Artists flocking to town of Windermere for annual show

It’s the time of year where downtown Windermere is transformed into one big outdoor art gallery as hundreds of art aficionados flock to the town for the fourth annual Windermere Fine Arts Show.

The show runs from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, March 2 and Sunday, March 3. The pet-friendly event is free. 

Each year, the town’s annual art show has grown in both the number of artists participating and in the quality of art on display. The town’s inaugural art show featured the work of about 40 artists; last year’s show featured 80 artists; and this year will feature 100 artists. Although the show has drawn artists from throughout the country, Anne McDonough, who coordinates and selects the artists for the show, traveled beyond the state to recruit artists for this year’s event.

The diversity of art on display has grown over the years as well. Jewelers, sculptors, photographers, glass artists and even musicians and dancers will be part of this year’s show, McDonough said.

“The variety that’s being drawn to our show is more diverse than ever this year,” McDonough said. “It’s not just oil painters. There’s pyrography, there’s sculptures, there’s glass. … We’re supporting the arts in general. To me, that’s what the show’s about.”

Funding raised from the annual show benefits a local nonprofit each year. This year’s show will benefit a nonprofit providing free care for mentally disabled adults and children. Funding also goes toward beautifying the town, McDonough said.

Ivaldo Robles

Painter Ivaldo Robles was selected to be a featured artist. Robles, who lives in south Orlando, has been painting all of his life and works with acrylics, oil paints and glass paints. Much of his work is inspired by music, and he also finds inspiration in nature. One of his signature styles involves painting on panes of glass and layering the panes over a painted canvas, adding dimension and perspective to the piece.

“I do abstract art that has reference to music and nature, and I like to represent my work in a way that reflects different dimensions,” Robles said. “Sometimes, I work on glass, and what I do with glass is I start on canvas first, but then I continue (painting) on a piece of glass. … You get this effect once it’s framed. The canvas (is) separated from the glass about an inch, which gives you that effect of 3D. It also helps achieve different perspectives with different types of lighting on the artwork. You apply shadows that are sometimes reflected with translucent colors, so the shadows will be in color.”

Robles didn’t always incorporate glass into his paintings. In fact, he discovered this style of painting accidentally, he said. 

“The idea originally came from when I was making a piece,” Robles said. “I had a frame sitting there with glass on it. I was trying to use that frame for something. I took the glass, and I was testing materials on this surface. I was just (using) different paints and checking colors and mixing colors on the piece of glass. When I took it off to use the frame, I laid the piece of glass next to a painting — a canvas painting that was close by — and I noticed the effect it created.”

To view samples of Robles’ work and to get into contact with him, visit his website, Ivaldoart.com.

Carey Sheffield

Photographer Carey Sheffield is no stranger to art shows, but this is the first year she will be featuring her work at the Windermere show. 

Throughout her photography career, Sheffield has shot fine-art photography, portraits, weddings and has even shot photos for nonprofit and social-impact organizations. Her photography work has taken her to other parts of the world. Last year, she traveled  to tea-farm communities in Africa, India and China, taking social-impact photos for Twinings Tea company. Those photos were featured as part of an exhibit called “Sourced with Care” that was recently displayed at the Mall Galleries in London.

“One part of the work that I enjoy is telling the stories of other people,” Sheffield said. “When I capture anything out and about anywhere for the love of photography, I try and create a narrative behind it. … I use words and images.”

Sheffield will be displaying a 52-week, self-portrait project at the Windermere show. She began the project January 2018 and completed it last month. Each image was taken and edited using different techniques. Each unique photo portrays different emotions, reflecting certain events that occurred at the time they were taken or shows an exotic place Sheffield has visited. A narrative explaining what is being portrayed will accompany each photo. Sheffield eventually plans to turn the project into a book, she said.

“(I took) one picture a week (for this) self-portrait project,” Sheffield said. “The reason for this project was purely for me. There was no commercial interest in it. I wanted to grow my photography skills, so I wanted to introduce — over the 52 weeks — a different photography style, different editing skills, double-exposures, levitation, all these different elements of photography you hear about and incorporate that into my project.”

Those interested in seeing samples of Sheffield’s work and to getting into contact with her can visit her website careysheffield.com.