Pinellas County Centennial Poster

In early July, Pinellas County artists were invited by The County and The Florida Gulf Coast Center For Fishing to enter their creative works for selection as the official Pinellas County Centennial Poster. The winning image was fated to be used as official art for the September 14th Celebration of The County's hundred years of existence. Participants were invited to submit interpretations that serve to reflect the rich heritage and unique history of Pinellas County. It gives me great pleasure to announce that my own submission titled "Timeline Pinellas" will be used for this purpose.

With symbolic imagery, "Timeline" (featured above) expounds upon the historical events and peoples who have called Pinellas County "home." The color scheme of the poster is an allusion to the colors of the Pinellas Logo. At the bottom of the poster, a Native American, representing a member of Pinellas's Tocobaga Tribe (who called the area home in the 1500's to 1700's) looks out of the poster at the viewers. Above him a tall ship flies the Spanish Colonial Flag, representing the era of the Panfilode Narvaez Expedition and the Spanish Conquistadors who landed in the spring of 1528. Nearby, a period sailor looks through his telescope to the image of an orange, symbolic of the citrus industry which will later bring rail and commerce to our county. This same orange is playfully inserted as the sun icon, which is a component of the Pinellas Logo to the left. The logo overlooks a fisherman, alluding to the area's fishing rancheros of the 1700's, and his line dances across the sky carrying our eyes to the train, alluding to the rail industry of the 1800's and the vacationers alluding to the tourist boom of the 1900's. Modern day Saint Petersburg lies at the forefront of the poster.

I would like to express my gratitude and thank the judges for affording me this great success. I hope this may be serve as a gateway to many more wonderful projects.

Thank you all.

Lyle Polyak

(2 C more art go to www.themindscapeartfoundry.com or www.artoflylepolyak.com)