Art from within

CRESTVIEW — The wife of an Airman, Sandra Horne traveled extensively before returning to Northwest Florida to retire and settling in Crestview. But along the way, and to this day, she continued her lifelong passion of capturing the world around her in oils. An exhibit of some of her works in currently mounted at the Crestview Public Library.

“I’m a third generation artist,” Horne said. “I’ve painted most of my life. I can’t really remember when I started. My mother was an artist. I’ve taken classes here and there. When I was in college I took some drawing courses. I’ve been drawing all my love. It’s just something I love.”

The paintings on display at the library reflect a broad spectrum of subjects, including delightful still lifes, cheerful portraiture and pastoral landscapes.

Horne’s diversity of subjects is wonderful. Who knows what’s waiting in the next frame? There’s a silver plate of grapes by a clock forever captured at 5:04 (a significant number in her family, Horne said), a fresh pink rose by a Victorian vase, and even a locally-inspired subject: a plastic shopping bag from the Red Raspberry Boutique on Main Street.

But her favorite subject is people.

“My source of motivation to paint stems from the feeling that radiates within people: the strength and wisdom of older people that comes from experience or the joy in a child’s eyes created by hope and optimism,” Horne said. “I get inspired by seeing older people, young children, the glint in their eyes...”

Horne’s granddaughter Emily Horne, now a senior at Crestview High School, makes at least two appearances on the library’s north wall, in two distinct phases of her life.

One thing Horne misses in Crestview is a full-time art gallery or artists’ cooperative that would offer a place for area artists to display and sell their work.

“I would like to hear from other artists in the area and explore the idea of a co-op or a gallery in Crestview,” she said.

In the meantime, she is content to continue capturing in evocative oils the world around her, and the people who populate it.

“It is truly an honor to witness God’s work in each person and I thank him for the opportunity to paint,” Horne said.

The exhibit of Horne’s work will remain up through February and may be admired during regular library hours.