Artists of Palm Beach County is a non-profit 501c organization dedicated to helping member artists achieve their artistic goals and utilize their talents to enrich the lives in our community.
We recognize that artists often face difficulties in having proper resources to practice and produce their art, to learn and expand their skills, and to feel that their art is recognized and appreciated. We are a home for these artists. A place where they can access resources, expand their skills, be inspired, share their art, and help each other prosper.
Most importantly, we want to facilitate and enable the youth in our community to embrace the study and practice of all that is art. Our Certificate of Solicitation allows us to pursue tax-deductible donations to generate scholarship money, which we use to award scholarships to local students who show outstanding achievements in the visual arts and to offer educational programs, opportunities, and experiences to the community.
We strongly believe that art in all its forms serves a public purpose and can enhance community well-being.
THE BOARD
Mary Jane Zapp - President
After over 30 years as a realtor, Mary Jane devotes her work to her first inspiration: Photography. APBC was also a natural attraction- an eclectic group of talented folks who encourage each other to each reach for their respective stars. Mary Jane enjoys participating in shows, working with children’s projects with APBC, and all the diversity of community opportunities that are created by this group of people who are interesting and interested. Join us!
Carole Pitchney –
Co-Vice President/Chair of the Membership Committee
Carole Pichney is an acrylic painter specializing in interiors and travel-related paintings. Although not professionally trained, she has taken numerous painting classes in New York and Florida. These include the Art Students League, The National Academy of Design, The Center for Visual Arts, The East Ends Arts Council, and the Armory Art Center. She joined the Board two years ago after moving here from Long Island.
Maxine Schreiber –
Co-Vice President
A retired Licensed Mental Health Counselor, Maxine received a Masters degree in Expressive Therapies in 1977 from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. She was a psychotherapist for over thirty years. In 2005, she closed her private practice of sixteen years to devote her full time to oil painting, fiction, and non-fiction writing. A former columnist for BestofArtists.com and the Indian River Art News, she was West Palm Beach Fine Arts Examiner for Examiner.com and published close to two hundred articles about the art community. In 2014 she wrote, illustrated, and published The Story of Daphne the Duck, a children’s picture book. Though primarily an impressionistic landscape painter who loves creating art, showing, and selling her work, she gets equal pleasure writing about and promoting the artists and art establishments that make up the fabulous art scene in Palm Beach County.
Ilene Gruber Adams – Co-Vice President /Marketing
Owner of The Marketing Works of Palm Beach. After owning a nationally acclaimed multimillion-dollar broadcast marketing company in the Northeast shifted her interest to small businesses and the arts.
Ilene has worked in the non-profit art world bringing her marketing talents and creativity to several art organizations and working to advance art and artists in the community.
She has curated and judged many large festivals and exhibitions and has served as a board member at several organizations, among them, ArtSynergy, Artists of Palm Beach County, and Wellington Art Society and was a long-time advisor for the Cultural Affairs Committee for the city of West Palm Beach and volunteers at the Norton and is the designer of the volunteer newsletter.
Adams works in mixed media and photography, often combining the two in installation pieces.
Al Rojas – Treasurer
My works attempt at balancing the abstract with the representational, colorful, linear, and geometric. I use a chaotic process to produce abstract imagery and backgrounds and using every step of the way to control the work giving it a sense of order and composition to come up with a blend of abstract-representational images – see some of my works at my signature artists page. Currently, Al is the organization’s Treasurer.
Heather Couch– Secretary of the Board
Heather Couch, is a professor at Palm Beach Atlantic University in West Palm Beach. Heather received an MFA in Fine Art in 2015 from Arizona State University. She works in sculptural ceramics and mixed media installation, composing with material language to form pieces that reflect on tensions of uncertainty. Recent solo exhibitions include "Static/Not Static" at The Peach Arts District in West Palm, “Composing Texture” at the University of Dallas in Texas, and “Knowing, On What Grounds” at the Fried Fruit Gallery in Deland. Heather has been a resident artist at CRETA Rome in Rome Italy, the Armory Art Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, the International Ceramics Studio in Kecskemet, Hungary, and the Mesa Arts Center in Mesa, Arizona. Her work can be found in private and public collections, including Florida Gulf Coast University in Florida, Union University in Tennessee, and the Mesa Contemporary Art Museum (MCA) in Arizona.
Linda Miller – Chair of Art Salon/Secretary to the Board
Linda Miller has always loved and appreciated art, but didn’t become an artist herself until 2002. Traveling throughout Greece with a group of watercolorists was the launching point of her art adventure. Landscapes in the impressionist style are the focus of her work and she has used both watercolor and oil in her art. A relative newcomer to Florida, the natural beauty of the area is her constant inspiration.
She started the Art Salon a few years ago out of a desire to inspire and connect with fellow artists. Creating art can be a lonely process; and she believes that sharing information and ideas help us learn and grow as artists and professionals. The monthly meetings have featured various successful artists who shared their life stories and provided helpful information for the group.
Lydia Dardi – Director at Large
I am primarily a landscape artist but also enjoy painting birds and flowers, especially those found in our beautiful Florida wetland preserves. My medium is pastels. I sketch on location and ultimately paint from my own photographs.
Bonnie Summer– Director at Large
Bonnie Summer was born and raised in South Florida. She started painting birds and dragons at 7 years old. Over the years, family and career took precedence over her love of painting, but at age 50, she once again picked up the brush. Today, Bonnie enjoys painting even more than ever and finds relaxation by putting acrylic to canvas during her time off from her full-time job.
Bonnie has a Bachelor of Science in Health Administration from Florida Atlantic University and works full-time for the Florida Department of Health, Investigative Services Unit.
Wildlife, pets, nature, and sea creatures motivate Bonnie’s paintings. Other interests include famous people and South Florida landmarks like the Juno Pier, Delray Beach, and Wakodahatchee Wetlands.
Bonnie’s second passion is photography, which she initially picked up as a hobby. She takes photos of everybody and everything, every chance she gets, and her favorite subject is Gracie, her West Highland Terrier. Her goal is to paint enough pieces to have a solo exhibition at a gallery.
Karen Karmazin – Director at Large/Advisory
Karen Karmazin attained her BA and graduate studies in Fine Arts at Queens College. Subsequently, she was awarded a fellowship and attained her Master’s Degree in Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut and a Doctorate in Education at the University of Buffalo. Karen’s teaching career spanned the education of normally achieving and special needs students from birth to adolescence in suburban and urban districts. She holds NYS Certification in School District Administration, Special Education, Elementary Education, and Fine Arts. Fellowships included a scholarship to study at the Provincetown Art School in Cape Cod, MA, a grant from the Department of Health and Education for graduate study, and a National Wildlife Grant to construct a large school habitat. Her painting and drawing have been influenced by post-abstract expressionists and incorporates a wide array of medium, including oil, acrylic, mixed media, drawing, and watercolor. She has exhibited work in Cape Cod, MA; Queens County, NY; Buffalo, NY and Palm Beach County, FL.
Dennis P. León – Director at Large
Once a professional photographer, then professional no more … now a Photography Lover dedicated to sharing and educating the Art of Photograph
Kat Penley – Director at Large/Advisory