Jack Dowd’s art greets patrons on Lakewood Ranch Main Street
A sumo wrestler sculpture, portraits of rock stars who died at 27, and more are on display in a vacant storefront on Lakewood Ranch Main Street.
Artist Jack Dowd is keeping it interesting for anyone who strolls past on their way to a favorite restaurant or retail store.
Garry Colpitts, an instructor in University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee’s Culinary Innovation Lab across the street, is one of those who have enjoyed seeing Dowd’s art.
“I think it is a brilliant idea. It adds character, and is more pleasing than brown paper,” Colpitts said.
The display of art work is a carryover from a 10-artist exhibition by the Sarasota Visual Artists Studio Group. The group rented the space between December and March.
At the conclusion of the exhibit, the property manager for Lakewood Ranch Main Street asked Dowd if he would mind leaving some of its artwork in the storefront, at least until it is leased to another tenant.
So once I realized there were about 40 rock ‘n’ roll stars who died at age 27 and that it was a real phenomenon, I started digging and found 12 that were very popular.
Jack Dowd
Dowd, a 79-year-old New York native, leaped at the opportunity. All artists want their work to be seen. Any pair of eyes could belong to a potential buyer.
Dowd especially likes being on Lakewood Ranch Main Street, where he has sold several of his prints.
“They have taken a cold and cruel world and made it warm and comfortable,” Dowd said of the environment.
The popular art concept is a natural for Dowd, who in addition to being a lifelong artist, owned bars for two decades where live entertainment was a staple.
Dowd, himself a musician, is a Beatles fan, and one of the works on display is a sculpture of John Lennon.
Other pop icons include a painting of surrealist painter Salvador Dali, the camouflaged sumo wrestler, and those “27” prints, 12 portraits ranging from blues man Robert Johnson, to Jimi Hendrix and Brian Jones and Amy Winehouse.
“I did a large painting project for the Out-of-Door Academy. They wanted art heroes: producers, directors, artists, dancers, all the people that would inspire young people to improve themselves when they get out of school and find a career,” Dowd said.
“In doing that project I discovered the 27 Club on my computer. One or two of the people we were going to do for the Out-of-Door Academy were from the 27 Club. So once I realized there were about 40 rock ‘n’ roll stars who died at age 27 and that it was a real phenomenon, I started digging and found 12 that were very popular. I decided to do those 12 and call it Jack Dowd’s 27 Club,” he said.
For more about Jack Dowd and his art, visit jackdowd.com.
James A. Jones Jr.: 941-745-7053, @jajones1
This story was originally published June 4, 2017 at 3:26 PM with the headline "Jack Dowd’s art greets patrons on Lakewood Ranch Main Street."