By NewsLine Staff
mail@floridanewsline.com

An art exhibit highlighting the work of longtime Fruit Cove artist Marie Shell will be on display at the Bartram Trail Branch of the St. Johns County Public Library from Feb. 1 through March 12. 

Shell was a prodigious and influential painter who called Fruit Cove home for more than 50 years. Working from her studio on the St. Johns River, she created more than 3,000 cataloged works of art. Her work has been featured in at least 11 art books and she was a signature member of several artists’ societies including the National Watercolor Society, the Southern Watercolor Society, the Florida Watercolor Society, the Georgia Watercolor Society, the Kentucky Watercolor Society, the Mississippi Watercolor Society, the National Collage Society, the Georgia Collage Society as well as being a Charter Member of the Jacksonville Watercolor Society and the National League of American Pen Women. She never stopped growing and learning as an artist, and her works run the gamut from realistic portraits and still lifes to impressionistic works and abstracts. Her work has been featured at many local and national galleries, including Stellars, Trends, the Haskell Gallery at JIA, the Cummer Museum, the Cleveland Art Institute and others. 

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Marie Shell passed away in 2020 at 97 years old. There was nothing she liked more than sharing her art with the world, so to honor her memory and spirit this show is scheduled to coincide with what would have been her 99th birthday. Everyone is invited to come and enjoy some of her paintings. Shell’s family has also donated a piece of her artwork, “Expect the Unexpected II,” which will be on display and raffled off to support the Bartram Trail Branch Friends of the Library. 

“I delight in the thought that part of me, a very valued gift, will live long after I’m gone.” ~ Marie Shell 

An online gallery showcasing Marie’s artwork has been created at www.facebook.com/ArtOfMarieShell; anyone who has a piece of her artwork is invited to share a photo for inclusion. To view more of her artwork or for other inquiries, visit her website, marieshell.com.

Photos courtesy Michael Ballard
Artist Marie Shell with some of her artwork.

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