Slack Water Grove | Digital painting by AJ Brockman

In late 2014 I had the privilege of exhibiting at the Ocean Sotheby's International Realty gallery, in Islamorada. This was one of my biggest openings to date and honor to be showing in the same space that has hosted artists such as Robert Wyland had previously exhibited in. With an opportunity like this, I was able to get my artwork in front of a lot of collectors As well as providing an awesome weekend getaway in the Florida Keys. Although it is always months of work preparing for a gallery exhibit, Its experiences like this we dream of as professional artists.

As with many of my exhibits, I always choose a charity partner to benefit from the sales of my work. This particular charity was Reef Environmental Education Foundation. Not only did they provide some amazing inspiration for the actual piece I created, but they continue to do incredible conservation work to this day. Below is an entry from my journal right after this exhibit – "We had an unbelievable turnout of well over what we were expecting. After unveiling my brand-new original digital painting, "Slack Water Grove", it sold Within 10 minutes! Sotheby's said it was one of the most successful shows they have ever had and I am truly overwhelmed with how my work has connected with others, The majority of which I had never met until that night. A huge thank you to the gracious couple who purchased the original and in turn helped to support (REEF) Reef Environmental Education Foundation, The charity partner receiving a percentage of the proceeds from this piece. In the end it's about the experiences we have in life and sharing that with both friends of new and old."

"The Reef Environmental Education Foundation is a grass-roots organization that seeks to conserve marine ecosystems by educating, enlisting and enabling divers and other marine enthusiasts to become active ocean stewards and citizen scientists." – Visit their website here : http://www.reef.org

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