From the Partenrship:
A new art gallery opened in downtown. Orange Park Gallery has located on North Franklin Street in The Arlington residential development on the ground floor. Find out what’s planned at this dynamic new venue by visiting www.hilifetampa.com and clicking on the "Happenings" section to get to downtown's events calendar.

http://www.tampasdowntown.com/newsletter.aspx?newid=67

Gallery Website:
http://www.orangeparkgallery.com/1.html

And some of the events from www.hilifetampa.com, thru January:

"Figurative Expressions”
Presented By: Orange Park Gallery International
Event InformationDate(s) 11/2/2007 - 12/6/2007
Time(s) 11:00 AM to 7:00 p.m. Tues - Sat
Location Orange Park Gallery
1215 N. Franklin Street
Tampa,FL
33602
Website/Email www.orangeparkgallery.com / info@orangeparkgallery.com
Category: Arts, ARTE 2007
Admission: FREE
Description: Fine Art Exhibition featuring paintings by Larissa Makeeva and Fauzie As’Ad and sculpture by Basil Watson. The exhibition runs until December 6th 2007.

"Samba Arte"
Presented By: Orange Park Gallery International
Event InformationDate(s) 11/2/2007 - 12/6/2007
Time(s) 11:00 A.M. - 7:00P.M.
Location Orange Park Gallery International
1215 North Franklin Street
Tampa,FL
33602
Website/Email www.orangeparkgallery.com / info @orangeparkgallery.com
Category ARTE 2007, Arts
Admission: FREE!!
Description: ART EXHIBITION WITH A FOCUS ORIGINAL DRAWINGS DEPICTING MOVEMENT UTILIZING PUPPETRY. THE EXHIBITION FEATURES THE WORK OF CUBAN LATINO ARTIST ISRAEL DELMONTE WHO RESIDES AND WORKS OUT OF KINGSTON JAMAICA.

“Evocatively Abstract”
Presented By: Orange Park Gallery International
Event InformationDate(s) 12/8/2007 - 1/5/2008
Time(s) Opening Reception:
Saturday December 8, 2007
6:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M.
Exhibition runs until Jan. 5th, 2008
Location Orange Park Gallery
1215 N. Franklin Street
Tampa,FL
33602
Website/Email www.orangeparkgallery.com / info@orangeparkgallery.com
Category Arts, Arts
Admission: FREE
Description: A fine art holiday exhibition featuring colorful and evoking abstracts by an international grop of artists.
Opening Saturday December 8, 2007
6:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M.
Exhibition runs until Jan. 5th, 2008

This is so weird. I grew up in Orange Park, a shabby little suburb south of Jacksonville. What's it doing down here? I thought I escaped!

Haha... You can not escape your past! J/k.

New Gallery Offers Easy-On-The-Eye Original Works

The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 12, 2007

DOWNTOWN - There's a new gallery in a section of North Franklin Street where a cautious rebirth is taking place.

Housed in the historic Arlington building, 1215 N. Franklin St., near The Fly Bar and Restaurant, Orange Park Gallery International aims to offer easy-on-the-eye original works by artists worldwide.

Owner Greg Phillips moved here from Atlanta, where he had a gallery of the same name. His new cavernous and well-lit space comfortably accommodates the large-scale art he favors. It opened in October with an exhibit of paintings and sculptures by several internationally acclaimed artists, including Russian-born Larissa Makeeva.

An exhibit of Makeeva's paintings, called "Evocatively Abstract," runs through Jan. 5 at the gallery. The title describes the thrust of her work: fluid brush strokes and dramatic bursts of color capture and translate mood.

Also featured at the gallery will be Fauzie As'Ad, an Indonesian artist whose work has been displayed in Europe and Africa.

Makeeva will attend the free opening reception for her show at 6 p.m. Saturday.

Call the gallery at (813) 333-6299 for information.

Art After Dark Goes 'Inside/Out'

The Tampa Museum of Art will host "Art After Dark: Inside/Out," featuring works by more than 20 local artists, from 8 to 11 p.m. Friday.

"There's a lot of color and a lot of surrealistic and abstract imagery," said show curator Mitzi Gordon, an artist and writer.

The show started with invitations to artists who create two- and three-dimensional works. Then University of South Florida graduate student Daniel Moore was invited, and he invited 37 more students for performance art and live painting.

"Some of the projects by the university students really made me feel that there's going to be a circus atmosphere," said Gordon, a former employee of Media General, parent company of The Tampa Tribune. "They have a fire dancer, a face painter, and one of the performance artists is making a miniature float that someone's going to be riding in. I think it's going to surprise and entertain."

Among the other artists are David Bailey, Shelby Boggs, Caesar Carbajal, Chad Cardoza, former Tribune photographer Carol Cleere, Dustin Koncinsky, Greg Latch, P$YNNER, Terry Pipitone, Ryan Prado, Maria Saraceno, Steve Sperry, Doug Taylor, Bradley Paul Valentine and Kate Whatley.

Admission is $10; free for museum members. There will be appetizers and a cash bar.

Call the museum at (813) 274-8130 for details.

Nonprofit Artists' Group Hosts Inaugural Exhibit

A new nonprofit, grass-roots organization of artists, TampaArtist.com, is ready for its first exhibit and sale.

About 30 artists from the group will showcase their works Saturday at Romeo's Gallery, 1515 Seventh Ave. Doors open at 6 p.m.; a donation is suggested.

Everything is priced at $300 or less, and the pieces are 30 square inches or smaller.

"With galleries, the formula is usually a 60-40 split and that usually puts the price out of the range of most people," executive director Rich L. Frederick said. "With us, the artist pays an entry fee, but then they get to set their prices and they keep 100 percent of the sale price. We wanted to make this very accessible and get people out."

For information, go to www.tampaartist.com.

Center For The Arts Hosting 2 Exhibits

The West Tampa Center for the Arts, housed in the former Santaella Cigar Factory, 1906 N. Armenia Ave., will host two concurrent exhibits.

"Reduced," an exhibition of black, white and gray Aworks, is curated by Kurt Piazza. Works are priced at less than $200.

In Gallery 209 on the center's second floor, Tracey Midulla Reller will show new works in an exhibit called "Connectivity & Austerity."

The exhibits will run for three weeks, with the opening reception for both from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday.

Call (813) 453-4381 for information.

UT Showcases Seniors' Artwork

The University of Tampa honors graduating seniors with an exhibit that ends with a free reception from 7 to 9 p.m. Friday at the Scarfone/Hartley Gallery, at the RK Bailey Studios, 310 N. Boulevard.

Call the gallery at (813) 253-6217 for information.

Nuance Galleries Hops Into Holiday

Nuance Galleries, 804 S. Dale Mabry Highway, hopes to beckon your buying bug with the exhibit "Art is the Perfect Gift."

Original paintings, limited-edition prints, photographs, ceramic sculptures, raku pottery and more will be featured; cider and cookies will be served Saturday and Dec. 22.

Call the gallery at (813) 875-0511 for information.

Correspondent Esther Hammer can be reached at (813) 835-2108 or ehammer@tampatrib.com.

http://southtampa2.tbo.com/content/2007/dec/12/st-new-gallery-offers-easy-on-the-eye-original-wor/?news

Getting 'A Vibe Going'

http://snap.tbo.com/images/photos/100038/2008/02/02/gallery/1848776.jpg
Photo by KELVIN MA/staff
Greg Phillips opened the Orange Park Gallery International last fall. The former Verizon project manager says he is very much invested in developing the Arts District in downtown Tampa, where he has reached out to several business and other galleries to try to build something from the ground up.

The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 6, 2008

Updated: 02/04/2008 09:34 pm

DOWNTOWN - Gregory Phillips recently drove to Fort Myers to pick up a few pieces of art from Michael Beauchemin, an artist who grew up in the Tampa Bay area.

That's what Phillips, a native of Jamaica, likes best about his job as director of Orange Park Gallery International. He meets creative people; "different cultures, different ideas," he said.

The gallery, 1215 N. Franklin St., opened in October in the Arlington, a 1920s hotel remodeled into offices and condominiums. Orange Park occupies a long, narrow space with a skylight and track lighting to highlight the vivid paintings, drawings and sculptures.

Though he's a newcomer to the neighborhood, Phillips is busy organizing a May event for everyone on Franklin. He plans a fashion show, art walk and food fest, and is awaiting city permitting.

From 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, he's hosting a Bob Marley-themed show as part of Black History Month. The featured sculpture sits in his window - a bronze of Marley by Basile Watson.

Phillips stopped at Fly Bar & Restaurant across the street to ask owner Leslie Shirah whether her band would play some Marley tunes.

"We need to get a vibe going," he said.

Cooperation among neighbors is how Phillips, 49, sees his venture in the urban scene. Phillips, who lives in Odessa with his wife and daughter, has spent much of his adult life in New York City. He moved to Tampa from Atlanta in December 2004 as a telecom consultant.

He has long collected art, though when he tried his hand at painting, "I was not of that caliber as my classmates."

The No. 1 thing he loves about his new location: parking and more parking.

"There are lots everywhere, so that will never be a problem," he said.

For information, call (813) 333-6299 or go to www.orangeparkgallery.com.

Janis D. Froelich

http://southtampa2.tbo.com/content/2008/feb/06/st-getting-a-vibe-going/?news