This month we are presenting three artists for you to meet. They are two winners from our “Art in the Garden” exhibit.
Meet Leigh Bohne,
Leigh was born in Two Rivers, Wisconsin and enjoyed growing up in the natural area along the western shores of Lake Michigan. He attended the University of Wisconsin, however he relocated to Florida where he pursued his degree at Ringling School of Art in Sarasota, now called Ringling College of Art + Design.
He studied under such notable artists such as Loren Wiford, Moe Mitchell, Robert McFarland, Charles McCurry, Bruce Gregory and Fiore Custode. But he feels that he couldn’t identify the greatest influence on his art “because every artist has something interesting to pass along… from Gauguin to Hopper to Homer to Kandinsky to Wyeth to da Vinci to the ice age artists at Chauvet, each express their own styles of art and human influence“.
With his classic art training as the basis of his professional career, Leigh established a business in architectural illustration. He also maintains a graphic design studio which produces corporate design, branding and corporate standards, and advertising design.
His artistic philosophy is that the ability to conceptualize drawing is the core to design composition whether you use realism or abstraction, and that classic or traditional art training is a great value to developing as an artist in whatever form.
He believes that it is his obligation as an artist to use natural art techniques for his fine art as well as architectural projects. He thinks that a background of standard art techniques can only improve style and creative substance, regardless of the eventual techniques and processes utilized. He also believes that every artist, through his art or mentorships, can pass along the knowledge and techniques learned throughout life. Leigh has exhibited extensively and successfully.
Meet Judith Baizan
Judith was born and brought up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. She graduated from Michigan State University where she studied English and Art. She continued art studies in Havana, in the New York Art Students League, and later in Houston, where she and her husband lived for 10 years, and where 3 of her 5 children were born . They moved to Tampa for purposes of his business in 1971, and for several years she had a studio in Ybor City.
She has always been interested in people, and they were her subjects, working in clay at the Art Students League, and later in oils in Houston where she did many portraits, usually of children, her own included, who posed for her when she needed a subject.
In Judith’s final 2 Houston years she studied under the artist Dorothy Hood, and began a series of large non-objective paintings in acrylics. A proud moment for her was when "Flower" ( shown behind her in her dance studio ) was accepted in an important juried local show, and was also selected for an exhibit that was shown at various cities around Texas over the following year.
Judith is an accomplished pastel artist. She states, “My intention, my goal, has always been to produce something meaningful and beautiful, and, for now that means something human.” That she has been successful in achieving that goal is attested to by the fact that she has won many awards at TRA and other venues.
Judith is also a talented dancer. She and her husband did International Folk, Scandinavian, and Contra dancing, and she has taught Scandinavian turning dances in Tampa since 1987. For many years now she have taken ballroom dance lessons, and performed at many recitals.
Lastly Judith is willing to devote her time for the benefit of others. She has been a steadfast volunteer at TRA for many years, where her quiet, cheerful demeanor is greatly appreciated by all.