OKEECHOBEE – Local artists all came together in the Fall to fill the Okeechobee County Historic Courthouse lobby with their works of art. Okeechobee Main Street was not able to host a reception due to the pandemic concerns.
The exhibit runs through Jan. 8, 2021 and the public is welcome to visit the Historic Okeechobee County Courthouse, 304 Northwest Second Street, and see the art work. (Please wear a mask inside the courthouse.)

Fawn McNeill Barr
Wildlife and nature artist, Fawn McNeill Barr, celebrates creation through her truly original paintings. Her works are created from her own sketches, photos and memories.
Many of Fawn’s paintings contain a story, a message, or hidden elements within them. For example, she may add animals that blend into their surroundings or angels hiding in the clouds.
Fawn was 12 when she began to pursue her creative endeavors seriously. She worked as a self-taught artist for many years, creating animal portraits, homesteads, or favorite vistas for her clients. She also taught art classes in galleries and private schools before earning her BFA with a major in studio arts. She supplemented her course work with educational components at Florida Atlantic University, and also earned her teaching certification from the state of Florida.
Fawn taught art in the public schools for a few years before opening her own art gallery and teaching studio (Fawn’s Art Studio), which has closed after seven years due to the COVID pandemic. She is currently working from her home studio and showing her work online through her website (fawnsartstudio.com).
Fawn is a member of the Plein Air Painters Society of the Treasure Coast, where she does paintings on location with other plein air artists.
Using her maiden name as her pen name on her art, Fawn honors her father, Thomas McNeill, who died before she turned 3 while he served in the United States Coast Guard. She also signs her name with a dove to thank the Lord for helping her through the storms of life. (The dove is symbolic for the Holy Spirit.)

Theda Bass
Theda Bass has lived in Okeechobee for the last 40 years. After 33 years service to Okeechobee County School System, Theda retired. Having a love for nature she started painting Florida sceneries. She began with some lessons from wonderful teachers who became both friends and mentors.
Today Theda paints in oil and acrylic mediums. Most of her paintings depict Florida scenes. She shares her love for painting by giving lessons to children and adults at her kitchen table. Theda’s greatest joy is painting for others. She knows if she can paint a special moment in time for someone and capture it just right, the artist shares a moment of countless joy with the collector.

Steve Gilliland
Steve Gilliland is a native Floridian, born in Miami and currently living in Okeechobee with a stop in Loxahatchee along the way. By trade he is a carpenter which in itself is an art form. Being a carpenter Steve has developed a love of wood and what can be done with it. He stumbled across Lichtenberg a number of years back and just recently has perfected his methods to create magnificent art works in wood.
Lichtenberg, more commonly known as wood Fracking, is the process of treating raw wood with a mixture of baking soda and water then introducing high voltage to the wood. The result is beautiful one-of-a-kind patterns burned into the wood called a fractal burn. This burn is a groove that can be left natural or filled with a colored epoxy creating stunning patterns in contrast to the remaining surface that is not burned into the wood. Often Steve leaves the wood in its natural state and sometimes he highlights one or more Fractal Burns making the end result even more stunning.
Due to the high voltage required Steve admits this form of art is not for every artist and he strongly recommends not to venture into this art form without guidance from someone who knows how to safely perform the wood burning with high voltage.

Sharon Cannon
Sharon Cannon Jones is a professional photographer. Her passion has always been photography. She sees everything as a moment to be captured, a true “Nikon moment.”

She is an award-winning photographer having transitioned from amateur to professional in 2010 when she was contacted by Okeechobee The Magazine to photograph events in the local area. She is also a photographer for a Florida regional magazine, Heartland LIVING.
She is a board member, Director-At-Large for the Arts, of Okeechobee Main Street. Sharon has lived in Okeechobee for many years and has one son, Karl. She was recently married in August to Ron Jones of Austin, Tx.
“I love the history of our little town. I want to preserve all of our ‘todays’ through the lens of my camera, for our future ‘tomorrows’.”

Michael Merriman
Born in Okeechobee Florida in 1989 and growing up as a native “Okee,” Mike is deeply rooted in the Okeechobee Community. Born with a moderate impairment limiting the use of his right hand and leg as well as a speech impediment, Mike has grown to accept his condition and to him he is not handicapped, just “different like everyone else.”
Over the years Mike learned to manage his handicap and, in the process, he began sketching to express himself and communicate through his sketches.
Mike was introduced to acrylic on canvas painting. Combining his keen eye for style and design he quickly adapted to the new medium and became quite the artist.
Mike’s subjects include seascapes reflecting his love of the ocean as well as farm tractors which is representative of his life in Okeechobee. He also does a lot of commission work which consists of many different subjects selected specifically to honor a person or a person’s life.
In 2018 Goodwill Industries International honored Michael Merriman as the 2018 Kenneth Shaw Graduate of the Year for achieving professional success and exploring new ways to express himself.Mike’s work can be found on his face book page as mike merrm. Mike is also a resident artist at Park Street Gallery located at 513 SW Park Street Okeechobee.