DUNEDIN — Lovely fall colors abound as the 51st Art Harvest yields plenty of originality, imagination and talent from around the nation.
Art Harvest is billed as the largest juried outdoor fall art show in the Tampa Bay area and organizers — members of the Junior League of Clearwater-Dunedin — are expecting as many as 50,000 prospective buyers to make the trek to Dunedin's scenic Highlander Park on Saturday and Sunday.
It's a nice way for folks to enjoy the change of seasons and perhaps pick up a holiday gift or two.
Hours are 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. both days. Bring the little ones — they can enjoy themselves at the children's craft pavilion, which closes at 4 p.m. And bring a hearty appetite, as food vendors will be plentiful.
More than 200 artists will be showing and selling a diverse array of original designs including ceramics, jewelry, photography, mixed media, fiber, wood, glass, sculpture, paintings and more. They'll be competing for bragging rights and more than $27,000 in prize money.
The festival is the Junior League of Clearwater-Dunedin's signature fundraising event and proceeds in years past have helped the nonprofit support a variety of community programs and places such as the historic Heritage Village, the Dunedin Fine Art Center and the Clearwater Free Clinic. Stacy Walker, co-chairman of the event, said that in the past six decades they've plowed more than $1.5 million into the community and are currently working with state agencies to address the needs of local teens who will soon age out of the foster care system.
This year's featured artist is Mike Williams, 39, of St. Petersburg. His laid-back scenes of Old Florida — vintage travel poster style — are laid down in pen and ink, then washed in soft pastel colors of yellow, green, blue and rust. Williams travels around Florida and the Caribbean for his inspiration, documenting the charming, the antiquated and the bucolic.
Art Harvest T-shirts and posters are adorned with his illustration of an old broken down fishing boat, the 3 Rooker Run. His signed lithographs and limited edition canvas giclee prints will carry price tags ranging from $40 to $325 each.
Williams started his career as a carpenter, framing out new houses but found he had a passion for sketching quaint homes on the banks of Lake Erie. Going door to door, he offered custom sketches to homeowners and found he could make enough money as an artist to put down his hammer and nails forever.
He and his wife, Teresa, moved to Florida 10 years ago.
"We honeymooned in Florida and determined we wanted to live down here. It's paradise. There's just so much inspiration," he said.