GEORGE CAREY - ARTIST/SCULPTOR

A fourth generation Key West native currently living in Ohio, George Carey has acquired an international following for his highly detailed acrylic depictions of the Key West of his youth. In a style that the artist refers to as "representational" he has captured the beauty, serenity, emotion and charm of the lower Keys in a bygone era - a time before T-shirt shops, fast food restaurants and tourist crowded streets - a time when true salt water Conchs called this small island home.

Carey's career began (as he recalls) with drawing and sketching in the margins of his schoolwork as an elementary school student. Recognizing his love of art and his potential talent, his mother paid for him to study with renowned artist Gerald Leake (a favorite of President Harry Truman) who conducted classes at the Ernest Hemingway house. With Mr. Leake's basics firmly in hand, a wealth of natural talent, keen powers of observation and a discerning eye for detail Carey embarked full-time on an art career in 1985. Since that time, he has been represented by a number of well recognized galleries throughout Florida and has conducted numerous "one man shows" in and around his native Key West. Currently Mr. Carey is being represented by himself in the Key West, Florida area and the Bruce Webber Gallery in Lake Worth, Florida.

National and international recognition came when Carey was chosen five times as a finalist in the nationally prestigious "Arts for the Parks" competition garnering four "Top 100" awards and one "Top Mini 50" award and was thrice recognized by the "Mystic Maritime Invitational Marine Art Exhibition" in Mystic, Connecticut.

Prior to his entry into art on a full-time basis, Carey spent four years with the United States Air Force, worked in the auto body and fiberglass fabricating industries and taught auto body and welding at Key West High School where, concurrent with his full-time art career, he was elected teacher of the year in 1988. It was in this last position where Carey and his students created some of the most recognized and beloved sculptures in the Key West area including the mascots for several schools and the magnificent manatee that graces the grounds of the First State Bank on Roosevelt Boulevard.

Carey's love of art and appreciation of his home and its maritime traditions are evident in every piece of his work and will live as an ongoing testament to the beauty and vitality that can be brought to life through the hand of one who truly cares.

Comments and/or suggestions are welcomed and can be directed at george@georgecareyart.com or webmaster@georgecareyart.com

Updated 1/2006