On My Walls - Treasures from Gasparilla Arts Festival

The Who by Kreg Yingst

Sunday I escaped responsibilities & enjoyed the Gasparilla Festival of the Arts. There was a fantastic variety of artwork to choose from. & this week I'm sharing some of my favorites. To see yesterday's picks click here.

Several items tried to come home with me. Here are the ones I could not resist. My apologies for any blemishes or whatnot as I've used my old scanner to capture all but the top image.

The first piece to jump into my arms was Kreg Yingst's framed blockprint The Who. Click the pic to visit his website. Make sure you have a few minutes - that place is overflowing with exciting blockprints, linocuts and paintings. You'll find colorful galleries with names like Magic & Circus, Music Blockprints and Matt: A Visual Gospel.

The Who by Kreg Yingst

This is a scan of the framed blockprint. The frame measures 12" sq, so you are just seeing a crop here. I wanted to show you the unique mat and fun treatment on the frame. This piece just reached out and yanked me into the booth. I found myself sucked into this fantastic world of line & color. I had a hard time deciding which piece to take home - good thing some of the others are for sale on his website kregyingst.com.

On the other side of the show I was soon captivated by the large black & white photographs of Laurie Coppedge. She has a gorgeous series of swimmers with a lovely ethereal quality. You can see this set on her website lauriecoppedge.com. Some of her other series are listed but not yet uploaded, so I've scanned in the pieces I purchased. Again, any flaws are due to my scanner & I apologize.

Galenski House by Laurie Coppedge

Jen Peeking by Laurie Coppedge


Galenski House by Laurie Coppedge

Don't you just love these? This gentleman (the artist's neighbor) has such an interesting face and all 3 photos have a timeless quality that really appeals to me. Jen Peeking reminds me of a dream I had a few times. It always gave me fright & I'd wake up as soon as I saw the woman looking at me. While this photograph is haunting to me it is also playful and feels like a good counterpoint to the Galenski House pieces. I will hang the 3 together with Jen Peeking in the middle. Matted they measure 11" x 14".

By the way, you can catch these talented artists at other art festivals. They both have show schedules on their websites.

Thanks for stopping in today. I will share some more of my faves from the show tomorrow.

Also, if you have a moment please visit Monday's post. Toward the bottom I suggest some "dos & don'ts" for art fairs. I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic. I'm asking everyone to leave some advice based on what they have observed at art festivals. Have you ever been a browser, buyer, or vendor at a fair? Please share your business suggestions, faux pas, or common sense advice. I will collect all suggestions together in a post this Saturday.

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Please note, everyone who leaves a comment on this blog before 1 a.m. (EST) on 3/11 will be entered in a random drawing sponsored by ElleMoss.etsy.com. 1 lucky winner takes home a set of postcards and their choice of one 5" sq fine art photograph. CLICK HERE for details