Artists brighten up St. Pete Clearwater Airport
CLEARWATER, Fla. - Two new murals are giving travelers going through the St. Pete Clearwater Airport (PIE) a big, bright welcome.
The airport sought Bay Area artists for a large mural project on the exterior to the ramp outside of Gate 12.
The murals are inspired by Florida and the only requirement was to represent Florida the best way possible.
Through Creative Pinellas, the two artists selected rose to the challenge, not only to bring the PIE motto "Go Easy" to life, but also to introduce visitors to the vibrant colors and beautiful nature of Florida.
"I wanted to create something that really shows the positive energy of Florida and what I did was to create the ‘Golden Hour’, a beautiful sunset over our Tampa Bay skies," shared artist Leo Gomez.
Two bright murals now welcome travelers at PIE.
Another mural by artist Laura "Miss Crit" Spencer is called ‘La Pasco of Florida’, which translates into the ‘Feast of Flowers’, a day of celebration in Spain for when Ponce De Leon landed on the Florida coast in 1513.
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"Now, of course, conquistadors come with a lot of problematic issues and certainly this coast was not uninhabited. It was very much inhabited. I wanted to invoke a sort of beauty and splendor that those Spaniards must have experienced when landing on our coast for the first time. The overt lush. The larger-than-life and vibrant flowers and native pollinators that would have been festooned across our beaches. So, this is a way for me to celebrate with a riot of color our natural environment and what makes Florida so special," Spencer said.
The murals are outside of gate 12.
Spencer added, "As soon as the call went out for the mural, I knew I had to take it... Part of my public-facing artwork is about celebrating Florida."
Gomez agreed, "The murals are inspired by Florida. This is just a great opportunity to show the world that Tampa Bay is full of the arts."
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As passengers are coming into the area near Gate 12, they get to see the palm trees and seabirds adorning the wall of Gomez's artwork.
The artists were tasked with painting something that shows the positive energy of Florida.
They also get to experience the larger-than-life floral designs and wildlife created by Spencer's paintbrush.
"As a native St. Pete resident, it was always really important to me to celebrate the beauty of our natural environment and especially that of Pinellas County," admitted Spencer, "This is a way for me to celebrate, with a riot of color, our natural environment and what makes Florida so special."
Click here to learn more about the murals and the artists.