The art of nature is abundantly apparent in northwest Florida. From the soaring sand dunes of Topsail Hill Preserve State Park to the northwest’s rolling, green interior, Mother Earth makes the most of her palette here.

What many first-time visitors often overlook is that the art of man is also a big draw. Pensacola, the Beaches of South Walton, the Emerald Coast, Panama City Beach and other regions offer galleries to explore at your own treasure-hunt pace, organized arts events and a smattering of arts centers. Together, they form the northwest’s burgeoning arts scene.

 
From Pensacola East

Organized arts centers begin in and around Florida’s westernmost city, Pensacola. On Jefferson Street downtown, start at the Pensacola Museum of Art. Here, in a converted jail (it held prisoners until 1954), the museum’s collection includes works by the likes of Thomas Hart Benton, Alex Katz and Alexander Calder.

Belmont offers a series of art classes, many lasting for only a day or even a few hours. Learn how to blow glass, sculpt pottery, create glass beads or design your own jewelry.

Also downtown (corner of Belmont and Reus streets) is the Belmont Arts & Cultural Center, which focuses on crafts. The Belmont’s gallery takes a regional approach, and shows off the work of Southern and national artists. Not only do glass blowers have studios on site, there’s a decided emphasis on glass art in the gallery. Even better for the hands-on, just-visiting crowd: Belmont offers a series of art classes, many lasting for only a day or even a few hours. Learn how to blow glass, sculpt pottery, create glass beads or design your own jewelry.

In Pensacola, you may find that the bright seascapes and seaside portraits on view at the Nina Fritz Gallery will make a perfect and permanent memento of your beach getaway.

For antique art, consider stopping in at Garth’s Antiques and Auction Gallery. Here you can bid on (or simply buy) American and European paintings, Native American art and antique furniture. Another art-buying location is the artist-run Quayside Art Gallery, housed in an old firehouse facing Plaza Ferdinand. While Pensacola’s galleries are open throughout the year, if you can, time your visit during a Gallery Night (March 14 and Nov. 21), the event where Downtown Arts District Association galleries hold opening shows.

 
Emerald Coast

Traveling southeast, the shore towns of the Emerald Coast – including Fort Walton Beach and Destin – offer their own arts venues. A major stop is the Mattie Kelly Fine & Performing Arts Center, housed on the campus of Okaloosa-Walton College in Niceville, just north of Choctawhatchee Bay and Fort Walton Beach. In addition to concerts and plays, the center also houses the McIlroy and Holzhauer galleries, which host traveling shows, and the center’s permanent art collection. Up for 2008, for example, are shows by Haitian artist Edward Duval Carrie and another by self-taught “primitive” artists.

Back in Fort Walton Beach, the gallery at The Arts and Design Society of Fort Walton Beach spotlights the work of its member artists, including those working in photography, acrylics, oils, sculpture, pottery, watercolors and multimedia. Styles range from Beaux Arts to juried theme shows with names like Play That Funky Music.

While Destin is known more for fish than for its art market, it does house a several worth-a-look national names. Among these is Thomas Kinkade – The Destin Gallery. Check out the “painter of light’s” homey works of cute cottages and such. Here you’ll find everything from modestly-priced prints to “splurge” pieces running in the thousands. (Insulin sold separately).

 
Beaches of South Walton

The Beaches of South Walton (a series of shore towns that line Route 30A) take art seriously. The region houses a dozens of galleries, and has instituted its own Artist of the Year program.

The variety of art available in northwest Florida literally widens as you drive to the Santa Rosa Beach area. Big Mama’s Hula Girl Gallery in Grayton Beach has become a sort of traveler pilgrimage spot known not only for its colorful shabby chic artists but also its “Big Mama” T-shirts. Outside, garden flowers constructed of old pots and pans greet visitors. Inside, a riot of color emanates from the work of more than 40 regional artists and crafters. Indulge your inner flower child as you check out hand-crafted jewelry, art, furniture, sculpture and pottery.

Of special note are the glass flower mosaics of 2006 Walton County Artist of the Year, Phil Kiser. His works range from about $40 to more than $10,000. There is nothing haughty about this gallery. Their slogan is “Y’all come to see us ‘cause honey if it ain’t fun, we don’t do it.”

In Santa Rosa Beach, Gulf Place is an upscale shopping area. Its draw is the Artists at Gulf Place. Roughly 10 artists’ cottages in the center of the district serve up art, pottery, glass and flattened Coca-Cola bottles. (You can get a T-shirt with Route 30-A road signs.) 

Also worth a look is Donna Burgess Gallery, on the grounds of the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort. Burgess, named Walton County’s Artist of the Year for 2008, is a watercolor artist specializing in local seascapes and animal portraits.

The arts ethos in the region takes on a particularly vibrant turn during First Friday Art Walks in the Seaside Gallery District. Seaside, that famous town from The Truman Show, invites you to tour its galleries, showing off everything from oil paintings to glasswork. Live music in Ruskin Park rounds out the evening.

Finally, head to Panama City to tour the Visual Arts Center of Northwest Florida. This venue not only provides gallery space to member artists, but it also hosts rotating museum-quality exhibitions by established artists. The 1925 building was constructed in the Spanish Revival style, complete with multi-colored glass and tile works. Like Pensacola, seeing the building is part of the fun: It’s also housed in a structure that once served as the Panama City Hall and Jail.