WEKIVA ISLAND / ART & THE RIVER
Through
other eyes.
A painter’s attention.
A shared place.
Another reason to care.
ROB URBAN
“It’s like camp for them!”
That was Mary Weinaug’s description of the artists coming to Wekiva Paint Out in a 2023 interview. They could stay in cabins at Wekiwa Springs State Park, spend time with one another and concentrate on their work. The river gave them plenty to look at.
I like that description because it makes room for the artists’ pleasure. These are people with skills, friendships and their own reasons to be excited about returning. Their experience belongs in the story alongside the paintings they make.
It also explains something I admire about Wekiva Island. The Longwood destination welcomes people to paddle, gather and enjoy the water. Through its art programs, it has made another kind of invitation: come see what somebody else sees here.
Room for
the returning.
Room for
the new.
Mary’s interview names people who had become part of the event’s life: Scott Hiestand, Michelle Held, Elisabeth Ferber and Mikel Wintermantel. She described cultivating a returning group while continuing to bring in new artists.
That balance interests me. Familiarity lets a person develop a relationship with a place. A new arrival can notice something the regulars have stopped seeing.
The Island’s account of Paint Out’s beginnings credits William “Big Bill” Tippit with the idea, developed around the former Wekiva Riverfest. It describes Bill Weinaug stepping in to sponsor and host the event when its future was in question.
There is generosity in giving an existing idea somewhere to continue. The river was already the subject, artists were already responding to it, and the event needed people willing to make the gathering possible.
Now the artwork gives visitors a way into that shared attention. A person can watch someone deciding what belongs on a canvas, then look back toward the same landscape with a different question in mind.
TWENTY YEARS OF PAINT OUT
The same river.
So many decisions.
The announcement for the 20th-anniversary exhibition, scheduled to open May 1, 2026, described how Gallery CERO would bring together paintings made on location over two decades, event posters and the artwork behind those posters.
That is an appealing collection to imagine spending time with. The place connects the works, but each painter has made decisions about where to stand, what to include and how to handle the light.
Repeated attention creates variety. A stretch of river can remain recognizable while giving people very different paintings to make.
The posters add another kind of memory. They belong to the public life of the event: the invitation, the year, the reason someone first decided to come. Keeping them alongside the paintings honors the gathering as well as the finished art.
A recurring event can become an archive of people caring enough to look again.
The Island’s 2026 community-mural announcement extends that idea onto a wall. Bill Weinaug credits his daughter, Ashley Rose Weinaug-Bolger, with proposing the project, and describes developing it with artists Peter Pettegrew and Mikel Wintermantel.
The published plan looks above and below the river’s surface. It connects panels through moving water, eel grass and fish, with different artists expected to add individual elements as the work develops.
I am drawn to that joining of perspectives. Someone can care deeply about a turtle, a tree or the way water moves through plants, while contributing to a picture larger than their own part.
Its staged plan makes the collaboration part of the experience. People can follow a shared work as it develops and see how individual contributions find their place.
What a fitting idea for a river: several people making something that has to flow together.
A picture
made
together.
A boat for the cleanup.
The connection to the river also has practical forms.
In its published environmental and community account, Wekiva Island describes supplying vessels for river cleanups with Keep Seminole Beautiful, collecting and reusing rainwater, operating a community compost center and using solar power. It presents carbon neutrality by 2030 as a goal.
The supplied boats are a particularly clear detail. People who want to help need a way onto the water; the business can contribute something it already knows how to provide.
I admire that relationship between a place’s everyday work and its ability to be useful. The river supports recreation, the recreation business has equipment, and that equipment can help volunteers look after the river.
Art has its own part in the relationship. Mary’s interview describes Paint Out benefiting Wekiva Wilderness Trust, Keep Seminole Beautiful and the participating artists. The experience can support both the people interpreting the landscape and people working on its behalf.
Take a little attention home.
There are ways into the art beyond the annual event. The Gallery CERO page describes the riverfront gallery and classes led by Elisabeth Ferber. A visitor can encounter someone else’s work or try making something themselves.
I enjoy that openness. You do not have to arrive with the vocabulary of a collector to become interested in a painting. Sometimes you only need to recognize a bend in the water, wonder how the artist caught the light, or feel encouraged to pick up a brush.
Wekiva Island’s combination of recreation, art and learning makes sense to me at that level. People arrive for a day they hope to enjoy. Along the way, they can discover another reason the place matters.
What inspires me is the possibility of carrying that attention home. An afternoon ends. A painting, a question or a newly noticed detail can keep a relationship with the river alive.
Mary’s image of camp stays with me. Good work can grow out of people enjoying one another’s company in a place they love.
Explore more Seminole County Stories or the lakeside welcome at The Black Hammock. If you want to tell the story of the people and ideas behind your place, I would enjoy the conversation.
Rob Urban
Art, water and a visit.
Where is Wekiva Island?
Wekiva Island is at 1014 Miami Springs Drive in Longwood, Florida. It is a separate destination from Wekiwa Springs State Park; use the Island’s own visitor information for entry and activities.
What is Wekiva Paint Out?
It is a recurring plein air art event associated with Wekiva Island and the surrounding river landscape. Artists work outdoors, and the event supports artists and local environmental organizations. Consult the official calendar for the next edition and its arrangements.
Can I see art outside Paint Out week?
Wekiva Island has Gallery CERO and publishes information about art classes and exhibitions. Check the current gallery program, opening arrangements and event calendar before planning a visit around a particular activity.