Grab your brush and your smock and head on down to the Bradenton Riverwalk this Saturday for the start of the 10th annual Paint the Town event. In addition to the titular contest, pitting jury-selected artists from across the region in a competition to represent the Bradenton scene in acrylic, oil, watercolor or any paint of choice, the weeklong celebration kicks off with an open-to-all speed-painting Quick Draw competition.

While the official Paint the Town competition is open only to appraised and selected artists, the Quick Draw contest provides an opportunity for artists of all stripes and calibers to test their skill and take part in the fun. Entrants register at 9am Saturday morning at the Mosaic Amphitheater before setting off in search of the perfect place to set up their easels and capture the people and places that make Bradenton sing. The contest begins at 10am sharp, ending just as abruptly at noon, leaving the artists a mere two hours to create a finished painting and submit it for judgment from Kerry Vosler, a Tampa-based artist and Florida Ambassador to the Portrait Society of America.

“Sometimes even someone who’s not a master painter can come up with an interesting view of a scene,” said Joan Peters, a Sarasota artist competing in both the Quick Draw and the Paint the Town competitions and volunteer organizer for the events. “You don’t have to be an incredible painter to do some interesting painting.”

Meanwhile, more than 30 professional artists from across Florida (many from Sarasota, Bradenton and Venice, but also some hailing from Tampa, Appalachicola, St. Petersburg and elsewhere) will descend upon the Bradenton area for the larger Paint the Town competition. Unlike the Quick Draw competition, which is localized to the Riverwalk, Paint the Town competitors will have a bit more free reign, spreading across the greater downtown area and surrounding communities, including the Riverwalk, Anna Maria Island, Cortez Fishing Village and the Village of the Arts looking for subjects. Participating artists have a little bit longer to complete their work, from Sept. 27-Oct. 2, painting ‘en plein air’ (in the open air; outside) for all to see.

“We have enjoyed these plein air painters for these 10 years,” said Susan Covert, local artist and volunteer manager working alongside ArtCenter Manatee. “This is going to be a spectacular event and hopefully soon a signature event for ArtCenter Manatee.”

Upon completion, this year’s juror, nationally acclaimed and master plein air painter Bill Farnsworth, will pass judgment, dispensing cash prizes ranging as high as $2000, before the paintings are transported to ArtCenter Manatee, where they will remain on display until sold or the end of the exhibition, Oct. 30.

In addition to his role as juror, Farnsworth will also be hosting a workshop entitled “Capturing the Light” from Oct. 7-9 for all interested in honing their craft or learning something new.

“It’s a wonderful way, especially for the public, to come and see how painters work,” said Peters. “And it’s a wonderful way to start purchasing and collecting paintings from some of our local painters.”

The resulting art will be on display at ArtCenter Manatee from Oct. 2-30. Art from both competitions will be available for sale at ArtCenter Manatee. 

The Suncoast News Network next month will broadcast over public airwaves for the first time following a decision by Citadel Communications to merge the news network with WLWN, the local station broadcasting the Live Well Network. The change will immediately make SNN available to some 25,000 homes in Southwest Florida without a subscription to Comcast or Verizon.

"This transition can really help us continue the improvements that we would like to see happen with SNN," said Ray Cole, president and chief operating officer for Citadel.

The move also marks a significant milestone about two-and-a-half years after SNN under previous management had filed for bankruptcy in February 2012. The financial difficulties faced then led to Citadel's involvement in the station, and Citadel became the majority stake owner of the station on Jan. 1 this year. Citadel three years ago purchased the low-power station where WLDN has broadcast ever since. 

But the decision to start broadcasting SNN over the WLWN frequency was made in response to a decision by Disney to discontinue the Live Well Network at the end of this year. Citadel considered what to pick up in the slot instead, Cole said, and ultimately decided the best move would be to make SNN a broadcast channel. Transmission over air channel 39.1 will begin on Oct. 15, when the station's call letters will formally change to WSNN. SNN will still broadcast for the time being on its current cable channels, on Verizon channel 26 and 526 in high-definition, and on Comcast on channel 6 in Sarasota County, channel 11 in Charlotte County and on high-definition channel 400 in both counties. 

"This is another significant step forward for SNN and part of our continuing strategy for growth," said Phil Lombardo, Citadel CEO. 

Cole stressed that SNN's mission statement is to provide 24-hour local news, and that mission has not changed. With the switch, the station is looking at other programming to include in its line-up, and is adding John Tesh's nationally syndicated Intelligence for Your Life program to its morning line-up from 9-10am. Cole said having a broadcast channel opens up possibilities for such syndicated programming, and the station also plans to move away from paid infomercial programming as it evolves to a broadcast outlet. The Tesh program is in addition to the existing news programming on the station, which will stay in place. 

Moseley Investment Management recently acquired an office in downtown Sarasota to complement its existing operations in Bradenton. Ryan Moseley, the firm’s economist, will direct activities at the new location, which will principally serve as a research department. The decision to expand was driven by the firm’s commitment to exceeding client expectations. Moseley Investment Management expects to open the doors of their new research center by mid-October to early November.  

Mosely Investment Management

The law firm of Icard, Merrill, Cullis, Timm, Furen and Ginsburg announced the addition of Bradley J. Ellis as a new associate attorney. Ellis officially joined the firm on Aug. 18 and concentrates his practice in the areas of land use and zoning, construction, governmental liability, commercial and general civil litigation and appeals. 

Icard Merrill

For many years I have tried my best to make a positive contribution to the visual arts community by raising the bar of our cultural dialogue and empowering individual artists.

Brian Braun, who passed a few days ago, was one of those artists; we became good friends and co-creators traveling together with our band of photo junkies to abandoned buildings and industrial wastelands to capture an alternate view of Old Florida, we will miss him dearly. His enthusiasm, energy and dynamic imagery inspired many, as evidenced by the huge outpouring of grief on Facebook.

We as a community have an opportunity to show how we can support a fellow creative and hopefully this will become a new tradition in Sarasota of providing support for families of visual artists during their time of grief. Brian left his daughter Caroline, who is 12. She is quite a special person; they were very close. His mother, Anne, would like to lay Brian to rest with the dignity that is close to her heart. She adored her “beautiful son.”

There are two funds established to help: one (https://fundly.com/brian-braun-memorial) started by Rich Swier Jr. to directly benefit Caroline, who will be going to live with Brian’s sister in Kentucky, and the other (https://fundly.com/funeral-burial-funds-needed-for-brian-d-braun?ft_src=fbshare) started by Brian’s mother Anne to help with the funeral expenses. Please give forward by donating any amount to this fund a celebration of the life and creativity of Brain David Braun to be announced.