Current Exhibitions
Charlotte S. Chastain Exhibit
Exhibit Dates: 5/24 – 5/27
Opening: 5/26 (5:30-7:30 pm)
Charlotte Chastain is a native of Thomasville, Georgia and began her artistic endeavors as a child, studying privately under the founder of the Thomasville Cultural Center. Her passion for painting led her to study watercolor painting at the University of Georgia, where her professor recognized her talent and encouraged her to continue painting after college.
Chastain’s paintings range from intricately detailed botanical studies to grander images of landscapes, seascapes, florals, and abstract renditions unique to her environment. Through color, light, and careful observation, she captures a strength and beauty in her paintings’ distinctive realistic points of view. She often paints on location from live subjects, gathering inspiration from plants and gardens, winding roads, doors and windows, and seascapes, sometimes referencing original photos from her travels around the world. Chastain's work is greatly inspired by the natural beauty of Florida’s coastline, marshes, wetlands, and rivers, and her deep personal relationship with nature appears in her paintings and inspires every stroke of her brush.
A master gardener who began gardening alongside her mother and grandmother and later received formal training at RISD in Rome, Italy, Chastain’s visits to gardens throughout the world are reflected in her landscape paintings. She explains, “I am bewitched by the beauty around me. I want to record it. There is nothing more enticing than a pathway in the garden leading to a focal point. I am as a child in a flower garden when choosing the colors for the palette of my paintings.”
Chastain’s award-winning work has been recognized throughout the United States where she has held many solo exhibitions. Her first one-woman show was in Thomasville, Georgia at The Gift Shop in 1979, and later at the Swan Coach House and Piedmont Driving Club, among others, in Atlanta, Georgia and Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Her paintings hang in many corporations and private homes.
A long-time active member of the First Coast Cultural Center, Chastain was recognized as the Center’s Volunteer of the Year in 2022.
January/February JAME- Juried Artist Member Exhibition
Exhibition at the FCCC studio in South Jacksonville until February 14th.
Stop by the studio from 10am-4pm to see our local artists’ work!
Exhibition Winners
1st Place - Riette Gouws, “Crystal Spring Sunset” (oil on board)
2nd Place: Darline Braz, “Beyond Our Galaxy”, (mixed media)
3rd Place: Patricia Erickson, “Abstract on YUPO”, (water media)
Honorable Mention: Norma Cherry, “Jonathan”, (mixed media)
Please save the date, the next JAME show will be held in late fall. First Coast Cultural Center will split the sale with the artist taking home 60% and the CCPVB taking 40% of the sale. This way, we are able to continue to host future exhibitions and support the arts community. The price that you give us for your work is what we will post them as for sale, and this includes the 40% commission of the CCPVB.
If you are an artist member, we welcome your application for the following:
If you need assistance applying, please give us a call and you can stop by the center for assistance. You will need photos of your pieces to apply, so bring a USB or email the images to yourself so that you can access them here. If you have any questions, please contact Toni Thomas at (904) 280-0614 ext.1206 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
