Joanne Baker MacLeod -- Whole Foods Artist

The Wellington Art Society was invited by Whole Foods Market in Wellington to run their Cafe Artist program. Their roomy cafe has plenty of wall space to hang art, and lots of windows to provide natural light. The program is open to Wellington Art Society members, and is offered as a three-month solo artist show. Members must apply to have the show, providing photos of at least 12 paintings to display. A selection committee chooses the artist, factoring in cohesiveness of the dozen paintings, and looking for Florida or nature-inspired paintings that would go with the Whole Foods Market. In the middle of the three-month period, Whole Foods hosts a reception to honor the artist. They provide wine, cheese, pastries, and invite a musician to entertain for the evening. We were pleased to choose Joanne Baker MacLeod as our first Whole Foods artist. Joanne began her art journey as a young girl, starting first with drawing. She went on to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, where she earned a Fine Arts Degree with a major in Commercial Art. She began painting in college, and never stopped, developing a love of working in oil. After her three children grew up, she was able to spend even more time painting. She moved to Wellington with her husband in 1997. She loves painting realistic nature scenes, and inspiration comes from the many wildlife sanctuaries here. Here are a few of her oil paintings, as they were displayed at the Whole Foods Market Cafe.

Joanne had her paintings displayed from June 1 - August 31, 2011. Her reception was July 22, 2011. The Whole Foods Market is located in Wellington on SR7, just south of the Wellington Green Mall. The cafe is at the left side of the market, and you can visit there to see the art of the latest Wellington Art Society Whole Foods artist.