I went to an art opening at Dandelion Communitea Cafe (618 N Thornton Ave, Orlando FL). At the start of 2014, friends and artists Deliz Berrios and Bethany Myers challenged each other to complete one small piece of art each week for an entire year. The result is Project 52, a show 12 months in the making, featuring the 104 works created by Deliz and Bethany as they met their weekly deadlines. Originally, it was an exercise in motivation. Along the way, it became an art show.
Bethany Myers’ style changed dramatically throughout the year, ranging from reality to abstract surrealism. A concussion in January influenced strange paintings. By spring her art returned to her familiar style of blind contour drawing and bold colored paintings.“It wasn’t easy to think of subject matter that was cohesive. I gave up on that early on and moved forward with a variety of ideas.“
Deliz Berrios’ work reflects her personal life and perspective on a variety of subjects ranging from current states of mind to figurative work. Patterns and color emerge in her art, a clear reference to her
graphic design background. “Working at this small scale I was able to experiment and be playful. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I was able to convey.” Besides having all 52 originals from both artists on the walls, there was also a box full of prints which made for a very affordable way to purchase art.
At the opening I got to meet both artists in person. It was my first time meeting Deliz and her skills as a figurative artist are inspiring. I have met Bethany a few times at artist critiques, and again, I identify with her work which feeds off of direct observation. Bethany’s husband Jim is the drummer for the “Milk Carton Superstars” which is a rock group I sketched several times before. They also performed at this opening. Bethany, Jim and guitarist Guy Larmay came to my art opening the other night. It is so encouraging that artists support each others exhibitions.
Lucy Sky performed first on guitar and he was then joined by his wife Heather Ashworth Pereira. Heather is another artist I have met at artist critiques. The last painting she showed featured a man holding a gun and the barrel of the gun felt uncomfortably close to the edge of the painting. Ironically I’m working on a movie poster right now which had the same issue. I had no idea Heather was also a talented singer.