Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Skilled Labor
Mike Wittman By Tobin Bennison It’s not unusual to meet young artists who’ve been inspired by skate culture, but it’s rare to come across one as humble as local graphic designer Mike Wittman. Skateboarding’s inherently solitary, DIY aesthetic tends to breed brasher artists who can’t wait to strike out on their own. Wittman, however, saw the benefits of a traditional apprenticeship early on. Born in Virginia Beach, VA, Wittman, 24, has lived in Cocoa Beach since the... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Skilled Labor
Dirk Strangely Edgar Allen Poe with the body of a raven perched on a spindly branch; a zombie-like Pac Man surveying the graves of his victims; Strawberry Shortcake as a hobbling, wrinkled crone; a skeletal, empty-eyed gardener futilely sprinkling seeds on a desiccated twig; a quartet of sweet sixteen partygoers devouring a clown… These are just a few of the paintings to have sprung from the skewed mind of Houston, TX-based artist Dirk Strangely. Due to arrive on April for a showing at Café... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Skilled Labor
Beth Kring Tobin Bennison Merritt Island artist Beth Kring jokingly claims that she does most of her painting in her car. “If I took my pieces into my house,” she laughs, “my dogs would eat them.” There’s a kernel of truth in this comical aside. In addition to making beautifully muted tropical watercolors, Beth is devoted to rescuing Bloodhounds. “I have four now; we lost three last year from old age,” she says. “I am pretty limited as regards space,... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Skilled Labor
Roger Burleigh of Green Gloves Garden Center By Tobin Bennison Twenty-seven years ago, opening a nursery and landscaping company was probably the last thing on Roger Burleigh’s mind. Back then, skateboarding and BMX occupied most of his thoughts. The half-pipe he built in the backyard of his family’s Merritt Island home attracted Cocoa Beach groms like John Mayo and the Slater brothers, so it’s no wonder he soon added surfing to his list of consuming interests. Burleigh remembers... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Skilled Labor
Terri McCutchan • Tobin Bennison • For Cocoa Beach artist Terri McCutchan, nature is “God’s palette,” a gift to be appreciated in all its forms. Terri was born in Miami to parents who encouraged her creativity from the start. Her mother, an artist herself, was particularly supportive of her interests, and it was she who taught Terri to see art in everything around her. To this day, Terri credits her mother with opening her eyes to the boundless beauty of nature, and her work... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Skilled Labor
Ryan Speer Tobin Bennison Unlike most artists who adopt aliases, Ryan Speer came up with his “Speerbot” character as a way to unite rather than separate his creative and private selves. Conceived, according to legend, after Speer decapitated himself in a freak X-Acto blade accident while racing to complete an art project at UF, Speerbot is a capsule-like robot outfitted with Speer’s fortuitously preserved head. But for the Satellite Beach-based artist, the character is neither... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Skilled Labor
Dr. Donna Ragona Tobin Bennison For many, medicine and art reside at opposite ends of the disciplinary spectrum. For Donna Ragona, the two share more natural similarities than dictated differences. As a veterinarian, Dr. Ragona practices integrative medicine at her newly opened Animal Wellness Center in Cocoa Village. By blending conventional Western techniques with holistic Eastern alternative therapies like acupuncture, massage, Reiki, and nutritional-based treatment, she’s set a new standard... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Skilled Labor
Juan Arboleda Tobin Bennison You wouldn’t guess it from looking at the elegant, hand-carved signs he makes, but one of Juan Arboleda’s strongest influences is French graffiti artist Christian Guémy, more popularly known by his “tag,” C125. Granted, Guémy’s intriguing use of stencils informs Arbodela’s separate series of pop art-inspired images, but Arbodela’s interest in the visual immediacy of graffiti and traditional signage fashions an unlikely arc... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Skilled Labor
Chris McCall comes from a long line of brewers and beer enthusiasts. Born in Phoenix, Arizona, McCall put Cocoa Beach on the microbrew map when he and his wife Tracy opened the Cocoa Beach Brewing Company here in the summer of 2008. With solid roots in the South- and Midwest, he could have easily overlooked this humble beachside town as the spot for his popular brewpub. But like so many other visitors who fall for its charms, McCall instinctively felt that Cocoa Beach was the perfect place to live... [Read more...]
Tobin Bennison
Article Category: Skilled Labor
CHRIS BREWER When you see Chris Brewer’s paintings for the first time, it makes perfect sense that one of his primary influences is Andy Warhol, an artist who redefined portaiture for a new generation with his affinity for deconstructing his subjects with bold swaths of color. It makes sense, too, that Brewer borrows elements of other boundary-challenging “pop” artists like Mark Rothko, Roy Lichtenstein, Keith Haring, and Jeff Koons. But a far more interesting influence at play... [Read more...]
