Gasparilla Art Festival brings artists with unique skills to Tampa
TAMPA, Fla. - Every year artists from across the country travel to Tampa to showcase their work at what some say is one of the top art shows in the country. That is the Gasparilla Art Festival which kicked off Saturday at Julian B. Lane.
"I do it as if it's a watercolor painting and then another watercolor painting continually piled on top of each other," artist Lyn Sedlak-Ford said.
Lyn Sedlak-Ford of Portland, Oregon has been making a living as an artist for 34 years specializing in what's known as Verra E'glomise' on lucite.
"I have a lot of energy within me and whether I'm aware of it or not aware of it, it comes out through the artwork and then the people who, you know, really connect to it. They connect on that emotional level," Sedlak-Ford said.
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Lucite is a high-quality trademarked version of acracrylic resin similar to plexiglass. The form of painting she does is known as reverse painting carving out markings and design and painting on one side of the lucite, but then turning it over for a smooth surface on the other side as the finished product.
"Before I ever start a piece is I draw little sketches of little thumbnail sketches of where I'm going," Sedlak-Ford said.
Kate Carney does the same.
"When I feel like my sketches are ready I will put it on the canvas with gesture lines of chalk," Carney said.
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She specializes in oil painting using transparent paints mixed together to create her colors.
"I draw it over and over and over until it becomes fluent," Carney said.
She has a passion for painting living things from people to plants and animals. The Gasparilla Art Festival is where she makes some of her best sales] and it's why she says she keeps coming back and encourages other artists to do the same.
"It's a pretty savvy art crowd for the most part, and the work is very well received. The staff here, the volunteers really go out of their way to run a professional show. That means a lot to us because it makes our life easier and more successful," Carney said.