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Hometown Pasco

What's happening

By Times Staff Writer
Published January 15, 2006

"When I was a kid about 10 years old on Siesta Key, I would ride my horse, Grey Ghost, out on the beach at night. Riding anywhere in the moonlight is an experience but what I saw on Florida beaches then isn't here anymore," says Regina Stahl Briskey, cowboy artist from Alachua, north of Gainesville, as she took a nostalgic look back into a part of Florida's history.

On an easel rested one of Briskey's paintings, Moonlight Riders, is a picture of three cowboys on a moonlit night with stars playing behind them in a dark sky. Briskey expressed her concern for the history of Florida's past rural ways and how she strives to keep alive parts of that history through her artwork.

Briskey is one of eight Florida Cowboy Artists whose works are on display through Feb. 5 at the Pioneer Florida Museum in Dade City. In addition to Briskey, the Florida Cowboy Artists are Sean Sexton, Linda Brown, Hobby Campbell, Eldon Lux, Bill Roberts, Donna Leeward, an d Brad Phares. All of the artists are current or retired cattlemen, ranchers, cowboys or cowgirls. Several of the artists gathered for an opening reception at the museum on Jan. 7.

The artists share a concern for the love of Florida outdoors, an appreciation for cattle, horses, farming, and a keen desire to show a rural side of Florida through their artwork.

They also voice a concern that many of the scenes common to rural Florida are passing and they feel it important to preserve those scenes through their artwork, particularly paintings.

Sexton lives on a 600-acre spread, Treasure Hammock Ranch, just west of Vero Beach in Indian River County. With 300 head of cattle, Sexton says with a soft laugh, "I am mayor of cow city."

"I am pretty much 50/50; a balance of artist and cattleman," says Sexton, whose family has been in the cattle business since the early part of the last century. He opens a sketch book, one of about 120 that he has kept since 1974. It is filled with meticulous detailed writing, finely executed sketches and an occasional old photograph. Sexton explains that he is a writer and an artist and together those give him a picture that the puts onto canvas or creates in a sketch.

Pale blue eyes gently smile from under the rim of a cowboy hat as Sexton tells of a time when he was 6, and his teacher posted one of his pictures on the door to the classroom. Sexton chuckles and says, "I've been believing I'm an artist ever since."

It's clear that more than Sexton thinks he is an artist with showings in many galleries in Florida.

Sexton took painting lessons at the age of 8. From there he has grown to not only paint but also to write, publishing in 2002, Waldo's Mountain, A Brief History of a Small Elevation. The story is preservation of family history for Sexton as it tells the story of how his grandfather, Waldo Sexton, a highly imaginative man, took a pile of dredged dirt and, in the late 1950s, created what he termed a mountain on the flat land of Florida's east coast. Filled with family photographs, signed copies of Waldo's Mountain are on sale at Pioneer Florida Museum and Village.

Two brown and white longhorns peer out of the painting titled Cattle Drive 95. The heifers, sort of renegades, were part of the 150th anniversary Florida cattle drive, explained artis t Linda Ballantine Brown of Williston in Levy County.

"They were always lagging behind and always seemed to be posing," says Brown who captured the heifers on canvas.

Ivy and Misty Brown, 12-year-old twin daughters of Brown attended the reception with their mother and listened to her as she described her background in art. "My grandmother was a very good artist - an oil painter - and I guess the smell of turpentine just gets in your blood," Brown said with a laugh.

Brown's paintings fall into series. She calls one of her latest Palmetto Queens and describes it as a more feminine cowboy touch with the paintings boasting shades of purple and pink. Brown says she understands that cows have a "culture" and she hopes, through her paintings, to teach people about the cow culture.

Brown, the mother of six children, has been ranching and painting for more than 25 years and has more than 40 paintings with reproductions on canvas in limited numbers. Her works can be viewed online at www.ballantinestudio.com

Shades of green and brown almost camouflage the wild turkeys or the deer hidden in dense underbrush in Hobby Campbell's paintings. The detailed paintings are a depiction of Florida wildlife and wilderness, something Campbell loves with a passion. "I love this country. I am proud of it and I love to paint about it," he said.

Campbell comes from Sebring in Highlands County and has been painting for as long as he can remember. Sporting a shirt with wild turkey prints and a large cowboy hat, Campbell is an independent cowboy meaning that he goes to different ranches and works as needed. When asked if he had to choose between his artwork or being a cowboy, with no hesitation, Campbell said he would let go of being a cowboy.

"My art ability is a gift I have been given," said Campbell. "I want to do everything I can with it."

Campbell said he probably has completed more than 40 paintings and is currently creating a wildlife mural about 10 feet by 30 feet for a gun shop in Kissimmee. When asked how long a project like that takes, Campbell good naturedly laughed and responded, "I don't know; I'm not done yet."

"I am constantly amazed at what he can do," said Lynn Lux, wife of Cowboy Artist Eldon Lux. A notebook portfolio of Lux's work reveals a man whose talents run from painting to sketching to sculpture. His work on display at the museum is only a small representation of Lux's artistic abilities.

Hailing originally from farmlands of Nebraska, Lux has lived in Florida for the past 12 years. While earning a degree in animal science at the University of Nebraska, Lux found his own calling in art during his college years after going through some of his mother belongings after she died. He found her sketches, which he credits with giving him inspiration.

Lux, also a saddle maker and a blacksmith, draws idea for his art work form life experiences. He said he has done hundreds of paintings and now works on commissioned sales.

The Luxs' lost their home and many possessions in the Florida hurricanes of 2004 but were able to save the prized artwork and their horses. They are resettled and now ready to hang Eldon's art work in their new home, happily isolated on several acres of open farm land.

"We ride our horses through the woods and come back with our saddlebags full of pieces of wood, all kinds of things that Eldon finds. He can just see the most unusual things in a piece of wood," Lynn Lux says as she points out a piece of wood shaped like a horse's head that Eldon has skillfully combined with a horseshoe into a sculpture.

The Cowboy Artist Show is on display from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday through Feb. 5 and is free with regular admission to the Pioneer Florida Museum and Village. Museum fees are $5 for adults, $4 for ages 55 and older, $2 for ages 6-18, and free for children 5 years and younger.

For information about the museum, upcoming events or directions call 352 567-0262 or visit www.pioneerfloridamuseum.org

San Antonio is a small town that has long been known for its charitable activities, mainly through its churches and the annual Rattlesnake Festival sponsored by Rattlesnake and Gopher Enthusiasts (RAGE). Now residents in the area have another avenue for their altruism - the Rotary Club of San Antonio.

Sponsored by the Rotary Club of Dade City and chartered just two months ago, the 24-member club has already donated almost $10,000 to charity. Organizations receiving funds have included Habitat for Humanity, Sunrise Spouse Abuse, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Toys for Tots and Skivvies for Tots, Morningstar Fishermen, and even a local youth who needed a support dog.

In keeping with the main objective of Rotary's service in the community, the workplace, and throughout the world, San Antonio members have donated many hours of community service. While the most notable was providing a new bulletin board in front of the post office, the gathering place for this close-knit community, members also worked at the Rattlesnake Festival, helped serve Thanksgiving dinner at a local church, collected and distributed toys, school supplies, and clothing to needy children, and put on a concert for hurricane relief.

The Rotary Club of San Antonio meets at noon Tuesdays at Tampa Bay Golf and Country Club on State Road 52, just west of Interstate 75. Membership is open to active and retired business and professional men and women who live and/or work in the San Antonio area. Prospective members are always welcome at the luncheon meeting.

San Antonio Rotary officers for the 2005-2006 year are: J. D. Moore, president; Stan Sanford, president-elect; Dane Parilo, secretary; Ruthanne Baumiller, treasurer; and Howard Yospin, sergeant-at-arms.

Capstone Home Mortgage recently announced the awarding of honorary member t o Lani Prilliman, a home mortgage consultant, by the East Pasco Association of Realtors. The association's board of directors voted on the award, which was presented for the first time on Dec. 9 at a Christmas and awards banquet.

"I was so surprised to receive this recognition, I was speechless," Prilliman said. "Because this is the first time the association has presented such an award, it's that much more special."

As an honorary member, Prilliman is granted the right to attend meetings and participate in discussions, with membership dues waived.

The association awarded honorary member status to Prilliman in recognition of her participation in the local Realtor Association for more than 30 years, including serving as president in 1978. She has held positions with the Florida Association of Realtors as District 10 vice president and committee chairperson, including serving on the Strategic Planning Committee and chairing the Structural Audit Committee. Prilliman was also elected to the first State Association's position of vice president/secretary of Florida Association of Realtors.

Prilliman is associated with Prudential Tropical Realty's Zephyrhills office at 7715 Gall Blvd.

"Lani's dedication to her clients, community and career is admirable," said Carol O'Connell, managing broker. "We're thrilled that the East Pasco Association of Realtors has acknowledged her dedication with an honorary membership."

Michelle and Gary Bailey from the Wesley Chapel Beef O'Brady's, Steve Slowey from the Land O'Lakes Beef O'Brady's, and Shaun McCormick from Lexington Oaks Golf Club, joined together recently for the Fourth Annual Christmas Scramble, raising money for local schools and 5-year-ol d Alex Parrish. Alex, son of Brittany and Tony Parrish and grandson of Clay and Paula Ward, is battling brain cancer. He faces many surgeries, chemotherapy and radiation treatment. The family requests thoughts and prayers for Alex.

This is the fourth year that the Beef O'Bradys and Lexington Oaks Golf club have held this tournament. The Baileys report being amazed at the growing turnout each year and say, "We want to thank everyone involved in making this golf tournament such a great success. It's a wonderful community that comes together in times of need."

Anyone wishing to donate to fund for Alex Parrish may send donations to Beef O'Brady's, 27315 State Road 54 W, Wesley Chapel, FL 33543. For information call (813) 994-1511.

[Last modified January 15, 2006, 01:47:20]