David Acevedo is considered one of southwest Florida’s most prominent artists.

Since his arrival to the area in 2000, he has been crucial to the city of Fort Myers’ cultural growth through his art, proposals, business accomplishments and event coordinating. Acevedo is one of the co-founders of the very popular Fort Myers Art Walk. He is the founder of DAAS CO-OP Art Gallery & Gifts, which houses over twenty-five local artists and operates as the only cooperative gallery in the city, the Union Artist Studios and most recently, the Arts & Eats Café – two other unique concepts promoting local artists in southwest Florida.

Regarding his artistic profile, his pictorial work is recognizable by the impeccably bold colors, textures, and clever compositions. He has, however, created darker imagery attributed to his silent resistance to conformity and established stereotypes. A notable part of his depictions is the hidden message or symbols in his work, drawing the viewer into each piece and creating intrigue. The work Acevedo produces ranges from vibrant Pop-like, expressionistic, and abstract. Not one to stay within the lines, he mixes mediums and techniques, unconventionally and unapologetically. A recognizable trade for this artist is the symbolic consistence and elements that represent a language. That, plus a beautiful balance of light and dark, plummet the mind into the world he has created. Currently, he is represented by local galleries and his work is collected all over the world. He has exhibited in part of the United States, Spain, and China (Hong Kong).

Acevedo grew up in a house nestled by the mountains and the ocean. As a child, he discovered the world of comic books and for years, he practiced copying the shapes of their bodies and analyzing the details and colors. He developed a keen eye for proportion and color. This influence is noticeable in some of his work today. This, mixed with a vivid imagination and a natural sense of resiliency, prompted the young artist to pursue his passions.

In 1998, Acevedo graduated Cum Laude with a degree in Visual Arts from the prestigious University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez Campus. Two years later, David was offered a job in Southwest Florida and moved to the area. Since then, he has established a solid reputation as one of the primary artists in the community, winning the title of Visual Artist of the Year in 2009 and a Gulfshorelife Magazine FACE Award in 2016 for his community work in diversity and inclusion. His first professional artist studio opened in 2006, later transforming into a pioneering art gallery called DAAS. It was after opening the first DAAS Gallery that he co-founded the popular Fort Myers Art Walk (2008), then serving in the core committee until 2012. Acevedo served in the Fort Myers Public Arts Committee from 2011 to 2012 as well. From 2013 to 2020, Acevedo contributed as Arts Editor for TOTI Media INC, publishing numerous articles for their five local and international publications. As part of his artistic endeavors, Acevedo has judged multiple exhibitions with award prizes for the Punta Gorda Visual Arts Center, the Fort Myers Alliance for the Arts, and Big Arts on Sanibel, among others. His reach has been extended by numerous featured articles in magazines such as Gulfshorelife, the Fort Myers Magazine, Happenings Magazine, the Fort Myers News-Press, D’Latinos Magazine, and others.

“I am an intuitive artist.

I do not seek to fix the world or criticize governmental institutions through my work; rather learn from myself with every brush stroke and allow my mind to wander the state of sub-consciousness that I fall into during my creative process. My work does not speak about politics or demands you to recall the stresses of everyday living. The color palette I utilize varies from time to time because of an ever-changing mind that dictates it. Never one to follow recipes, I create my own mixture of mediums until I feel content.

My process includes a long stare at a blank canvas, a look around my studio for inspiration and finally a decisive moment of whether to grab a brush and paint or the keys to my car and leave.

The artwork I produce has been described as abstract-expressionist, but I have found that descriptive labels push me to stay within the limits of a movement and that counteracts with my muses. I humbly admit traveling the journey of experimentation and I continue the constant search for individualism within my body of work.

The materials I utilize to create my paintings are usually photographs, magazine cut-outs, acrylic paints, gesso, inks, pencils, dry and oil pastels, oils, enamels, colored markers and pens; applied to cotton rag paper or stretched canvas. A particular painting of mine could have all of these mediums or as little as one; it all depends on my vision at the moment and most importantly, my mood.

I believe that we are all artists in one way or another. It just so happens that some of us are cursed with a constant and overwhelming need for creativity while others find a way to ignore such urge. Talent is not necessarily what makes the artist; passion and perseverance does.”

David Acevedo, acevedostudio.com

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Charlene M. Taubert, a Southwest Florida-based artist, actively works across multiple artistic mediums, including painting, mixed media, digital art, and cartooning.

Her work has garnered multiple awards, featured in gallery exhibitions, and resides in numerous private collections.

Taubert’s passion for art ignited during her sixth-grade art class when she won the annual “Picture Contest” with a captivating autumnal scene created using pastel chalk on construction paper.

As a young adult, Taubert developed an affinity for creating artwork on unconventional surfaces while designing sets for children’s Christmas plays and securing first place at the annual pumpkin decorating contest held at the famous Publick House Historic Inn in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. The recognition she received fueled a surge of unsolicited requests for custom “painted pumpkins,” capturing the essence of the fall season. Her reputation grew, leading to numerous commissions and an annual output of over 40 painted pumpkins.

Taubert’s artistic journey further expanded through commissioned canvas paintings for celebrity chef Roy Yamaguchi’s restaurants in Bonita Springs and Naples. She was also invited to showcase her work in a solo art exhibition titled “Familiar Faces: An Expression of Celebrity” at the Chicos FAS Taga Gallery in Fort Myers, Florida.

During her time as an innkeeper in coastal Maine (2013-2022), Taubert’s creative force flourished. She took painting workshops with acclaimed Maine artists Dennis Perrin and Mary Byrom. She was commissioned to paint an array of special event posters. Each autumn in Maine, Taubert created large-scale, seasonally-inspired public art displays. These displays gained viral traction on social media and attracted significant local media coverage, culminating in her esteemed first-place award at the 2017 Ogunquitfest Halloween Display Contest in Ogunquit, Maine.

Now back in Southwest Florida, Taubert serves as the General Manager and Construction Oversight Manager of the Blue Dolphin on West Gulf Drive, a landmark cottage resort on Sanibel Island that was completely destroyed by Hurricane Ian, requiring a full rebuild. She dedicates her creative time to mixed media painting and her digital cartoon series, “On Podunk Road.”

“My artwork has always been dominated by playful and colorful elements, along with an embrace of the types of warmth and nostalgia that always seem to make children of all ages smile!”

Charlene M. Taubert, onpodunkroad.com

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Eric J Taubert is an artist, contemporary fine art photographer, and writer based in Southwest Florida. He has worked internationally, with an emphasis on coastal New England (including a deep connection to Maine and the Ogunquit Art Colony + Ogunquit Art Association / Barn Gallery), Southwest Florida (particularly Sanibel/Captiva Island + the area between Fort Myers and Key West), and Europe. Taubert’s work has been exhibited in a variety of fine art galleries across the United States, featured in magazines, and is also held in many private collections.

“I’m most-often drawn towards an examination of coastal textures in my work. Weathered wood. Salt-crusted working waterfronts. Seaside dive bars. Residents, workers, and tourists in coastal villages, coves, and harbors. My work is created through the process of a slow, deliberate, and mindful look at the interaction of places near the ocean with the human-made stuff found along these coastline areas.

How do the sun, and the storms, and the salt water have an impact on the dwellings, signs, tools, boats, docks, fishing gear, and gathering places of the people who live in proximity to them?

What truths are revealed through the eclectic encounters that occur in these delicate ecotones where complex tourism-economy pressures ceaselessly collide with the fragile habitats of the native species and day-to-day lives of those who call these heavily-marketed destinations home?

How do tangles of ropes, buoys, driftwood, human-generated debris, beach-town ephemera, and the passage of time all conspire to become part of these nostalgia-drenched and kaleidoscopically-evolving landscapes that speak so loudly to so many of us?”

Eric J. Taubert, taubertgallery.com

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