Pictured: Maro Lorimer’s Beach Path III is one of seven that will be shown at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Artist Maro Lorimer has donated a series of seven mixed-media paintings to Mayo Clinic, for ongoing display at their Jacksonville, Florida, facility. “It was a great honor to have my art accepted by Mayo’s curators, since their collection includes works by celebrated artists such as Joseph Albers, James Rosenquist, Wolf Kahn, Romare Bearden, Alexander Calder, and Andy Warhol, to name a few,” she comments. “I donated out of appreciation for the overall excellence with which Mayo approaches health care, including their museum-like presentation of art." Her series, Beach Paths, celebrates the wild beauty of Anna Maria Island’s footpaths to the Gulf. It was first presented in 2010 by former first lady of Florida Rhea Chiles at her gallery, the Studio at Gulf and Pine, in Anna Maria. Over the years, Lorimer observes, “these images helped preserve the wildness of the very paths that inspired them. Holmes Beach officials even asked me to exhibit them at city hall, and an island newspaper asked to publish them with quotes about how precious these pockets of wildness are, at times when development threatened to compromise them." Each painting leads the eye to a peaceful view of the Gulf. In a related way, Lorimer has followed the same course with her art. “From painting the intimate beauty of the paths, I ‘emerged’ onto the beach, to create peaceful vistas with infinite horizons,” she explains, referring to the large abstract seascapes she has been showing at Art Uptown Gallery for the past 11 years. “With all my work, I have aimed to create a sense of serenity, and I can think of no place I would rather share that feeling than at a fine medical center that is helping people who are struggling with serious diagnoses.”

Pictured: Maro Lorimer’s Beach Path III is one of seven that will be shown at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville. Photo courtesy of the artist.