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An artful passion
By LOGAN D. MABE, Times Staff Writer WESTCHASE -- Jeff Eckert first saw the movie The Sound of Music, when he was 8 years old. The classic Julie Andrews musical left an indelible impression on the boy. And it forever changed the landscape of his living room. Eckert, 45, has created a virtual museum in his Westchase home by displaying the thousands of pieces of memorabilia he has collected over the last 37 years. There's one of the dresses that Andrews wore in the movie. There are the commemorative ruby slippers (one of only 12 sets) designed by jeweler Harry Winston for the 50th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz. And of course, there's the autographed photo of Linda Harrison, who played the silent girlfriend of Charlton Heston in The Planet of the Apes. Eckert only collects things that really appeal to him, and he loved the woman who portrayed Nova. "I got this stuff because I liked it," said Eckert. He liked it a lot. When Eckert relocated from Los Angeles to the Castleford enclave in Westchase in 1996, he came here with 302 moving boxes, most of them stuffed with the pieces that comprise this shrine to Hollywood. "I thought instead of owning a car, I'd just go to the auctions," said Eckert, who worked in Los Angeles for a dozen years as an archivist for the Hanna-Barbera cartoon animation studio. "It's been a lot of fun. It's been my main hobby." Eckert's other serious hobby, finely drawn pencil portraits, is not his full-time career. After too may earthquakes ("During the last one 80 frames in my house came off the walls and broke," Eckert said), and too many years wondering if he could make art his livelihood, Eckert chucked it all. He resigned from Hanna-Barbera and moved to Westchase with his companion and partner Rich Limmer to pursue a career as an artist. "I turned 40 and decided to do fine art full time," Eckert said. "I just held my nose and jumped in." And so far, Eckert has made a splash in the local art scene. He hits the art show circuit about every other weekend and has scored two "best in show" awards in the past year. This year, for the first time, Eckert will exhibit his work at St. Petersburg's prestigious Mainsail Arts Festival April 20. He has twice shown his work at the Old Hyde Park Village Art Festival and will exhibit this year at the Tarpon Springs Arts & Crafts Festival. Eckert works solely in pencil, drawing almost photographic-quality portraits of celebrities. His favorites -- Marilyn Monroe, Princess Diana, Julie Andrews and others -- can take as much as 160 hours to complete. Along the way, he's made the acquaintance of Hollywood luminaries with his works. After finishing a piece, Eckert often offers a print to the star or their family. His drawing of Karen Carpenter made a friend of Carpenter's brother, Richard. "I hear from Richard every year on my birthday," Eckert said. His portrait of Natalie Wood got the same response from her husband Robert Wagner, who still stays in touch. Such brushes with celebrity greatness are what helped Eckert stock his collection of about 5,000 autographed photos. Michael Landon sent two, "To Jeff, Live every day," and "To my biggest fan," just months before he died of cancer. In part, they were to thank Eckert for the pencil portrait he'd done for Landon. Eckert doesn't limit sharing his art or his memorabilia collection with just the rich and famous. With his art, "Portraits are what I'm known for. It's always the most fun challenge, trying to get the likeness whether it's a celebrity or somebody's child." And he's eager to show off the movie museum to anyone who appreciates the genre. "I have strangers come to the door to see the collection," Eckert said. "It's fun." - Logan D. Mabe can be reached at 269-5304 or at mabe@sptimes.com -- Do you have a neighbor who belongs in the newspaper? Please let us know. We're looking for people who have done remarkable things, but might not otherwise be featured in our news pages. Please send your idea -- including where the person lives -- to sokol@sptimes.com.
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From the Times |
