At what point did Paul Arsenault’s 46-year career of making art in Naples become a mission? Was it when he hosted a meeting in his home from which a historical museum on Marco Island grew? Or with his insistence that local museums were lacking in Black inclusivity? Perhaps it was with the work he has done for Calusa Waterkeeper, Friends of Fakahatchee and other environmental groups. Or did it start with that first impact of Florida’s verdant native vegetation on his sensibilities back in 1973? Or while recording local heritage with his vibrant images of Calusa tribespeople and Florida’s cattle heritage?
“I’m now more inclined to use my art as a vehicle for environmental awareness and solutions, and for honoring humanitarian and cultural icons,” the impressionist artist says.
In early 2020, before the pandemic crashed the natural rhythms of life, Arsenault had started work on a super-sized project for Naples Botanical Garden’s 10th anniversary, done on-site, plein air.
When the garden closed, the artist was forced to continue his work elsewhere for the next few months—going between a rented space and his historic Old Naples home studio.
He is exhibiting the show, which includes 10 scenes of the garden painted on 4-by-6-foot panels, along with historic paintings of other landmark gardens, through Nov. 8. “The show is important in particular because it was an exhibit outside my gallery, beyond cobbling together random works,” Arsenault says. “We put together an important exhibit dedicated to the evolution of our botanical garden, while touching upon a few other great community gardens.”
The word “community” pops up often in the typically roving conversations with Arsenault, Naples’ unofficial artist laureate. He calls his achievement curating five artists to raise money back in 2008 to build the Marco Island Historical Museum (where his outdoor mural depicting a Calusa village scene greets visitors) “the sweetest, most productive association with community.”
Currently, the artist is preparing a Shorelines exhibition, which will show at the Captiva Civic Association Feb. 18 through March 18. “That’s been the common denominator in how I move and choose to paint: the community on the water,” Arsenault says. — Chelle Koster Walton