The Allyn Gallup Contemporary Art gallery is currently exhibiting the work of painter Bruce Marsh in a project 10 years in the making, showcasing the evolution of Marsh’s style and eye. Entitled “Bruce Marsh: Now and Then,” and featuring a collection of landscapes painted over the last 10 years, this exhibit, curated by Mark Ormond, marks the final show organized under the gallery’s namesake and founder.

Ranging from the epic in scale to the pleasantly contained, Marsh’s landscapes reflect a careful contemplation of the world that surrounds, whether it be great billowing clouds, the waters of the Bahia Lakes or the wooded enclave. The careful interplay of light and color is masterful, particularly in Marsh’s detailed meditations on shifting waters. And the brushstrokes, unending and precise, invite the viewer to take a closer look not only at the work, but the world it depicts.

“The meaning I intend lies in the intense looking, which creates the work, and in your experience observing it,” said Marsh in a statement for the show. “I believe, and hope, that the paintings do not become invisible after frequent observation, but continually offer new readings and discoveries.”

Often detailing the verdant beauty of Florida and the stark majesty of Zion, Utah, Marsh’s singular decision to include the urban and suburban abutting the natural environment not only adds a sense of drama, but begs the question of how these two seemingly disparate worlds become one in the modern day.

“He’s an important landscape artist and a wonderful painter,” said Sheila Moore, now operating the Allyn Gallup gallery. “He’s introducing a new reality into the world of landscape painting, a more contemporary reality integrating the decay of the landscape.”

“Bruce Marsh: Now and Then” runs in the Allyn Gallup Contemporary Art gallery until Dec. 31. 

The Sarasota Herald-Tribune and its parent company, Halifax Media, were sold to New Media Investment Group, the newspaper reported Thursday. The move comes three years after Halifax bought the newspaper and other regional publications from the New York Times Company.

Halifax Media, according to its website, publishes 36 newspapers, most of them in the Southeast United States. The Herald-Tribune was among 16 papers purchased by the fledging media company in 2011. Halifax is based in Daytona Beach.

New Media Investment Group is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange. According to its website, the company focuses on investing in a portfolio of high-qulaity local media. "We are one of the largest publishers of locally based print and online media in the United States as measured by number of daily publications. We operate in over 370 markets across 27 states," reads the New Media website. "Our portfolio of products, which includes 450 community publications, over 370 related websites, and six yellow page directories, serves more than 130,000 business advertising accounts and reaches approximately 14 million people on a weekly basis."

Halifax advertises that its dailies together have a combined 720,000 Sunday circulation and 635,000 daily subscription. New Media has reported it will spend $280 million in a cash transaction to buy Halifax. In 2011, Halifax paid $143 million in cash to buy the Herald-Tribune and other NYT regional papers. 

It was a day of big announcements from Ringling College of Art and Design and the Sarasota Museum of Art(SMOA), with college president Dr. Larry Thompson and SMOA president Wendy Surkis jointly breaking the news on the beginning of major renovations to the Sarasota High School building, SMOA’s future home.

Structural preservationists have been hard at work for the last two months, assessing the building and determining the proper path forward in order to preserve the historic building yet make it a viable museum and educational space. Yesterday, exactly one year since the keys to the school were passed to Ringling, the SMOA board approved the renovation plan.

According to Surkis, the public will start to see changes very soon, as windows are replaced and major re-painting begins.

“While I feel that this is all surreal, I have a sense of joyful disbelief,” said Surkis, seeing another major step forward in the project that she began seven years ago. “I am an optimist and a big dreamer, and dreamers need dream teams. It is to the credit of many wonderful people in this community that the SMOA baby came to life.”

Surkis and Thompson also took the opportunity to announce Jan. 18 as the official date for ‘THE BASH!,’ a celebration to be held on the museum grounds, thanking the community for its support and reveling in progress made.

In addition to the day’s events, the SMOA board began the search for an executive director for the museum.

As of now, officials project completion and opening of SMOA in the first quarter of 2016. 

If commitment isn’t your thing when it comes to fashion, Lulu DK’s metallic body art is an haute antidote that will steal your style vote. Not just for 10-year-olds’ birthday parties anymore, temporary tattoos are having a renaissance, gracing and gilding the wrists of everyone from Beyonce to Sarah Jessica Parker. If jewelry had a lovechild with tattoos, it would be Lulu DK’s skintimate designs.

Layer the trompe l’oeils alongside your Saint Laurent or Hermès bangles to add a flash of fantasy or sport them solo for a striking statement. The ephemeral bling lasts anywhere from four-to-six days, gradually fading with time. All you need is 30-seconds, a wet cloth and a little compression to freshen-up your look. Find the intricate arm candy at Amanda Vincent Hair Studio and Boutique in packs of two sheets (one gold, one silver) with six different designs for a set of faux-real metallic motifs. 

Amanda Vincent Hair Studio and Boutique, 538 South Pineapple Avenue, Sarasota

Amanda Vincent

Chef Andrea Bozzolo shared this recipe off of his menu at Andrea's, The Art of Food and Wine. Try it in your kitchen or visit the restaurant for the professional handling of this red beet treat.

Famous Red Beets Carpaccio

Ingredients: 2 large red beets; 
10 ounces fresh goat cheese; 
1 tablespoon of fresh cream; 
1 hand full of chopped fresh chives
; 1 chopped shallot
; The juice of 1/2 fresh lemon; 
Salt to taste; Pepper to taste
; Balsamic vinegar for drizzle; Extra virgin oil for drizzle

Wrap the beets in aluminum foil and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for one-and-a-half hours or until fork tender. Let them cool. Peel them and set apart. Put all the other ingredients in a bowl and mix all with a wooden spoon till the cheese becomes mousse consistent. With a mandolin, slice the beets very thin and place them on six flat plates. Put a quenelle of the goat cheese mousse in the middle of the plate, drizzle with balsamic vinegar, extra virgin oil, salt, pepper and a squeeze of fresh lemon. To contrast the sweet flavor of the beets, serve with a nice sauvignon blanc from Friuli. 

Andrea's, The Art of Food and Wine, 2084 Siesta Drive, Sarasota, 941-951-9200.

Moved From:  Copenhagen, Denmark My Profession There:  I taught art history online at several American colleges. I also spent a year as a visiting research librarian at the Danish Design Museum, then served as the librarian of an international school.  Friday Nights There:  In winter, I enjoyed finding a cozy café, visiting a museum or gallery exhibition, or being with family or friends at home.  Summer in Scandinavia means being outdoors late into the night where there is almost always daylight.   

Friday Nights Now:  There are so many wonderful restaurants and cafes in Sarasota, and I enjoy meeting friends for dinner.  Why I moved: I am a Sarasota native and had worked at The Ringling before moving to Denmark.  I had always wanted to return to The Ringling, a museum and cultural experience that just keeps getting better. Sarasota offers great restaurants, music and theater, a lush, sub-tropical environment that feels like home to me, and friends I've missed. First Impressions:  Having grown up in Sarasota and lived here for many years, it's now a matter of getting used to a significantly changed Sarasota. 

Now I Am:  Head of Library Services, The Ringling Art Library, The John and Mable Museum of Art. Biggest Potential Community Mistake:  The lack of concern for our natural environment is troubling. The desire to build is greater than the understanding that once our green areas are gone there is no going back and our ecosystem has changed forever.  My Vision:  I would like to work to maintain the Ringling Art Library as one of the truly significant art research libraries, to extend its resources beyond its walls, and to make it known to more people within and outside of our community. 

The Ringling Museum of Art

Sarasota-based Insula Companies announced two recent acquisitions to its portfolio of apartment communities. With the $10.3-million purchase of Woodlake Gardens in Lakeland and the $13.25-million purchase of Belleza in Kissimmee, the firm has marked its 14th and 15th acquisitions since entering the local Florida market in 2009. 

Insula Companies

Miromar Lakes announced the addition of Jessica Woodman to its sales team as a real estate associate. Over the past thirteen years, Woodman has been affiliated with several successful gated luxury communities in Collier and Lee counties, and has achieved top producer status. Woodman is a Certified Sales Professional in new homes sales. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration - Finance from the University of Florida and a Master in Business Administration – Management from Florida Gulf Coast University. 

Miromar Lakes

The Sarasota-based firm Halflants and Pichette/Studio for Modern Architecture was honored with two design awards for residential projects from the Tampa Bay Chapter of the American Institute of Architects. The first award credited the design of the Vanguard Lofts, a six-unit housing project in the Sarasota Design District that is being developed by Kevin Bryon of Tetra Terra Development. The second award recognized the design of the Philippi Creek Residence on Antilles Drive. 

Haflants + Pichette Studio for Modern Architecture