VICTORIAN DRAW on the VERANDA at Henry B Plant Museum

Yesterday, I participated in an event called the Victorian Draw on the Vernada sponsored by the Henry B. Plant Museum. Artists were invited to create works “en plein air” on the veranda and in Plant Park across the street from the Henry B. Plant Museum. The Museum supplied canvas (recycled window shades) and paper to those who wanted to participate. During the event, I created the piece above. I sat on a bench under a tree and decided to focus on the branches breaking the linear architecture of the once Tampa Bay Hotel. But I must say, while I loved drawing the building, I kept distracting myself by trying to do fast sketches of the other artists. Their poses and focus on their art made it so interesting to draw. You could see their passion and enjoyment on the faces and body language.

There were several artists and non-artists participating in this event. People could see artists on the front porch of the once Tampa Bay Hotel, in Plant Park across the street from the Henry B. Plant Museum, and inside the building itself. Some artists were by themselves and in their own little world, while others were in groups or with their families. Some artists, like myself, looked for the shade under a tree to draw while other placed themselves just under the sun and got a great tan. Some preferred to lay down all the materials on the floor and sat on the brick red floors while others look for the comfort of a wide picnic table and chair. Every artist had its own style and perspective of the area. Everyone was so friendly and the atmosphere was so artsy.

As an artist, I truly enjoyed the event, being surrounded by a community of artists, sharing my work with others and seeing others create art. I felt like I was transported to a city in Europe, where artists art frequently seeing creating art on the streets. I hope this event repeats not only at the Henry B. Plant Museum but also around the city. It will be great if each month artists will get together in one section of the Hillsborough County to just do art and allow people to undercover the architecture and beauty of the county, as well as the artist in their community. My only improvement for this event is that next time after the event there should be an exhibition of the work so that the community has a chance to enjoy the view of the artists.