tom's blog

“He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands, and his head, and his heart is an artist.” – St Francis of Assisi. This quote in the opening pages of Geoffrey’s book fits this man perfectly.

I have wanted to meet Geoffrey for some time, I was interested in the artist behind the giant sailfish in downtown Stuart FL. This morning we got together at his studio in Stuart for some conversation and photo’s.

Geoffrey lives in a world of bronze and clay, creating his molds with detail and purpose. I had no idea of the entire scope of work involved to creating a piece.

He showed me a movie about the making of the Stuart Sailfish which was very very interesting. In case you don’t know about which piece I am referring too, below is my art of his art, probably the most photographed piece of art in Martin County.

His sculptures are intricate and amazing. “Each piece has its own sense of pilgrimage” writes author Michael Sabbeth in his book about Geoffrey.

It was great spending time with Geoffrey and getting to know a little bit about him and his work.

http://www.geoffreysmith.com/

-tw

As pianist, violinist, and vocalist, Lindsay Garritson is another great example of the talent that has roots and ties to our community. 

As winner of several concerto competitions, Lindsay has performed with the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, University City Symphony, and the European Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. Most recently, she was awarded second prize in the 2011 Montreal International Piano Competition and first prize at the 2010 Mozarteum International Chopin Competition in Salzburg. She recently received her Masters Degree at the Yale School of Music studying with renowned pianist Boris Berman and is currently on staff as an Accompanist at Yale.

She engaged me for some portrait work while she was home for the holidays and performances with the Atlantic Classical Orchestra.

I love working with musicians, they are always inspiring. They also become easily distracted by their instruments and tend to forget my presence….

Working around her concerts last week, we were able to get some time in her home and at the Lyric to make these great images.

Lindsay was a pleasure to work with, her beauty, personality, and talent blend perfectly…

-tw

Last night I went fishing with Capt. John Meskauskas of Stuart Fly Fishing…

Ok, well I really didn’t go fishing, but rather went out to make a portrait of Capt. John…

Since making environmental portraits is my specialty, I took John into his work space, in and around the water. So we went to the sandbar area just inside the St Lucie Inlet in Stuart FL.

Pacing ourselves against the tide and the sunset was the game plan, and it worked out just perfectly. Below is a production shot…and yes, my gear is in the water, just above the rapidly rising water…

It was actually a great night to be out on and in the water, real peaceful and relaxing. There were so many birds flying low and fish jumping around us. A much different scene from the weekend boat crowds.

John was great to work with, really easy going and relaxed…

my favorite image of the set…

to learn more about John and Stuart Fly Fishing: http://www.stuartflyfishing.com/

to see more of my environmental portraits: http://www.thomaswinter.com/

a behind the scenes video of the shoot: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns907W-FU4E

-tw