First, there was only canvas.
Next, there were white-capped waves crashing against a rocky shore as birds flew overhead, silhouetted by the burning orange of a setting sun.
Patrons and fellow artists at the East Hillsborough Art Guild’s Annual Christmas Show and Sale watched as the Bob Ross-inspired wet-on-wet technique brought the beach scene to life. For the first time in the annual show’s history, art was not just sold, but created during the event.
“I’ve been a painter all my life,” Jyl Barber Anderson said. “The cool thing about this is I get to show people what painting is all about.”
Live art was a welcome addition to the event, Guild President Loretta Burns said. Burns has been president of the Guild since May.
Having artists create during the event, she said, came about during the planning process when members wanted to bring new life to the annual sale.
“We kind of brainstormed collectively to come up with some new ideas to make things a little more exciting and have a little more going on at the show,” Burns said. “It went well. We had a good turnout, we made a little fundraiser money and our individual artists sold as well, which is always good.”
Many artists at the show echoed a similar sentiment: Seeing art come to life creates a better appreciation for the finished product and understanding of the work that goes into it.
“If you don’t understand what goes into it, you’re less likely to spend money,” artist Ruth Bolles said. “If you can see what’s going on, it encourages more questions and more back and forth between the artists and the shoppers.”
Bringing live demonstrations to the show, Burns said, was also part of the guild’s desire to engage the Plant City community in a more direct way. Plant City, Burns said, has a vibrant, but often silent arts community. Burns hopes her organization, and those like the recently formed MAKE Plant City, can change that.
“There is an art presence that has been silent or ignored or under appreciated in a lot of ways,” Burns said. “We want to get people excited about something they may not have realized was right under their nose the entire time.”
The Guild puts on an art show during the Florida Strawberry Festival open to artists statewide, but the Christmas show is for locals only. Many of the artists creating during the show also teach classes at the Guild and are all Plant City residents. The Guild’s classes can range from watercolors and beginning painting to the Bob Ross-certified instruction of Barber Anderson and the stained glass and etching of Bolles.
Bolles said the live art demonstrations can not only inspire patrons to buy, but to also try. It was even inspiring for artists like herself.
“I haven’t picked up a paintbrush in 30 years,” Bolles said. “But when I watch somebody painting, it gets me excited again about that art form and makes me want to try something different.”
Live art, Burns said, could be a new tradition in the annual show.
The process, she said, is the most amazing part.