An artists eye: Daniel Bottero's painting, like the ones pictured above, are gestural and multilayered, with vigorously articulated expanses of color punctuated by suggestions of figures and architecture.

Let’s get the Bottero question out of the way first. The Daniel Bottero who is exhibiting his paintings at the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens is no relation to the Fernando Botero of plus-sized subjects fame.

Probably.

“We could be distant relations,” the artist said.

Certainly, there’s little connection between their art. Daniel Bottero is what art critic Donald Kuspit calls a lyrical expressionist in a 2006 coffee-table book about the artist’s work. Read the full story

Steven Van Zandt (center) leaves the service for Clarence Clemons at Royal Poinciana Chapel in Palm Beach. (Bill Ingram / Palm Beach Post)

See the program from the funeral | Photos: Memorial in Palm Beach | Photos: Clarence Clemons, a look back | Share your condolences: Online guestbook | More Clarence Clemons coverage

By SHANNON DONNELLY

As last wishes go, Clarence Clemons’ was a doozy.

He asked Victoria Clemons, his titian-haired fifth wife, to scatter his ashes at a cherished spot in Hawaii and to do so with “all of the special women in his life” – including his previous wives.

Victoria, speaking at her husband’s memorial service at the Royal Poinciana Chapel on Tuesday, told 150 friends and family members – including three of the four ex-wives, who were seated near her at the service – that she would do exactly that.

Clemons, saxophonist for Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band and a resident of Singer Island in Riviera Beach, died Saturday from complications of a stroke he suffered a week earlier. He was 69.

The private, by-invitation service was a bit late getting started due to a last-minute rehearsal for the performers, including Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne and the E Street Band.

Click here to read more from The Palm Beach Daily News.

- Shannon Donnelly

OK, so it wasn’t exactly Will and Kate, but the sentiment was the same.

Project Runway’s Heidi Klum and husband Seal were in Palm Beach over the weekend to take their wedding vows for the sixth time.

Yes, six. The pair, who wed in 2005, renew their vows every year in a costumed ceremony in front of family members and close friends who are asked to dress in black and white. Read the full story

— Roberta Sabban

After 5,000 years of viniculture, the wines of Israel have finally made it into the mainstream.

Throughout the country, winemakers have been planting Old World vines and turning them into exquisitely crafted wines that have been gaining worldwide accolades. Read the full story

- Roberta Sabban

The heirloom tomato harvest is in full swing in South Florida and Walter Ross, owner of Farmhouse Tomatoes, is working seven days a week to keep up with the demand.

Ross has more than 40,000 hydroponic plants growing in three greenhouses totaling 160,000 square feet. Each structure has its own beehive so the plants can be naturally pollinated. Planting began in September.
Read the full story

- Jan Sjostrom

Ramon Tebar will become the Florida Grand Opera’s music director June 1, officials announced recently. But he’s not giving up his job as music director of the Palm Beach Symphony, with which he has a three-year contract that began this season.

“We’re very excited about it,” said Ray Robinson, the symphony’s artistic director. “We’re glad he has the chance to do opera.”
Read the full story

Paul Giamatti, Bobby Cannavale and Jeffrey Tambor in 'Win Win'.

By JAN SJOSTROM

The Palm Beach International Film Festival will open March 23 with a screening of Tom McCarthy’s Win Win at Muvico Parisian at CityPlace in West Palm Beach.

The film, a critical favorite at the most recent Sundance Film Festival, stars Paul Giamatti as a high school wrestling coach who discovers a star athlete under questionable circumstances.

The festival will wrap up March 28 at Movies of Delray with The First Grader. The film is a true story, directed by Justin Chadwick, about an 84-year-old Kenyan villager and ex-Mau Mau freedom fighter who asserts his right to go to school for the first time.

A Best of the Fest sequel will be held March 29-31 at the Living Room Theaters on the Florida Atlantic University campus in Boca Raton.

Click here for more info at PalmBeachDailyNews.com.

By Jan Sjostrom

The main reason Susan Stroman signed on for the musical Young Frankenstein can be summed up in two words: Mel Brooks.

“When I did The Producers with Mel, I had a glorious time,” said Stroman, who directed and choreographed both shows. “Then he called me up and said, ‘Let’s do it again.’ The idea of being in a room again with that incredible, spontaneous brain — I couldn’t say no.”

Brooks’ method of creating a show is as zany as his movies and musicals. Read the full story

By ROBERTA SABBAN

There is the oft-repeated tale of people who visit Palm Beach and are so enchanted they never leave. That’s what happened to Antonio Meninni when he came for a vacation during the 1970s.

By 1980, Meninni had moved to Palm Beach and opened a boutique on Worth Avenue. He sold hand-crafted Florentine shoes made by Salvatore Ferragamo.

This was the golden era of Italian couture. The world went to Italy, and especially Florence, to buy elegant clothes and luxury leather goods. They also discovered sophisticated food and the world-class wines of Tuscany. Read the full story

By Carolyn Susman

If you’re a mother of daughters, the title of Susan Shapiro Barash’s latest book will resonate strongly.

You’re Grounded Forever … But First Let’s Go Shopping makes you laugh, then stabs you. There likely isn’t a mother alive who hasn’t been stung by attempts to discipline her girl and set her on the right path.

How do we do that without engendering bad feelings? How do we keep her love without being her doormat? Read the full story