Zephyrhills art student lands gallery showing of his work

When it came time to figure out what to do for his senior project, Dustin Lee Lawrence, 17, took advantage of the sage advice to "pick something you love."

That would be something to do with art, of course.

"My whole life my favorite thing to do has been to draw," he said.

In kindergarten it was the Titanic.

These days it's mostly his own style of abstracts — "a blend of Salvador Dali and Picasso" that often start out as a simple doodle on a lined piece of notebook paper.

"I like mixing a combination of geometric figures with organic shapes," he said.

Over the years Lawrence, a Zephyrhills High student who creates props for the school's drama program and writes for the school newspaper, has amassed quite an impressive collection — enough to support a gallery show on Thursday that will fulfill the product quotient of his senior project and maybe earn him some money for college.

Yes, he's hoping to sell some of his work.

The exhibit will showcase a variety of artwork comprised of acrylics, watercolors, pen and ink and pieces of various sizes including a few 6-foot original paintings, airbrushed T-shirts and pocket-size wallet-palatable copies of the artist's original works.

"Everything is up for sale," Lawrence said. "Except for a few pieces that will be raffled off to thank everyone for coming."