Distilled: An Artist Series — Opening Gallery Night featuring Allison Wickey

Join us for the next chapter of Distilled: An Artist Series featuring October's artist, Allison Wickey
Distilled comes from the idea of extracting the essence of something — just as spirits are distilled, artists distill their experiences, influences, and perspectives into creative work. This opening gallery night marks the beginning of Allison's month-long installation, with her work on display throughout the distillery all October long.
Come sip, mingle, and explore as Allison transforms the distillery with her joyful, richly layered paintings that capture the charm of everyday life through vibrant color, intricate detail, and a heartfelt sense of place and connection.
Throughout the evening, guests can enjoy drinks from the bar, grab a light bite, mingle with Allison , and explore the artwork throughout the distillery as the space comes to life through art, conversation, and community.
Free to attend • All are welcome • RSVP encouraged
Presented by Distillery 98 in collaboration with Emerald Coast Storytellers and in partnership with the Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County.
About Allison Wickey:
Local artist, Allison Wickey, has lived and painted on 30A in the Blue Mountain Beach area since 2007. Allison grew up in Belleville, Illinois, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. Always on the creative side she didn’t fully embrace her talent until in college and skipped around to a few different schools before finally graduating from Columbia College in Chicago in 1997.
In 2000 she left Chicago, moved back to Belleville and started a business specializing in faux finish and mural painting. After 7 years of painting for people in their homes, getting married and having two kids she relocated with her family to 30A.
They came for the beauty of the beach but stay for the soul of this unbelievable, haunting , hidden slice of heaven we now call home. Once settled on 30A she was ready to create again but this time wanted to paint for ‘herself’ and gathered her favorite media from the faux finish days, venetian plaster and glazes and began to experiment on wooden ‘frames’.
After about 10 trial paintings she arrived at the technique still in use today, a roughly 13 step, 4 day process involving venetian plaster, acrylic paint and glazes applied to a handmade wooden canvas. Her work began to sell well at a few local shops, she became popular with designers and eventually opened her own gallery. In 2011 she won SOUTH WALTON ARTIST OF THE YEAR and in 2012 won BEST GALLERY ON THE EMERALD COAST. After 10 years of the gallery life she passed on her space to another artist and longed for the days of carefree painting, where it all started.
In 2014 Allison became a board member of The Cultural Arts Alliance of Walton County for 6 years and went on to eagerly serve as Board President. During this time she also became a co-founder of the UNDERWATER MUSEUM OF ART, the underwater sculpture park enjoyed by SCUBA divers located .75 miles off Grayton Beach State Park. She also has a sculpture in the museum, the Anamorphous Octopus. Learn more here: https://www.allisonwickey.com/
The Cultural Arts Alliance (CAA) of Walton County is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that has served as the creative core of Walton County, Florida, for more than 30 years. Through advocacy, education, funding, and innovative programming, the CAA connects the community to visual, performing, and public arts that inspire creativity, enrich lives, and support cultural tourism. The organization produces events, exhibitions, public art initiatives, and educational outreach programs that uplift local artists and expand access to the Arts for residents and visitors alike. Learn more at CulturalArtsAlliance.com.