TALLAHASSEE, FL – TALLAHASSEE, FL – Secretary of State Glenda E. Hood announces an exhibition of paintings by Naples artist Sheila Cotton entitled, Lost Landscapes. The exhibition, which is on display in the Governor’s Gallery, will run from November 21, 2003 through February 19, 2004.

“Sheila Cotton’s inspiring works about the Florida of yesterday will be much enjoyed by Florida’s state leaders and visitors to the Governor’s Office,” said Secretary of State Hood.

Inspired by vintage and antique postcards, Sheila Cotton has created a series of paintings with subtle touches of surrealism, which depict an era of Florida that is now long gone. “After living in Florida for eighteen years and collecting old Florida postcards for most of that time, I realized I had acquired more than a casual amount,” says Cotton. “I also realized they were more than just mere postcards to me. These scenes of empty beaches, old groves, and joyful swimmers posing by tiny motel pools – this was really the Florida I preferred.”

Sheila Cotton’s paintings are included in over 40 museum and corporate collections and she was recently featured as “Florida Artist of the Month” at the Orlando Museum of Art Gift Shop Gallery. She studied at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, the Sorbonne in Paris, and the Instituto Allende in Mexico.

The Governor’s Gallery at the Florida Capitol is not open to the general public. Limited access is available by invitation of the Governor’s Office only. For further information, contact Sandy Shaughnessy at the Division of Cultural Affairs at 850/245-6480 or visit: www.florida-arts.org.

# # #