Sanctuary

Naples artist Jonathan Green and his business manager, Richard Weedman, may be two of the busiest people in Naples, but they live and work in a serene sanctuary-a sleek and utterly uncluttered house and studio on 25 wild acres off State Road 951. Convinced that more, not less, gets accomplished if they pause every day to rebalance and reconnect over a leisurely meal, the two have a tradition of sharing their haven with others, from visiting collectors to the 300 guests they'll host this month at their annual newcomers' reception.

What began several years ago as an informal event to introduce friends to Naples and introduce Neapolitan newcomers to each other has turned into one of Naples' most sought-after invitations. The two fly in a special guest every year-this year it's Dr. Leslie King-Hammond, dean of graduate studies at the Maryland Institute College of Art-and construct the guest list with care. Every year, 100 new people are added, and 100 are cut-including people who didn't make the effort to mingle the year before. Guests wander through the house, admiring Green's extensive, ever-changing art collection, or gather in the courtyard or the studio, where his brightly colored, often African-American-themed paintings and drawings are on display in various stages of creation.

Green and Weedman say that many friendships have been forged and projects inspired by the gatherings, but they stress that the receptions are about connecting with kindred spirits rather than raising business or social profiles. No one is allowed to take photographs, and the crowd is deliberately eclectic, so that a corporate tycoon might end up talking with a woodworker or young artist. Underwritten by Jonathan Green Studios, the reception is an enormous undertaking, requiring months of planning-most of it done around the long dining table that adjoins the kitchen.

It's here that they lay the groundwork for all "campaigns," as Weedman calls their projects, over the daily lunches they describe as "board meetings." Kimbrough Daniel, who manages the grounds and house, is also a gifted cook, with his own personal spin on Floribbean cuisine. Shopping every day for fresh ingredients, he prepares colorful plates with a medley of offerings-for example, mahi-mahi in jerk seasoning, stone-crab claws or Gulf shrimp, coconut rice, black beans and roasted red peppers on a bed of avocado, pulled green beans, star fruit and perhaps an edible orchid or two. Although guests protest that there is too much food, most astonish themselves by cleaning their plates, says Daniel. "It's all light food," he explains. Weedman and Green, who dined out most nights before Daniel began cooking for them a few years ago, say that these midday meals have brought them new energy and renewed health.

Elite kitchens of naples designed the kitchen to meet Weedman and Green's stringent requirements. They wanted a space where a large number of people could congregate and work together without ever feeling crowded. And they also insisted that nothing-not even the refrigerators-could be above waist level, to preserve the house's open feeling and to provide an unobstructed view of the artworks in adjoining rooms. They had rejected designs from several other firms before they met with Elite. "They were the only ones who really got what we wanted to do," Weedman says. Now they consider the clean-lined space the nerve center-and heart-of their home. "Food is our second love, after art," Weedman says, smiling.

At their midday meals, as they savor their food and wine, Green, Daniel and Weedman also discuss projects and plans. Stopping to talk and reflect-and make sure everyone is informed about all that's going on-makes any daily craziness recede. Even if one of them comes to the table stressed, Green says, "At the end of the meal, everyone is in a good mood."

Weedman and Green met in Chicago, where Green graduated from the Art Institute. They first visited Naples when Weedman, a management consultant, became involved in a project here. The artist was raised in the matriarchal Gullah culture of South Carolina, in Beaufort County. As that coastal culture, rich in tradition and history, has been threatened by development, Green has served as its chronicler, capturing the women in their church dresses and hats, the men and women working together in the oyster beds, family and friends gathered outside to pass on their stories and legends. In his forward to Gullah Images: The Art of Jonathan Green (University of South Carolina Press), Pat Conroy writes, "He paints what made him. the forms that inspired his rare sensibility. He is the immaculate, real thing, and his art is a cry of pure love for his community, his family, and the geography of the Carolina Sea Islands."

Although Green's paintings often depict scenes from his childhood, he says that the colors and textures of Southwest Florida have also influenced him. Living in low-key Naples, he says, keeps him focused and productive.

Their contemplative life makes Green and Weedman the envy of many of their visitors, who range from academics working on theses or books to art collectors. Many are high-powered people, says Green, who revel in the chance to do nothing but admire the Florida landscape and relax over the long, leisurely midday meal. Once back in the Midwest or Northeast, they miss their Naples retreat. "Sometimes they call and ask, 'What's Kimbrough cooking today?'" Daniel says.

"This isn't about entertaining," Green says of their home and daily routine. "It's about creating a space." What they have created for themselves and their guests may be what Weedman says Green achieves in painting the women who figure so prominently in his work: "He gives them a sense of space, dignity and privacy."