- January 29, 2025
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If you haven't seen Regan Dunnick's pastel works from the SRQ Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, it's possible you've still encountered his illustrations.
Like Frank Hopper, whose works also hung in the airport, Dunnick is widely renowned, and in the past, he created artwork for menus, table tents and more for the Chili's restaurant chain.
In fact, he attributes his pastel-style work with Chili's to being selected to create the murals for the airport in the same style.
Now, there is further opportunity to view his and Hopper's works from the airport, with the exhibition "Echoes of Sarasota: A Historical Preservation," at Palm Avenue Fine Art.
The Observer had the opportunity to speak with Dunnick during opening night on Jan. 24.
"When I first saw these, it just was clear that Sarasota needed to see these because they were so special," said Gallery Director Colin Thomsen. "Sarasota is an incredible place, and we need to realize where we came from, and there's really no better way to revisit the history, in my opinion."
Dunnick launched his illustration career in Houston, but eventually became homesick for Florida, where he grew up.
After moving back to Florida, he was contacted by Ringling College of Art and Design, where he received his bachelor of fine arts in illustration.
He began teaching graphic design on a part-time basis and has served as the head of illustration at the school, with which he is now in his 39th year.
In about May of 1990, he was commissioned to create murals for the airport in a contemporary style.
"It was great that I did the murals," he said. "I was very proud of it obviously, and I'm sure Frank Hopper was too."
The work on display consists of nine pastel paintings by Dunnick and four oil paintings by Hopper.
According to a previous Observer article, Hopper moved into a home on Whitehall Place in Siesta Key with his wife, Marjorie, in 1974, remodeling part of their home to make room for a studio.
That article also said that Hopper, an internationally renowned artist, painted a portrait of Richard Nixon after being commissioned by a committee to re-elect him, and that the painting hung in the White House.
Dunnick's work has been featured in publications including Rolling Stone, The New York Times, Atlantic, and Time, and he has worked for companies including Levi's and Kohler Co.
According to Ringling College's website, he has won numerous awards and his works are in the permanent Library of Congress.
Mark Stuckey, executive vice president and chief of staff at the airport, told the Observer last year that the airport's board advised staff to sell or confine the existing artwork, while seeking a new home for the pieces.
Tom Murray, manager at Palm Avenue Fine Art, had pursued the artwork for almost two years before finally acquiring it in 2024.
Dunnick said in creating the pastel works, he tried to bring a sense of style.
"I tried to make it not mundane. I wanted to put some flair into it, a lot of lines, colors, starbursts..." he said, also noting the handwritten text he included throughout the pictures.
Each was created on a piece of watercolor paper which he pinned to the wall of his small studio located in the hospital of an air force base at the airport.
He started with the sketches outlining the concepts, which he projected onto the canvas.
"It was a process," he said.
He said one of the major challenges was creating accurate drawings of the American Indian tribes that used to live in the area.
"I remember looking at a lot of different books at the time... trying to see good mentions where I could depict the tattoos the way they actually were," he said.
Thomsen said he hopes the paintings will continue to be seen by the public.
"I'm hoping that they stay in Sarasota, visible, and the right people decide that they need to be visible," Thomsen said.
