David Acevedo

"I was born in Puerto Rico. The most I can remember about my childhood are early drawings of comic book characters and made up creatures. They were alive in my mind and I would try to give sense and a story to my drawings. I always felt lucky because I could draw better than most of my friends and always mesmerized my teachers with my art projects. So when it came time to choose a career, I followed my heart. I completed my degree in Visual Arts in 1998 and started the long journey that brought me here today. I am still taking steps towards my tomorrow. I look for color, balance, beauty and honesty in my work. For me, creating art is a constant experiment filled with failures and successes. With my art I live for the moment where someone admires what I do and where there is a connection between art work and spectator. I approach my work and its philosophy just like I did when I was a child. In my mind, there is a reason behind every painting. The mere reaction of the pigments mixing together, the textures on the canvas and the clash of colors are the road in my journey."

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Leoma Lovegrove

When you see Leoma Lovegrove's artwork, your senses explode, absorbing the rhapsody of color and the spatters of paint. The whimsical personality of Lovegrove finds its way into her work and will entice you to smile. Her reputation among artists and writers extend well beyond Florida. Her artwork and her most colorful, pink and yellow, Matlacha gallery have both been featured in national and international publications, including the New York Times, Southern Living magazine, Florida World, Florida Journal, and the Times of the Islands. In 2005, Chico's used Lovegrove's gallery and gardens for the backdrop to their spring catalog. Included in her masterful portraiture, her portrait of Jimmy Carter was recently accepted personally by Carter to be placed in his Presidential Library in Atlanta. This was a true honor. She recharges her batteries each spring in Europe. The Edison Celebration of Art is delighted to have Leoma Lovegrove participating with us.

Visit Leoma Lovegrove's Website

Marie Dyer

The 5th Annual Edison Celebration of Art was proud to introduce Marie Dyer, the signature artist for that year's event. Marie may be familiar to many of you already, as her work is shown through galleries locally and in the North East. Marie Dyer was raised in a small town in New England, but has called Southwest Florida her home since the early nineties. Well known as a North Captiva painter, Dyer spent many years with her customers on the island. She loves the vibrant and natural landscapes Florida offers. They compliment her own effusive personality. In Marie's hands, all that energy transforms canvases into lush acrylic landscapes and floral based still lifes. Working in large format is a specialty. Consequently, Marie is often commissioned as a muralist. A 15 x 100 foot mural Marie created for Eclectic Natures in Alexandria, Virginia is often used in promotional materials for that city.

Marie and her husband have raised four children on the Gulf Coast, and several of the kids attended Lee County Public schools before the family moved to Punta Gorda. Marie laughingly refers to her family as the "half dozen Dyers". Her years in south Florida have flown by-raising four kids, school activities, working hard, helping neighbors and friends, and painting everywhere in between. When the children were very young, Marie sometimes only found the time for creative expression for several hours in the middle of the night. The charge she got from putting painting to canvas always kept her going, despite the limited hours of sleep! With children grown and growing, and a new small ranch- complete with space for the animals and a studio for Marie- she finally has the space and time to dedicate to the artwork she loves so much.

Currently, Marie sells her work through Seaweed galleries in Sanibel and Captiva, Matalacha, Art Gallery, Eclectic natures in Alexandria, Virginia, and the Edison Ford Winter Estates in Fort Myers, FL. Marie and her sister, the artist Elizabeth Whelton, produce an annual art show in New England. Marie's paintings have been used as backdrops for Chico's fashion shoots, and have appeared in Southern Living as well as numerous other publications. The Edison Celebration of Art is thrilled to feature such a talented and passionate painter.

Chip Withrow

Chip Withrow is a folk rock artist with a unique ability to please crowds of all ages. A great festival and special events performer, Withrow's blend of catchy originals and familiar covers puts smiles on faces and gets people groovin!

Chip's songwriting is hailed both clever and inspiring, and fans look forward to his releases to hear how his talents on piano and guitar bring the songs to life.

We hope you will become part of this community of music lovers! Please join our email list or send us a note and let us know how we can deliver some great folk rock to your family!

Visit Chip Withrow's Website

Gayla James

Gayla James is a gospel recording artist, who loves singing for the Lord. She has shared the stage with many icons of gospel music, such as Dorothy Norwood, Vickie Winans, Lee Williams & The Qcs, R&B artist Rome. She is the gospel event corinator for NFL Jevon Kearse annual charity event. She was born and raised in Ft.Myers, Fl. She started singing in the youth choir at the young age of 3. She has perform's annually at the Edison Pageant Of Light Art Festival. But most of all she has been appointed and annointed to do God's Will as a minister of music.

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Kat Epple

Flautist and composer, Kat Epple has won 8 Emmy Awards and was nominated for a Grammy in 1986. Formerly with the group Emerald Web, she has released 13 music albums internationally on various record labels. Kat composes original New Age / Jazz / World / orchestral music and has produced film and television soundtracks for National Geographic, Nova, CNN, Carl Sagan, Another World, The Travel Channel, Turner Broadcasting System, History Channel, HGN, The Guiding Light, PBS, and NASA among others, and was Music Director for the feature-length film, Captiva Island.

Kat's live performances include: solo performances at the Guggenheim Museum in NYC, and Spain, with Symphony Orchestras, The National Gallery, Washington DC, Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC, concerts at the Hollywood Palace, L.A., Palazzo dei Diamanti in Italy, a concert tour of Russia, Naples Winter Wine Festival, with Dance Troupes, and for many art openings. She has traveled to the far reaches of the globe including China, Africa, Russia, The Amazon, Europe, Peru, Mexico, Japan, Costa Rica, and the Caribbean, to learn of the people, natural environment, and the music of other cultures.

She uses music in her work toward environmental and humanitarian awareness, and has amassed a large collection of flutes from cultures around the world, which she features in her original compositions. Her latest CD, "Azure Pieces of Life" is "Spellbinding and flowing, with exquisite intricacies. This music can stand up to many listening sessions, as the melodies, chords, and textures are unique and complex, and are performed by incredibly accomplished, innovative instrumentalists."