Commissions and Art Galleries, Huzzah!

And here we are again! I'm taking a brief pause prior to work to update my readers on recent events, while I await the toaster at my kitchen table. Wonderful how effort pays off... Recently my hobby and my job have intermingled with funding and enjoyment being had on both fronts.

At this time I have exhibits running at Suntan Art Center, Stirling Studios Art Gallery, Pinellas Park City Hall, and the Park Station Gallery. I'm preparing for the annual vacation to St. Augustine this June, to satisfy my cravings as a History-buff, and , at the same time, a good number of my sketches and oil pencil portraiture will soon be on display at Carrollwood Cultural Center in June.

Networking does pay off! Through my friend, fellow artist, Doug Land, I received a commission from a local writer, I don't think he will mind me advertising his name... The cover art for David Watts next literary work will be taken from a 18x24 oil pencil sketch, inspired by an excerpt from his tale.  I truly did have a great deal of fun expressing myself in this piece. I can't reveal the title or the artwork yet, but it will be here as soon as the book is published. Whoo! Commissions, gotta love 'em! So I'm adding illustration to my offerings now, and advertising them with my boss's help at FASTSIGNS, where custom jobs are also a specialty.

It does bring a smile to my face as I think back to what I was doing for a living only a year ago. "Winds of change, baby! Winds of change."

Thanks for reading!

Lyle Polyak

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

(my favorite spokesperson, showing

off the new sign campaingn.)

(The art reception at Stirling Studios was really packed.)

In the news again!

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 and recently appeared on the front page of the Pinellas Park Beacon.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

(2 C More Art go to www.the mindscapeartfoundry.com or www.artoflylepolyak.com)

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)

Mission Accomplished

I've really been getting onto Adobe Photoshop quite a bit these past few weeks. My official Photoshop training starts this week, but I love to experiment to see what tools do what. Let me tell you about the artwork below, which will appear for the month of April at Park Station. This is my first experiment with Photoshop CS5...

The Goal: Use a disposable photo and a pencil sketch to create a fresh "pseudo-real" artwork.

The Photo: This image was taken during a fall festival at Heritage Village. The old train station was one of the few buildings not being used for reenactments and the abandoned structure urged me to capture it's image. With little action, the old platform was not a gallery-worthy shot but has been a great reference for wood grain and trees.

The Sketch: Originally a pencil sketch of a young painter with windswept hair, the sketch became the foundation of a self-contained figure who meshed nicely with the perspective of the old train station.

Step one - The original pencil sketch was scanned into my PC and loaded in Photoshop. A transparent over-layer was applied and used to draw the outlines with the pen tool.

Step two - Editing. removing the original, edits were made to the outline. The flowing hair didn't look realistic and was replaced by a shorter sporty cut. The curvature of the legs and arms was re-done to give a more appealing image.

Step three - Base colors were added and then given highlights and low-lights with the airbrush tool. Multiple texture filters were added to the clothing to create a denim texture and ripples.

Step four - Using the train station photo as a guide a "high pass" layer was created and used to generate an outline of the scene. Then a slightly brighter color scheme was used along with the watercolor filter to generate a new background.

Step five - A small sketch of an easel was found and used with another photograph with good wood-grains to generate an easel for our painter. The same watercolor filter was applied to mesh it with the background. Fan brushes were drawn in manually.

Step six - After a Gaussian blur was applied to the edges of each figure the multiple layers were re sized, merged and given drop shadows to create a final image.

Conclusion: The end product is meant to flow from the caricature of the painter, through the easel, to the pseudo-reality of the watercolor train station in a manner that compliments the whole work. This is meant to suggest that the image on the painter's canvas is the watercolor we see as a backdrop.   

Slideshow

Missing owl ID-ed?

On my latest hike for new photos I visited McGough Nature Center in Largo ... An exceptional location, with trails that snake through lush high pine and palm hammocks on their way to a private boardwalk with an amazing view of the inter coastal waterway. A year ago this was the site of an owl heist. During the dark of night, an intruder attempted to steal or set free a fledgling great horned owl who was being cared for by the nature center. "J.R. the owl" had fallen from his nest and was abandoned by his mother. It was assumed that he had no knowledge of how to fend for himself in the wild, hence, when he was released by this uninformed intruder it was assumed that his would be a short life. On my hike, I came across an older gentleman who was birdwatching along the trails and he guided me to a mature great horned owl perching at the top of a pine tree. He was awestruck when I pointed out in my camera's viewfinder what appears to be a band around the owl's leg and he immediately ran to get the park ranger. This small band may be the identifier to prove this owl is the missing J.R. I have sent my photographs to the Nature Center and I'm currently waiting for the results of their analysis.


These photographs remain unedited but seem to show a band around the owl's leg.

Thanks for reading!

(2 C More art go to www.themindscapeartfoundry.com)

Discover the Island Day

Presented by the Egmont Key Alliance, Discover the Island Beach Day and Auction will be held on November 12th and the 13th. Guests may enjoy a scenic beach getaway on picturesque Egmont Key. Shuttle boats will ferry you from Fort Desoto State Park in South Saint Petersburg to the Key for a day of nature tours, relaxation, historic re-enactments, kids pirate games,and a benefit auction featuring pieces donated by local artists. For ticket information please visit www.egmontkey.info. The Alliance has recently published the below flyer containing more information.

Thanks for reading!

(2C More art go to www.themindscapeartfoundry.com)

The 2012 Largo Library Art Hop

Coming on March 24th 2012, the 4^th Annual Largo Library Art Hop will showcase the art and wares of Pinellas artists, local businesses, and the youth artists of the area from 6  to 11 PM. 

What is it?

Art Hop is a catered, one-night art show, held at Largo Public Library and presented by the Greater Largo Library Foundation, which features wonderful visual art, sculpture, music and culinary art, delicious foods, entertainment and dancing.

How does it work?

The art exhibit showcases the talent and wears of local artists at the Library and permits the free sale of art with no commission. Each artist purchases a table or space in the library, in advance, and may set up all the art he or she can safely fit. The library closes early on the designated day and artists participating are encouraged (but not obligated) to donate a artwork of their choice to the charity auction, held in a library meeting room. All proceeds from the auction benefit educational programs offered by the Foundation. Meanwhile, away from the Library, local restaurants and businesses also participating in the event welcome guests ferried to their doorstep via free PSTA transportation.

Where is it?

Largo Public Library is located in Largo Central Park at 120 central Park Drive, Largo, FL  33771.

What does it cost to attend and view the art?

The ticket price is $30 per person in advance, purchase and pick up tickets at Largo Library before the night of March 24th 2012, at the door they are slightly more.

What does it cost to participate and sell my art?

·         For artists and vendors, the cost per table is $50, you must submit your entree form and payment by December 1st, 2011 if you wish to participate. Request these forms by emailing officegllf@yahoo.com, subject line "Art Hop"

·         Artists are encouraged to donate a piece of art to the charity auction to be held at the Library, but this is not an obligation. If you would like to donate to the charity auction your auction auction forms must be submitted by December 1st, 2011 and your auctionable artwork must be delivered by February 15th 2012. Request these forms by emailing officegllf@yahoo.com, subject line "Art Hop"

·         Artists who would like to have their work advertised in the Art Hop brochure may do so for a nominal fee, ad sizes range from business-card-size to half-page to full-page ads. To request an ad inquire via email at officegllf@yahoo.com, subject line "Art Hop"

Where can I get more information

Visit the website of the Greater Largo Library Foundation at http://www.greaterlargolibraryfoundation.org/ or call 727-586-7398.

A Special Thank you to CCC and Gainor Roberts

Recently we were honored with the invitation to present a number of framed works at Tampa's Carrollwood Cultural Center. This TESA-sponsored art exhibit in the theater and lofts of a spacious theater, ran a full month from August 1st to August 31st. As we safely tuck away the artwork for the next exhibit to come we would like to express our deepest gratitude to the people who made this exhibit a marvelous success. Carrollwood Cultural Center is bustling with activity and offerings to the public. On the day TESA began setting-up and preparing to hang framed art, we enjoyed a short rehearsal by a drama club preparing for a Doctor Seuss play. The spacious theater lent well to the acoustics of the clarinet and piano duet on the night of our Artist's Reception. Even as the works came off the walls on the 31st, we were greeted by the melody of a man rehearsing a jazzy saxophone melody upstairs. Thank you to TESA for arranging this event and thank you to Gainor Roberts especially, who coordinated the hanging of the art. The pieces were displayed expertly with complementing colors and themes side by side and ample care and regard was shown to each piece of art.

Again, Thank you all and we look forward to the next time our art may be displayed upon CCC walls.

Lyle Polyak and family.

TESA Annouces Art Exhibit at Carrollwood Cultural Center

The Exhibiting Society of Artists (TESA) in cooperation with Tampa's Carrollwood Cultural Center is presenting a members-only fine arts exhibit in the Cultual Centers luxurious galleries. The exhibit will set up on August 1st and closes on August 31st. On August 19th from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, TESA will hold a reception party featuring musicians, Irving Weiner and Margaret-Mary Owens, in piano-clarinet duet.

The Cultural Center is located at 4537 Lowell Road, Tampa, FL 33618.
I am proud to have been invited to exhibit in my first exhibition as a member of TESA. I plan to present a number of large scale works including Giclees, color and black and white photos and Computer Graphic enhanced sketches.

For more information on The Exhibiting Society of Artist's please visit the Society's website at www.arttesa.org

For more information on the venue and the efforts of the Carrollwood Cultural Center, please visit their website, www.carrollwoodcenter.org

More news to come!

(this image of Carrollwood Cultural Center is from the center's website)

Thanks for reading!

(2 C More Art Go to www.themindscapeartfoundry.com)