'Have Brush Will Travel': Lightner Museum to feature local artist Rosamond Parrish

St. Augustine’s Lightner Museum is showcasing Rosamond Parrish’s Have Brush Will Travel art through Sept. 17, in conjunction with the museum’s Lightner Local quarterly exhibits.

Have Brush Will Travel consists of seven multi-media collages and 23 watercolor paintings Parrish described as an “evocative journal” of her travels, both domestic and abroad.

The 30-year St. Augustine resident said she is “doing back flips” to be able to partake in this “incredible opportunity.”

“To see my work displayed at the Lightner Museum is the holy grail of painting for the love of art,” Parrish said.

Vibrant mixed media collages, born and bred from Parrish’s vivid imagination, combine her love for travelling with tributes to great artists that inspire her. Artifacts from magazines, brochures, even menus from vacation sites, join the likes of Pablo Picasso, Vincent Van Gough, Wayne Thiebaud, Robert Rauchenberg, Frida Kahlo and Georgia O’Keefe.

Symbolic and hard to find images are embedded within the vibrant fray of these meaningful assemblies. Parrish underscored the collages of O’Keefe and Kahlo as favorites.

“I pictured Georgia and Frida going to lunch as friends, like women do,” she said. “And I’m sure they would’ve been as overjoyed to wander around the Museo Rafael Coronel as I was. Housed in this lovely, 17th century convent in Zacatecas, Mexico, is an incredible display of ancient Mexican dance and ritual masks created in every conceivable material: wood, clay, wax, papier mâché’, copper, silver, leather, cloth and bone.”

Other collages include Martha Stewart, Miriam Shapiro and New York’s Statue of Liberty surrounded by immigrants.

According to the Lightner Museum, Lightner Local was created to showcase the extraordinary talents of artists who live in the Northeast and Central Florida regions. Supported by the Benjamin and Jean Troemel Arts Foundation, local artists are juried for acceptance.

Parrish noted that she felt like Jean Troemel, a personal friend, would’ve been “thrilled” for her.

Angela de Gregory, The Lightner Museum’s engagement manager, described public reaction to Parrish’s work as “fascinating.”

“The collages have drawn a lot of public attention.” she said. “People are fascinated by what they see.”

Trained in drawing and pastels as a child, it took but two years after graduating from Auburn University with a double-major in English Literature and Spanish for Parrish to sidestep the world of academia and pursue an art career. She completed post-graduate art stints at the University of Hawaii, Flagler College, and the University of North Florida where she studied under Edgar Whitney and Louise Freshman Brown.

Touting a Signature Life membership in the Florida Watercolor Society, Parrish is also the recipient of the Recognizing Outstanding Women in the Arts award and honored as Artist of the year by the Watercolor Society. As founder of the Jacksonville Watercolor Society, Parrish described the title as a significant accomplishment. Parrish taught watercolor and outdoor sketching at the Jacksonville Art Museum for over 20 years.

In addition to her artwork, Parrish is the author of two books - Lincolnville: A Sketchbook Journal of St. Augustine’s Historic Neighborhood and St. Augustine: A Sketchbook.

“These books showcase St. Augustine’s historic architecture, iconic ancestry and picturesque vistas while celebrating the City’s Spanish-style, Mediterranean Revival and British Colonial architecture,” she said.

Both books are for sale at the Lightner Museum. “Nothing excites me more than being in a new place, driving down a back road with no particular goal in mind, or getting on a plane with my carry-on bag, travel palette, sketchbooks and pens,” said Parrish. “Have Brush Will Travel is all about sharing my love for travel with my love for art.”

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Lightner Museum to feature local artist Rosamond Parrish