LEARNING TO FLY

This piece is about hope and the idea of coming together even if there are differences or different backgrounds. This painting is about coming out place alone and coming together with others (even if different from themselves like the sailfish and birds flying together) Tiffanybeasi.com

GROWING IS KEY

The concept behind this painting is that music, art and reading is a natural and important part of a persons growth and development. In the center, is a key that is growing from a musical instrument base and the branches stretch across the painting. On the east side, books are flying from the growing key and to the west is a music bar with performers dancing across showing that personal expression is important to a growth. Tiffanybeasi.com

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Tiffany Beasi is a professional artist and designer with 25 years of experience. Tiffany has been drawing since childhood and holds a degree in graphic design. In recent years, Tiffany has exhibited her work in several group art shows including House of Blues Folk Art Festival, Sun Fest, Aesop’s Tables in West Palm Beach, Gibson Guitar Town and Hard Rock Hotels Velvet Lounge. Her public art projects and murals span the state of Florida and are located in Coral Springs, St. Cloud, Palm Harbor, West Palm Beach, Miami, Orlando, Sanford, Hollywood and Lake Worth.  Her paintings have been published in two books, Beatles Art: The Fantastic New Artwork of the Fab Four and Marilyn-in-Art and in publications including Industry Magazine, Axis Magazine, Orlando Sentinel, Palm Beach Post, Sun Sentinel and Metro West Magazine. Her hand-painted guitars are displayed internationally in Hard Rock Cafes located in Dublin, Buenos Aires, Munich and the Las Vegas Hotel. She continues to produce and present her artwork in galleries and outdoor shows. She has created a growing body of work that continues to excite both fans and collectors alike. Visit her website Tiffanybeasi.com

LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER |  NORTHERN FLICKER

These artworks show a caged bird but the bars are only behind the bird, not in the foreground. The viewer is inside the cage with them. The birds and background are dark purple and dark blue, respectively. The only colors are the little confetti pieces on the bellies of these strange birds. The brightness and shape of the colorful spots are the focus of each artwork. The birds are based on real species but have becomes something else. They are playful fantasies, each a light in the dark.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Lechelle Calderwood is a graphic designer and illustrator. Her most recent book is The Most Beautiful Beast.

STAINED GLASS 3

Mark T. Cole’s artwork surrounds itself with pattern. He has focused most of his work around basic elements of circles and squares. He enjoys creating abstract work with mathematical structures of repetition. His works of art possess structure and visual harmony with vibrant colors. The vibrant color theory is used to create depth and contrast throughout the images. As you look at each work, you discover movement and flow throughout.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Mark T. Cole is originally from Miami, FL. He currently resides in Orlando, FL. His environment and upbringing has inspired the artist to this day. Mark went to a small liberal arts school in Tennessee called Maryville College. While studying fine arts there, he was mentored by the artist and one of his professors, Carl Gombert. During that study, he began to explore his interest in patterns. Mark has been influenced by artists: Josef Albers, Victor Vasarely, Andy Warhol, Donald Judd and Chuck Close. Mark has been able to create great beauty by harnessing these simple elements. His work creates bright and beautiful images which possess that mathematical structure throughout.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Sally is a lifetime artist. She has trained in acrylic painting, oil painting, portraiture, fluid painting, watercolors, sketching, pastels, charcoal, and ceramics. Her work is inspired by her life experiences, travel, and nature. She is passionate about art and enjoys sharing this through shows and teaching. She has shown at Lake Mary- Heathrow Festival of the Arts and Cranes Roost/Uptown Altamonte Art Festival as well as numerous smaller shows in Orlando, Lake Mary, Longwood, and Sanford. Her work has been displayed at City Arts Gallery – Orlando, Wayne Densch Performing Arts Center- Sanford, Park Drive Gallery – Sanford, Advent Health Art of Healing – Altamonte Springs, and Hollerbach’s Art Haus-Sanford. Before Covid her work was for sale in local Artisan Boutiques in Lake Mary  and Sanford.  She teaches both private and group painting lessons and offers mobile painting parties. With over ten years teaching experience her classes receive rave reviews.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Born in Miami, Florida, Gregory is a multidisciplinary visual artist. His works have been shown in solo exhibitions in Florida and abroad. His most involved body of work, The Big Book, has been exhibited since 2008, including the most recent show in 2022. He was awarded the Silver Key for Portfolio by The National Scholastic Art and Writing Alliance in 2004 and received his BFA at Ringling College of Art and Design in 2008. While there, he produced many significant pieces, winning the Best of Core and Best of Fine Arts awards. He is a current resident artist at Bailey Contemporary Arts Center in Pompano Beach, Florida.

Kira Gondeck-Silvia is a multidisciplinary artist who really likes color and texture. Come for the pretty colors. Stay for the gory details. Gondeck-Silvia is interested in contemporary forms of hysteria, specifically the ways in which mental illness complicates communication and creates dysfunction in human connections. She uses animals as a surrogate for corporeal bodies and terror related to gendered power.

Kira Gondeck-Silvia has shown work in Vreden Germany, Alberta, Canada, the Atlantic Center for the Arts in New Smyrna Beach, FL, and at Museum of Contemporary Craft in Portland, OR. She earned her BA from Rollins College in 2001 and MFA in Visual Studies from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon in 2016. She currently lives in Central Florida with her writer husband, cats she puts bandanas on, and a neurotic dog. You can see more of her work at behance.net/kiragondecksilvia or on Instagram @kiragondecksilvia.

Robb Johnson is a self-taught watercolor artist who currently lives in Orlando, Florida.  He began his artistic journey when his son was born prematurely. As a way to pass the time he spent in the NICU, he began sketching his son. As the hours turned to days, and days turned to weeks, he developed his skill, and branched out to watercolors.

“Watercolor is a medium that requires you to relinquish control and exercise patience at the same time.  These were all lessons I learned as father watching my son grow in an incubator. As I grew into being a father, I grew into being an artist.  The athletes that I paint remind me to stay youthful and understand that sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.” 

GOLDEN RIDE/SUNFLOWERS ON A CLOUDY DAY

Beauty can be found anywhere but is often overlooked in the familiar. I seek to slow down and be intentional about looking for those landscapes big or small that with their beauty bring a sense of well-being and peace. Capturing and amplifying that beauty into a painting I strive to remind others that there is hope to be found beyond our circumstances. I work from photographs I’ve taken, as as I study the photo I see more details and color to then use in my paintings.  “Golden Ride” is inspired by a country road near my home after seeing how lovely the light was through the trees. “Sunflowers on a cloudy day” was painted after being able to wander through a very soggy sunflower field and was cheered by the vibrancy of thousands of yellow heads pointed my way. 

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Heather Nagy is an Orlando-based artist who specialized in vibrant landscapes, city scenes, and botanical acrylic paintings. She has shown in various galleries and venues in Central Florida and takes part in festivals around the state. Her work has collectors across the country and world. She made the transition of painting full-time in 2018 after nearly 20 years of working as a graphic designer. She grew up in Michigan, got her BFA from Western Michigan University, grew up dreaming of being an artist. Her award-winning work can be seen at Heather-Nagy.pixels.com.

FISH

I decided to carve a northern red snapper, a fish endemic to Florida and the Caribbean, for this piece. This fish is a staple food in many Caribbean dishes. Felipe Poey y Aloy, a Cuban naturalist and intellectual who significantly contributed to the advance of science in Cuba was the first to classify the fish. Poey was born to French and Spanish parents, and was considered an “isolated genius” because of his background and place of birth. This adds a peculiar layer to how scholars viewed trailblazers in parts of Central and South America and the Caribbean. 

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Jacoub Reyes is a printmaker and installation artist based in Orlando, Florida. Reyes finds and makes materials and tools to use in his practice. He carves detailed large-scale allegorical woodcuts based on the acculturation of the Caribbean. Reyes finds that using religious and mythological archetypes creates visual tropes that parallel the experiences of BIPOC. This transformation of found wood and materials shed light on social issues. The salvaging of discarded materials mirrors how he reimagines a system that instills value to those cast aside: BIPOC. He believes that we must examine what our black and brown ancestors did to survive and flourish to move forward.

“Water Garden Showers” is a combination of two original acrylic paintings – “Water Garden” & “April Showers.” These paintings are both tranquil and vibrant as one can feel the water moving. Pulling, dripping, and scraping paint along the canvas are techniques used to build significant texture and movement. Layers of paint are added and built over time to give depth and create a sense of place. These pieces are a reminder of the significance a place can have on our own memory and our becoming.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

A Florida native, Hannah’s artistic journey started with darkroom photography and printmaking. Rupp graduated from Rollins College in 2008 with a B.A. in Studio Art and an MBA in 2009 through the rigorous Accelerated Management Program. In 2012, she graduated from Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) with an MFA in Design Management. Since the end of 2016, Hannah’s passion has been acrylic painting. She is influenced by French Impressionist painters like Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, as well as post-World War II Abstract Expressionism. Rupp was selected to participate in The Museum of Modern Art’s (MoMA) “In the Studio: Postwar Abstract Painting” online learning community exhibition in New York, New York where her painting was digitally displayed. Her colorful, highly textured, abstract paintings are often inspired by nature and the beauty found in the messiness of life.

WATCHING HER NEST

 This work depicts a bird perched on a limb by her nest, gazing at it, maybe guarding her eggs, or resting before gathering more material to build it. My childhood neighbor was an avid bird watcher and taught me the beauty of those active, joyful little creatures.

BIRDS OF PARADISE / HOOK, LINE AND SINKER

I was inspired by my love of the water, fishing and the beautiful flora and fauna that grow along lake banks. I painted the fish after my son send me a photo of a beautiful “red fish” he caught on an outing in CA. I immediately was inspired to recreate that excitement. Interestingly, it evolved  from the fish’s point of view as well as from “the one that got away.”

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Susan Spraker began painting on a Pacific cliff in Big Sur, California. Both love, and awe for nature are reflected in many of her paintings. The feelings of freedom and wonder of it all is what intuitively pour onto her canvases and panels. “My painting is pure creativity and freedom. The delight of it is both in my eyes and in others’ as we each are transported to another place or feeling or memory.”

Website: www.susansprakerart.com  

CAROUSEL HORSES

This digital painting began as photographs of the “Knights In White Satin” carousel at the now defunct Hardrock Theme Park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  To learn more about John and his art visit Gallery On First/Jeanine Taylor Folk Art Gallery at 211 East 1st Street here in Sanford, FL .  On the WEB at https://www.GalleryOnFirst.com or https://www.facebook.com/GalleryonFirstSanford.

FLORIDA WILDLIFE MOSAICS

This digital painting began as a series of photographs taken of a mosaic mural at the St. Louis Zoo in St. Louis, MO.  To learn more about John and his art visit Gallery On First/Jeanine Taylor Folk Art Gallery at 211 East 1st Street here in Sanford, FL .  On the web at https://www.GalleryOnFirst.com or https://www.facebook.com/GalleryonFirstSanford.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Artist John P Sullivan III is a retired Landscape Architect residing in Sanford, FL where he creates digital paintings from his photography.   His work covers a wide range of topics, themes and locations.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

As a mixed media artist, John Wilton has participated in over 100 group and 40 solo shows, winning a number of awards along the way. Wilton maintains a studio in DeLand and has served as a judge for more than 80 art shows throughout Florida. In 1995, he was awarded an Individual Artist’s Fellowship from the state of Florida.

Over the years, Wilton has completed a number of public art commissions for Volusia County and the State of Florida, including (locally) the Volusia County Justice Center in DeLand, the Marine Science Center in Ponce Inlet, Daytona International Airport, the pedestrian crossover at Ocean Walk in Daytona Beach, the Beach Headquarters building at Sun Splash Park, the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, a collaborative sculpture project for the DeLand City Hall building and the DeLand Butterfly Mural.

Current projects include the DeLand Sculpture Walk (since 2010); the DeLand Utility Box Art Wrap Project; the annual Off the Beaten Path Central Florida Studio Tours; a utility box art wrap project at One Daytona; the DeLand Miniature Art Adventure; a utility box art wrap project for the City of Sanford and development of ACED – the arts, culture and entertainment district for the City of DeLand, for which he serves as vice president of the board of directors.

Additional information can be found at www.johnwilton.com.