Meet the Jury

Introducing the jury panel for the signature "Art is a Drag" exhibit produced by the resident artists of Gallery On First.

The resident artists of the Gallery On First have created new pieces based on the theme "Art is a Drag" for the special Art Walk event happening in downtown Sanford on March 19, 2016, 6-9pm.

A "Best of Show" award  will be selected based on the results of voting by a panel of expert jurors.

Meet the jury ~

Lael DeWahl has had an extensive career as a Fine Art specialist in a variety of capacities over the years. 

She provides art concierge services for collectors and design professionals for LWVC. She also curates the collections and exhibitions at the Winter Park Grace Gallery and the new Art Gallery at Mills Park.

Lael DeWahl brings fine art expertise to everything she does.

Roland Pasqual Rockwood 

During the 1980s, Roland was part of the Graffiti revolution where subway trains and walls were his expressive canvas. Although Roland has studied the anatomical figure, he has always been inspired by abstract expressionism and all avant-garde media. Roland's inspiration comes from big city culture, gothic and contemporary architecture, industrial design and the many visits to museums and galleries around the world. Drawing human anatomy at an early age, he went on to study figure drawing at the National Academy Museum & School in New York (www.nationalacademy.org) under the renowned art instructor and author Terence Cole, who is now teaching at the Art Students League in New York. 

Now living in Florida, Roland progressed on to creating abstract and figurative abstract paintings. He is continually brainstorming on innovative concepts, such as cryptic forms of dialogue in his paintings only known to him and inquiring minds.

Will Benton is an artist and the Executive Director of FAVO (Faith Arts Village Orlando). Will is also a professional classical pianist, organist and vocalist.

Megan Paquette Stepe

I live and breathe art-- an artist, conservator, historian and non-profit admin; always striving to improve the cultural well-being of our community (The Everett Spruill Foundation for the Arts) 

Ms. Stepe is not only an artist herself, she is also the Gallery Curator & Art History Professor, Seminole State College of Florida.

• Master of Arts (MA) in Art History, Theory & Critique from Florida State University
• Bachelor of Arts (BA), Art with concentration in Art History and Minor Anthropology from the University of Central Florida
• Painting Conservation with the Pruet Conservation Studio

Vickie Wilson is a brilliant artist who can best be described in her own words ~

Take a Matisse loving, third generation abstract painter birthed on the likes of De Kooning and Pollack, subject her to 18 years of watching graffiti covered subway trains, blurs of color, screeching brakes, just pure raw emotion. Add some Keith Haring, Studio 54, punk rock and just plain life in the fast lane. Now those memories can be transformed, by searching for a personal language in art. 

Vickie Wilson regularly exhibits at the  O Gallery @ The City Arts Factory and with First-Thursdays at the Orlando Museum of Art. She currently has  several paintings at the Aloft Hotel gallery, four of which are collaboration pieces with Neosole. She has work in the Orlando Museum of Art gift shop and is represented by the JF Gallery in West Palm Beach.

Charley Williams is a native Floridian and has been a Central Florida/Winter Park resident since 1990. Williams is a proud patron of Gallery on First and has known owner Jeanine Taylor since her store first opened in Winter Park. He is a frequent traveler to the annual Ruby Williams’ Folk Art Anniversary event in Bealsville, Fl. (Plant City) and counts Ruby as his “cousin”. Williams’ interest in traditional southern folk art has resulted in a substantial collection with contributions to exhibits at the Orlando Mennello Museum of American Art and compilations on Florida’s Highwaymen artists. Recent travels have taken him on three separate trips to Havana, including this year’s Art Bienniel. (Twitter: @537votes)

We are honored to have the participation of this distinguished panel of jurors for the Gallery On First "Art is a Drag" exhibit.