Paul Brent is an artist whose work has become internationally known to represent the coastal lifestyle. He especially enjoys painting local scenes and beachscapes that he views near his two home studios in Panama City, Florida and Seaside, Oregon.
Tribulations. Paul Brent Gallery in Panama City after Hurricane Micheal.
October 10, 2018
“Just found this photo of the Gallery. Pretty much gone.” Paul
“I am so sorry, Paul.” –Jan Barber, Mayor of Seaside, Oregon.
Read more:
Oh! My! Goodness!
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/…/10/news-hurricane-michael-florida-explained/
October 11: Hurricane Michael hit the Florida pandhandle as a category 4 storm early Wednesday afternoon, setting a ..
Shuttered Paul Brent Gallery
Panama City, Florida
“Anyone can open an art gallery The hard part is keeping it open.” Paul Brent to paraphrase Will Rogers
Paul Brent
And, too, something special to share.
Dear friend, Paul Brent, visited Fairweather’s, three days after learning his Gallery in Panama City had been damaged by Hurricane Micheal.
Paul Brent asked about flash back memories of finding a gallery gone.
Vance
the South Coast Coach
The Power of Story
As coaches we are always attuned to the power and the meaning of story. Aside from being careful that our own story doesn’t dominate a conversation with one of our clients, we, by are nature pay close attention to the stories that unfold around us.
I recently had one such incident and with her permission I am going to share it. The small town of Gearhart was besieged with a tremendous damaging windstorm in early December of 2007. Denise Fairweather, being fairly new to the community, had not had her Fairweather House and Gallery open long when the storm hit. It tore her business apart and left her in the hospital with a serious knock on the noggin that she was lucky to survive with. The beautiful things she had marketed in her shop and even large parts of the shop were scattered all over the area…
read more at http://www.fairweatherhouseandgallery.com/ … articles/ … power of story
A triumph, of sorts.
The Panama City water tower painted by artist Paul Brent survived Hurricane Michael!
In friendship.
Gallery blog post dedicated to Paul and LanaJane Brent.
“Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.”
For more about the artist when in Seaside, Oregon please visit artists tab/ … Paul Brent/
http://www.fairweatherhouseandgallery.com
Paul Brent: Oct. 17. Progress at the Gallery 😎
“I need to straighten up my studio a bit.” Paul Brent
October 19, about one week after Hurricane Michael.
“Now for the Mexico Beach news. Worse than I thought. Pretty much destroyed with structural damage to second story floor support in both houses. Retrieved only a few items. Total reconstruction to structure exterior and interior necessary.” Paul Brent
Paul Brent shares information about repairing art after a hurricane:
Check to determine if wet. For art framed in glass open the back and remove the art. Otherwise, it will mildew. Photos too. After it is dry, it can be remounted. Do not use masking tape. Use acid free or “archival “materials to remount. Otherwise, it will yellow your art. If there is paper or cardboard behind your canvas, pieces that are damp remove that and let the backside dry thoroughly before replacing the backing. Otherwise, mildew may grow from the back and ruin the art.
And, too, just a few comments:
“Thanks Paul. Good info. I am so sorry about your gallery. As soon as I get my house cleared, I will come down and help you.”
“How thoughtful of you to help others salvage their pieces.”
“Day 10 post apocalypse. Still no power. The water pressure comes and goes but at least there is water. There is still no sense of getting back to normal! I find myself kind of running in place. I am holding up but my heart is heavy.” — Jane Wolf/ Panama City
A memorable moment
Oct. 6, 2018
Paul and LanaJane Brent at the Fairweather Gallery before Hurricane Michael.
Keith Kramer
October 20 at 6:19 AM
I’m AMAZED that the National News isn’t covering all that is happening here. I truly cannot believe it.
I’m deployed up here in Panama City for disaster response with my agency and we took off with two hours notice and everyone here volunteered to go.
I’ve been in various areas of Bay County while here, Panama City, Mexico Beach, Lynnhaven, and PC Beach.
I’ve heard the word “devastation” used a lot and it can’t fully be appreciated until observed first hand. There are areas here, like Mexico Beach, that are literally destroyed. The damage is unfathomable and short of a nuclear weapon, we couldn’t cause that much damage on purpose with military weaponry and bombing.
The old “we will rebuild” saying doesn’t really apply here. Imagine if your entire town was wiped out; your home, your place of work, your child’s school, the places you shopped, the places you liked to eat, the things you saw everyday…..all gone. You can rebuild structures, but it’s not the same places or memories.
The people here are suffering greatly; they are shell shocked, lost, depressed, scared and uncertain about their future. I’ve seen the thousand yard stares, the walking wounded and those trying to make the best of things. Everyone here is just trying to get through to the next day.
The conditions for the people here are absolutely abysmal and even the mostly unscathed are having to adjust to this harsh existence.
The ER’s and hospitals are choked with the injured and more keep coming. Fire and EMS are scarce as they are heavily tasked with rescue and recovery operations. When people get hurt their options are limited and we’ve had to bandage people up the best we can and give them medical supplies and medications that we brought for ourselves.
Many if the roads are unpassable or treacherous to drive on. There are downed trees, downed power lines that are especially hard to see at night, and debris is everywhere. If their car punctures a tire or beaks down, there is no way to fix it yet. We had to bring a city mechanic with us and extra parts and tires. The local police cars here are all seemingly damaged. There are abandoned broken cars everywhere, with many just left in the street.
The passable roads are choked with traffic, due to returning residents, refugees going out, and thousands of power line trucks, tree service trucks, supply convoys and first responder vehicles. We use emergency lights while driving everywhere in order to get to where we are needed.
There are dead animals all over the roads; dogs, cats and wildlife, because of the chaos. There are numerous crashes happening and with a recent heavy fog that has appeared, several first responders have collided at intersections.
Southern Exposure: From Seaside to Panama … – The Daily Astorian
www.dailyastorian.com/…/southern-exposure-from-seaside-to-panama-city-impact-of-…
Nov 26, 2018 – A resident of Seaside, artist Paul Brent and his wife Lana Jane own a gallery in Panama City, Florida, where they also have a home and property.
Blue rubble is one of Paul’s homes in Mexico Beach.
December 2018 update:
“Business now down to studs but roof back on. Home OK . but our Mexico Beach homes are gone.” Paul Brent
Dismayed to post an November 2019 update.
“Just wanted to let you know the latest news about the destruction of our gallery here. Probably electrical during its renovation. Details are in the news release. We are all safe. I am painting and life is going on. Denise, you know that scenario well.” Paul.
NEWS RELEASE:
PAUL BRENT GALLERY FIRE
11/22/2019
In the early morning hours of Thursday, November 21, the Paul Brent Galley at the corner of 5th St and Beach Dr. in downtown Panama City caught fire. The fire was first noticed and called in to the Fire Department at 3:49am shortly thereafter the Panama City Fire Department arrived on the scene and were putting the flames out. By that time most of the building was engulfed and the resulting fire leveled the back part of the building. Only the Beach Drive façade, remnants of the covered entry, and rubble remained after the fire was quenched. The building was declared a total loss by the Panama City Fire Department. The fire is under investigation by the Fire Marshall and its cause has not been announced.
The building was designed by Paul Brent to house a gallery for his paintings and a distribution center for his published prints. It was built in 1990 and was approximately 8,000 sq. ft. with 2,000 sq. ft. of gallery space, offices, and a distribution center. The building was an architectural icon of downtown incorporating historic elements like a metal roof, curved glass block and roof braces in a contemporary manner. It served as a cornerstone of the arts community hosting arts and community events. During Hurricane Michael in 2018, part of the roof was heavily damaged, windows and doors were blown in by the wind, and ceilings collapsed. Rain inundated most of the building damaging some but sparing a portion of Brent’s work that was housed there. Plans were in progress to restore the building. A new roof was added and construction had begun on the interior. Broken doors and windows had been secured. All undamaged contents were removed and securely stored off premises. Construction was actively underway with partition walls stripped and new framing in place. Mechanical and electrical work was ongoing with scaffolding surrounding the walls while stucco repair progressed before the fire began.
Paul Brent began his art career in Panama City in the mid 70’s exhibiting his work at the Gallery of Art and the Spring Festival of the Arts. His watercolors quickly gained a following with art patrons and by 1986 he moved his studio out of his home to a location on Jenks Ave. He began construction of his new office and gallery in 1989 at its current location. By 1992 Paul Brent and his wife, Lana Jane Lewis-Brent, were exhibiting both his work and the work of other artists and craftsmen in a space that he had enlarged in the building from 1,000 sq. ft. to 2,000 sq. ft. Record attendance was held at events that featured a live Florida panther combined with an art competition for all 4th graders in the county. This is still an ongoing annual event for hundreds of school children which was even held last year at the Panama City Center for the Arts. During his career he has sold over one million prints and currently licenses his art to over 90 manufacturers who sell their products with his images worldwide.
The building was first struck by Hurricane Opal in October of 1995 and while water flooded the first foot of the building, the structure remained stable and the walls and stucco were repaired. Within two weeks the building was up and running with the gallery open and prints being shipped. Following Hurricane Michael reconstruction again was in place with a stable structure and a schedule to reopen the building in February of 2020. The Brents were looking forward to rejoining the arts community of downtown and working to bring a resurgence in the gallery scene following the damage of Hurricane Michael.
