. But we found common ground in our love of the arts and the Ormond Beach community, and worried that the co-op's sudden closure would leave a void in the local art scene. A plan quickly formed, and Art Spotlight was born.
After nearly a year of renovation, we opened to the public in July 2022. Our mission: Create, Collaborate, and Elevate the arts and local artists in Ormond Beach and beyond.
Jon Benjamin joined from the start, transitioning from our family faux finish business — the perfect balance to Thays' and my high energy. Barbette rounded out the team, and we can't imagine running the gallery without her calm demeanor, sharp computer and proofing skills, and (always welcome) baking!
