By Martie Thompson
editor@floridanewsline.com
Glenn Ivie has been a painter all his life, but while a student at the University of Florida, he shied away from a degree in fine arts because of his perception of a “starving artist.” Instead, he earned a degree in advertising design and embarked on a career in commercial art. He spent 20 years working for the William Cook Agency in Jacksonville before deciding to make a go of it on his own in 2000. “Glenn Ivie Art and Design” kept him busy for another eight years, during which time he had the honor of producing a “pitch” book that was utilized during the bid to bring the Super Bowl to Jacksonville. He next developed a website that allowed users to convert their photos to paintings on canvas before deciding to retire just before COVID hit. “I missed the creativity after I retired, so I picked up the paint brushes again and started creating art,” Glenn said. Today he is a member of the St. Augustine Art Association and the First Coast Plein Air Artists group and his paintings are in acrylics and oils (rather than his original watercolors) with a more impressionistic technique. He and his wife Trish just celebrated their 51st wedding anniversary and live in St. Johns. They have three adult children and five grandchildren.
Q: How did you meet your wife?
A: Trish and I met in 10th grade English class at Robert E. Lee High School (now Riverside High School). We dated a bit and also dated other people. We reconnected in college at the University of Florida and by the end of college knew we were the ones for each other. We married over Spring Break, on March 17. We have found over the years that it is hard to go out for an anniversary dinner to a restaurant without corned beef and green beer.
Q: Tell us about your online business, YourPhotoToPainting.com.
A: I had gotten pretty good at using Photoshop, so I came up with the idea for this website in 2010. People would upload their photos and I used a proprietary blend of Photoshop filters to create a digital painting that I would put on canvas for a fraction of what a painting would cost. This led to NBC Sports commissioning a painting of the former US Open champions at Pebble Beach. I shuttered the business in 2019 when Trish and I decided it was time to retire.
Q: What made you decide to “unretire” in the time of COVID?
A: Once I retired, I started fishing because I thought that’s what you were supposed to do when you retired. I also found out that my St. Johns County Library Card could be used to download books to my Kindle, so I read a ton of books. But I quickly became bored and missed the creativity of painting. I started following various artists on Instagram and realized that painting didn’t have to always be so realistic. I decided to paint in a more impressionistic style and also changed from watercolors to acrylics and oils. I found that there is something magical about getting immersed in a painting — and not all paintings go the direction you originally thought.
Q: What is your favorite thing to paint?
A: Right now I am painting a lot of landscapes and local marshes. I’m fascinated by the shadows at sunrise and sunset. Trish is my scout to find locations. I have committed to painting three hours a day in the mornings and this has really given my spirit a whole new life.
Q: How did you come up with the idea for your blog, “Loving Perspectives?”
A: My new website had a blog platform that allows visitors to comment and get a conversation going, so I decided to start the blog. Everyone in life faces difficulties at one time or another and after 71 years of living, I feel I’ve accumulated a good perspective on life. I thought I could help by giving people encouraging words if they need it. I have a new blurb up every Friday.
[Author’s Note: Visit https://glenniviefineart.com/ to view some of Glenn Ivie’s works and to read his “Loving Perspectives” blog.]
Photo courtesy Glenn Ivie
Glenn Ivie.
