A Gallery is Born: Saint Paint

Derek Donnelly

Derek Donnelly's Saint Paint gallery and Art Apparel store has been open for a few weeks. I mentioned it in the First Saturday Indie Market, but felt it deserved more space here, so I went back on the recent 2nd Saturday Art Walk.

Saint Paint, view from exterior.

Located just Off-Central, at #4 6th Street N, in St Pete, the gallery showcases Donnelly's Work as well as that of other carefully chosen area artists. It's an intimate space. No matter where one stands, artwork is flooding your field of vision. Derek also prints and sells unique art tees.

Saint Paint interior view.

Besides his own celebrity portrait paintings, Derek also carries work by Alex, Reid Jenkins and Jennipher Chandley. On the right is one of many paintings at Saint Paint by Reid Jenkins.

Work by Jennipher Chandley

Work by Jennipher Chandley

Jennnipher Chandley, whose work has been reviewed here before, has work in the gallery, in both paintings and T-shirt versions. On the right and left are two paintings by Ms. Chandley in a style where she has made visible what's in her mind. On the left, it's the city, its skyscrapers, in twisting, organic forms, rising, crowding. Japanese umbrellas float around the space. Passionate green flames of life rising from the crown of the female head are the foundation on which everything stands. On the right, a similar concept, here the buildings are tubes of paint, brushes standing out, note the similar palette, instead of green flames, we have red hair, the figure is introspecting, not looking out like the one on the left. It's a beautiful portrait of the artist (not literal) as  a young woman.

Reid Jenkins was painting just outside Saint Paint. On the left is a close-up of his palette and brushes.

 On the left is another view of the Saint Paint gallery walls. Visible in pink is a Derek Donnelly painting of the singer Adele.

The gallery needs tags by each painting with the title, artist's name and price.

I want to welcome Derek to the community of gallerists in St. Pete. He is a self-starter, not afraid of work, and is willing to go the distance. I wish him the best of luck with Saint Paint.

--- Luis