SF Spring Arts Festival

What an incredible day! Today was special and so much fun. We are so grateful to everyone who was there to share it with us! Thank you for coming out to celebrate art and our community. To all our artists, performers, students, volunteers, and visitors, you all are the best. Very special thank you to the extraordinary Elena Ohlander. We can't wait to see everyone again next spring!

Art by B Batch

While I knew that I have always had a talent for art, I did not begin to really develop my talent until I was about 45 years old. I grew up in a paper mill town near Rumford, Maine. While in grade school, my teachers would comment on my artwork. During the first 40 years of my life, I continued to live in Maine, raised a family, and became an accountant. Just before moving to Summerfield, Florida in 1993 I took a drawing class at the Maine School of Art which I felt a connection to because my mother had graduated from there many years ago. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this class so when I got settled in Florida I decided to try a painting class at the local college. I had to learn accounting, but art seemed to come naturally to me.

I enter my art into festivals along the East Coast and have won awards in many shows. I have not had formal training, learning from local classes and workshops, experimenting and reading, also watching other artists and joining art clubs.

I have tried many mediums for my art but have always returned to acrylics. I stretch my own canvas so I can use the size that fits my painting and the kind of canvas I like. We go on many trips from Florida to Maine to get the photos that I work from.

I like to paint many subjects but have an attraction to flowers and nature. I have developed my own style of painting using colors and style that has an effect of making my paintings “POP”. I enjoy making people happy by taking them to a happy place on canvas.

Barbara Batchelder

Eric Lewis is a Gainesville, Florida–based ceramic artist and instructor. A University of Florida graduate and local resident, he creates wheel-thrown functional pottery that emphasizes the relationship between form and surface. His work often combines assembled forms with slip and underglaze decoration that highlight structure and movement, introducing color and a restrained sense of play. He maintains an active studio practice while teaching ceramics within the Gainesville community.

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Website: https://elewisceramics.com