“Purple Irises” by Brian Davis

Ocean Galleries will kick off the summer Memorial Day weekend with guest artist Brian Davis, who will be in Stone Harbor with a collection of his lifelike floral paintings.

The exhibition, “Flowers of Light,” runs Friday through Monday, May 25-28 at Ocean Galleries, 9618 Third Avenue, Stone Harbor, with the artist scheduled to appear at receptions 7-10 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Davis’ primary subjects are florals. He transforms roses, calla lilies and dahlias into romantic, compelling images with sharpness, color, movement, edge, and light. His work hangs in the Los Angeles Museum of Art, Huntington Library Art Collections and Botanical Gardens in San Marino, Calif., and the Laguna Beach and Long Beach museums of art, and his fans include Quincy Jones, Barbra Streisand, Cher, Henry Winkler and the Ford family, according to a press release.

A native Californian, Davis began experimenting with photography at a young age.  Formally educated in Fine Art at Pierce College and California State University (Los Angeles), Davis was influenced by the Dutch masters, along with the artists of the art nouveau and art deco eras.

Every Step You Take. By Jock Soto. Harper. Ballet dancer-turned-chef Jock Soto grew up the gay son of a macho Hispanic father and artistic Navajo mother. In his teens, the self-described “half-breed” fled the Arizona desert for New York, where his talent propelled him to the top at George Balanchine’s New York City Ballet. Soto’s rise was swift but not simple; a natural dancer but unsophisticated and naïve, he used dance “as an emergency-escape from the messy turmoil” of his insecurities, faced occasional rejection and jealousy from his peers, fell in and out of love, struggled to reconnect with his family, and ultimately became the principal dancer for the NYCB under Peter Martins. Interspersed among the tales of disappointment and triumph are encounters with the greats – “Mr. B,” Jerome Robbins, Darci Kistler, Jacques D’Amboise and others. Soto also includes some favorite recipes: spicy guacamole, penne Polonaise, and Grandma Rachel’s Navajo fry bread among others. A rewarding memoir, and memorable depiction of the artist as a young man.

Author, producer and critic Robert Strauss to be keynote speaker

Robert Strauss has written for Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The LA Times. He has been a news and sports producer for KYW-TV in Philadelphia and a TV critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Asbury Park Press. Last year he published “Daddy’s Little Goalie,” a poignant memoir about being the father of girl athletes. And now, he will be keynote speaker at the 10th anniversary of the North Wildwood Beach Writers Conference June 5 and 6 at the Wildwoods Convention Center in Wildwood.

Laura Starrett, “Bumpers.”

SOMA NewArt Gallery will feature two exhibits, "Inspired Brush Strokes - a Teacher and Her influence" and "Nature by Design" through May 13. Visitors can meet the artists at an opening reception 5-8 p.m. Saturday, April 21.

"Inspired Brushstrokes” in Galleries 1 and 2 will showcase the work of Marie Natale and her students Leslie Martel, Patricia Boyd, Laura Starrett, Gloria Stumm and Walter Kuemmerle.

Natale teaches watercolor painting privately at her home studio as well as at the Ocean City Art Center in Ocean City, in Gloucester County, Cape May and at community centers and art guilds throughout the East Coast and abroad.

“Nature by Design” in Gallery 3 will feature new paintings by Penny Beck.

"In this group of paintings I have combined my love for nature and animals with my fascination with color and design,” Beck said.

Jewelry by Eliza Dietz

The Cape May Artists Cooperative will feature the work of Eliza Dietz, Lee Hajduk and Mary Stewart May 4-June 3 in its West End Garage gallery.

Dietz, of West Cape May, specializes in wearable art. As a child, she would go to her father’s jewelry study and watch him working. She went to art school and started out focusing in graphic design, but more and more of her projects became wearable and she switched her focus to metal and glass working.

“A single bead can be very beautiful, but a piece of jewelry being worn and enjoyed is so much better,” Dietz said.

Hajduk, a self-taught photographer who lives in Town Bank, purchased her first camera at the age of 15. Captivated by the natural world, she earned BS in biology from Uppsala College and a MS in Zoology from Rutgers University. She used her camera to capture images of birds, flowers, insects, reptiles and mammals for later identification and cataloging. Her passion grew into capturing the beauty of wildlife and the outdoors. This month, the zoo’s snow leopards are a focus of Hajduk’s work.

“Coral Glynn” by Peter Cameron. Farrar, Straus and Giroux. A young nurse with a troubled past arrives at an English manor to care for the dying matriarch. The woman’s son, a disfigured veteran, takes a liking to the nurse, and when his mother dies, asks young Coral Glynn to stay on and marry him. At first astounded by the proposition, Coral agrees – she has nowhere else to go – but she must face a number of obstacles: the fierce disapproval of the longtime housekeeper, her fiance’s unresolved relationship with an old friend, her own implication in a local crime, and a deep and stubborn sense that she is undeserving. Cameron plumbs the unexpressed pain of these lonely people, and conveys it with brilliant economy. This is a wonderful book by an author who has been likened, rightly so, to F. Scott Fitzgerald and D.H. Lawrence.

Atlantic Cape Community College’s Art Gallery is featuring “Life Filled with Light,” an exhibit of paintings by artist Sister Celeste Mokrzycki of Brigantine through April 27. A reception to meet the artist will be held 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 11. The exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.

The exhibit will include landscapes, seascapes and figures in watercolor and pastel. Mokrzycki enjoys working with these mediums because she can capture fleeting moments of light and luminosity, which she believes make ordinary moments extraordinary.

The Cape May Artists Cooperative will host an artists reception 1-5 p.m. Sunday, April 15 for featured artists Anita Roth and Cindy Mahoney in its gallery at the West End Garage, 484 W. Perry St., Cape May.

Roth has been working with a camera for more than 10 years, and has showcased her work at the co-op since its creation in 2008. Her photography is focused on nature, particularly flowers, shells and sea glass.

“Heart Mosaic” by Pam Huber.

The Harbor Gallery at New Jersey Audubon’s Nature Center of Cape May will host an artist reception 6 p.m. Friday, April 6 for its newest exhibit, “Live Green.” Light refreshments will be served.

“Live Green” features two local artists, Susan Zipper and Pam Huber.

Zipper’s artwork is a personal expression of her philosophy of living green. Her art pieces can incorporate old furniture, scraps, bits and pieces of glass and ceramics, or almost anything destined for the landfill.

Trinka Hakes-Noble will discuss her book “The Scarlet Stockings Spy” 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 11 at Historic Cold Spring Village.

Join Historic Cold Spring Village 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 11 for the next installment in the free spring lecture series at the Village Welcome Center.

The topic, Historical Fun through Children’s Books, explores historical fiction as a tool for getting young people interested in history. Award-winning author and artist Trinka Hakes-Noble will explore the uses of history through a discussion of her book “The Scarlet Stockings Spy,” the tale of a brave girl in British-occupied Philadelphia who aids George Washington’s army during the American Revolution.