March 8, 2007 – The Best of Both Worlds will host an art show, "Waters of Eden," featuring artist Tom Clifton from 7-9 p.m., on Wednesday, March 21. The show will take place along with the Coors Light St. John Blues Festival's opening night at Mongoose Junction.
Guests will have the opportunity to view and purchase Clifton's work and get a chance to visit with him. He feels that the enchanted waters around St. John inspired him to develop a technique that allows him to reflect the textures of the Caribbean seas in his paintings. "The coral reefs around St. John when the sunlight passes through the water are like canyons of jewels. Being surrounded by this beauty is what inspired me to break my hiatus from painting and refine my technique," said Clifton.
The organic nature of his sculpted, textural abstracts comes from the various mediums used as well as the patterns that develop during the process of building multiple layers of textures and colors. Water has been central to his life, having grown up along the Louisiana coast. The mystery of the bayous continues to influence his work along with the majesty of the Mississippi River as the artist has lived in Memphis, Tenn., for the past twenty-five years. Now with the increasing time Clifton spends on St. John, he and a friend are building in the Coral Bay area. "The magnificence of the Virgin Islands is casting its spell," he said.
The Best of Both Worlds showcases the fine art, glass, sculpture and jewelry made by a diversity of artists from St. John and beyond. The gallery is located on the upper courtyard of Mongoose Junction, next to Paradiso Restaurant. For more information call 693-7005.
