Deborah Umphrey

Originally from New Orleans, Deborah Gabriel Umphrey obtained a Bachelor's degree in English at the University of New Orleans.  Later, after moving to Orlando, she earned a Masters in Art Education from the University of Central Florida and taught for several years in Seminole County schools, including Lake Brantley High School, as well as teaching drawing and painting to youth at the Casselberry Art House.  Umphrey further developed herself as an artist through Crealdé School of Art's Fellowship Program and was a Painting & Drawing Studio Artist in 2015.  A Crealdé faculty member since 2022, she teaches both adults and youth classes, and leads workshops at local festivals.  She is also a member of the Central Florida Watercolor Society and Continues to exhibit her work at local galleries.

David Hunter

A native of Central Florida, David Hunter is a master printmaker and experienced art educator, who is well-known at Crealdé for his wry sense of humor and remarkable patience with teaching his art to students, adult and children alike.  Printmaking is a process of creating images, or etchings, using acid to etch lines into a hard metal plate, and then using that plate to make prints.  Many of Hunter's etching are infused with natural Florida.  Despite inheriting his father's talent for artwork at an early age, he earned a B.S. and M.S. in zoology at the University of South Florida in Tampa.  After illustrating his master's thesis with pen-and-ink drawings, he realized his strong attraction to pen and ink.  After working as a biology research associate at the University of Central Florida, he taught 7th grade life sciences and 8th grade physical sciences for five years, returning to art in his spare time.  In 1977 he participated in his first art show, took a year's leave of absence from teaching, and continued to become a full-time artist, creating more than 80,000 etchings to date.  Hunter was instrumental in forming the Florida Printmakers Society in 1986, becoming its first president at that time.  He also is a long-standing member of the Miniature Art Society of Florida, the Miniature Painter, Sculptors & Gravers Society of Washington, D.C. and a signature member of the Miniature Artists of America.  His unique etchings infused with the imagery of natural Florida consistently continue to draw top awards in art festivals and competitions in Florida, Georgia, Alabama, North Carolina, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Michigan.  In addition to being a faculty member in Crealdé's Painting & Drawing Program, he teaches workshops throughout the Southeast.

Julie Nieves

Beth Pendleton

Pendleton was born and raised in Louisiana and attended college in Texas.  After a technical career in the computer industry, she relocated to Orlando and started a family.  She began to study painting and drawing in 2004 at the Crealde School of Art in Winter Park.  Beginning in 2011 with the goal of becoming a landscape painter, she started traveling to take plein air workshops in Florida, South Carolina and Maine.  Through these experiences, she developed interest and skills in the use of both oil paint and pastels.  She joined Studio 807 in Orlando in 2013 and began teaching beginning oil painting classes at the Crealde School of Art in 2017.  Her work has been accepted in juried exhibits at Crealde, the Daytona Art League, and the SOBO Gallery in Winter Garden.  She has participated in other exhibits at Leu Gardens, the Mt. Dora Art Association, and the Casselberry Art House.  She was the featured artist in the Mt. Dora Paint Out in 2018.  

ARTIST STATEMENT:

When I started learning to paint, I was drawn to the work of the early American Impressionists; especially those in the New England area.  I love the way they captured light, atmosphere, and dimension in their landscape and marine paintings, and I strive to do the same.  Living in Florida, I am surrounded by natural beauty which I am inspired to represent with my favorite mediums, oil paint and pastel.  When the opportunity to teach introductory oil painting classes came my way, it struck a chord within me.  It is deeply fulfilling to pass along information that can help others find their way through this very complex endeavor.  My greatest satisfaction in painting has come from sharing what I have learned.

Solo Exhibits

2018 Featured Artist, Mt. Dora Paint Out

2018 Signature Artist, Pine Castle Pioneer Days, Orlando, Florida


Group and Juried Exhibitions

2021-20 SOBO Gallery Winter Garden Top Choice Juried Exhibits

2019, 2015  Daytona Art League Member Exhibits, Daytona Beach, Florida

2018  "The Out-of-Towners", Daytona Art League

2015  Three Alla Prima Painters, Leu Gardens

Awards

2017 Mt. Dora Paint Out, Honorable Mention

2014 Mt. Dora Paint Out, Second Place Award

2014 Daytona Art League Exhibit, Recognition Award

2013  Daytona Art League Member Exhibit, Two Achievement Awards