Florida Artists Group

Brooke's Bio:

Brooke Allison is a Master Pastelist with the Pastel Society of America, and an oil painter who has exhibited widely throughout the United States.  Her subject matter is the still life, portraiture, and landscape. She teaches at the Dunedin Fine Arts Center and gives national workshops in pastel still life. A retrospective of her work in pastel and oil was held at the Dunedin Fine Art Center, May 16, to June 26, 2011.

She is a signature member of:
The Pastel Society of the West Coast (California)
The Pastel Society of America, NYC, NY , Master Pastelist 2009
The Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, NYC, NY , Full Professional Membership
Pastel Society of Tampa Bay , Founding Member

Brooke received her education from The Art Institute of Chicago, The American Academy of Art, Chicago. IL and Shimer College, Mt. Carroll,IL.  I also studied with Albert Handell, a Masters in the field of pastel painting and nationally recognized  painters from The Art Student’s League and The National Academy of Art in NYC and at The Lyme Academy, in Lyme, CT.

Brooke's Artist Statement:

While browsing through the art section in a old library in East Haddam, CT. I came across a book that read, “Still life is the lowest in the hierarchy of subjects to paint suitable only for students and idle women. I was immediately inspired.  I thought I might be able to do something about that.  That was the beginning of a twenty year series of pastel paintings of still lifes painted from cloths, plants and objects of particular significance that I laid on the floor in front of the easel. Those painting have been shown across the United States, winning numerous awards and rewarding me the distinction of Master Pastelist with The Pastel Society of America in New York, NY.

The figures are the result of a lifetime interest in the study of working from the figure from life.
“Kate Changing The Pose” is the first of eight paintings following the life of Kate Vail. These paintings have received awards, one of which was given by Donald Cuspit, well known art critic, writer and lecturer from New York.  They have also been exhibited at The Tampa Museum of Art and The Jacksonville Museum of Art, The Morean in St. Petersburg, FL and The Dunedin Fine Art Center in Dunedin, FL.
My current interest is non-objective painting.  This is an exploration of paint for its own sake.  I’m drawn to the plasticity, color relationships, brush handling and calligraphy that is possible when thinking without subject matter or a predetermined goal.

The pastel still lifes are painted in pastel on an abrasive surface.  The paper ranges from 24” x 18” to 36” x 24”.  The oil paintings are 48” x 36” or larger and painted on stretched canvas.  The non-objective paintings are oil or acrylic on 40” x 40” stretched canvas.

Exhibitions:

Faculty Exhibition, Dunedin Fine Art Center, March - May 2015
FLAG Annual Exhibition, Leepa - Ratner Museum, Tarpon Springs, FL Mar - May 3, 2015
Pastel Society of Tampa Bay Annual Exhibition, February 2015. (founding member)
"Strictly From Prompts", November 2014, Stirling Artists Studios, 730 Broadway, Dunedin, FL
    Creator and curator
Brooke Allison Retrospective, Dunedin Fine Art Center 2011, Michigan Av, Dunedin, FL, 2011
Brooke Allison, one woman exhibition, The Stirling Artists Studios, 730 Broadway, Dunedin, FL 2012
Pastel Society of America, NYC, 2000 to 2012, Master Pastelist, 2009
Salmagundi Club, NYC, 2013
Previous exhibitions include Gaspari Ila, Mainsail, St Augustine Art Festival , Ocala Art Festival, Mt. Dora
Art Festival and Art Harvest in Dunedin. Awards of Excellence were received at Mainsail, St. Augustine,
and Mount Dora Art Festivals. Award of Distinction was received at the Ocala Art Festival
Boone Street Gallery, NYC, First Place, 2000.

Awards:

Pastel Society of America:
        Master Pastelist 2009 
        Degas Award, 2008
         Savoire Faire Award, 2007
         Southwest Pastel Society Award, 2005

Midwest Pastel Society
        Award of Distinction, 1995
        Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club
         Professional Level Membership
         Richwood Art Institute Award, 2001
         The American Artist Award for painting, 1994
         Bronze Medal for Pastel/Graphics, 1993

The Pastel Society of the West Coast
         Winsor and  Newton Award, 2002
         Marbo Bernard Award, 1999
         Accutype Award, 1994

The Catherine Lorillard Art Club       
         Member’s Exhibition
         Broome St. Gallery, NYC
         First Place, 2000

The Pastel Society of North Florida
         Award of Distinction, 1995

Museum Shows:

Butler Institute of American Art with the Pastel Society of America, 2003
Jacksonville Museum of Art, 1998
Tampa Museum of Art, Undercurrent Overview, 1997

Collections:

Walt Disney Corporation
Raymond James Financial Services
Barnett Bank
Central Florida Community College

Books and Publications:

Pure Color: The Best of Pastel, M. Bloomfield, North Light Publications, 2006
200 Great Painting Ideas, C. Katchen, North Light Publications, 1998
American Artist Magazine, January 2006
The Pastel Journal, July 2005 and August 2004
The Artist’s Magazine, Junee 1998

Awards of Excellence and Distinction:

Ocala Festival of the Arts
Mainsail Art Festival
Saint Augustine Art Festival