March 10, 2023 – A painting by landscape artist, Stacey Breheny, has been selected as the poster image for the 51st annual Santa Fe College (SF) Spring Arts Festival which will be held Saturday-Sunday, April 1-2, 2023, on SF’s Northwest Campus, 3000 NW 83rd Street, Gainesville. The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.
A reception to meet the artist has been scheduled for 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 22 in the President’s Lobby at the Northwest Campus of Santa Fe College, 3000 NW 83rd Street, Gainesville. The Spring Arts Festival committee will be giving away 30 signed copies of the poster during the reception. After the reception, the poster will be on sale during the festival for $19.98 at the bookstore.
Breheny said “I’m delighted and honored to be selected as this year’s poster artist for the Santa Fe College Spring Arts Festival. The painting ‘Sparkleberry Spring’ was painted from life during the Open Air Arts Festival in Melrose several years ago. For me it exemplifies the exuberance of Spring in North Florida and the spontaneity of plein air painting. Spring is a magical time in our region and participating in our Festival as the poster artist will make this Spring especially memorable for me”.
Breheny grew up in the Hudson Valley and credits her parents for exposing her to art and design at an early age. She completed her first painting in the sixth grade when she copied a Hudson River School painting of the Palisades, which was similar to her home in Dobbs Ferry. Breheny said that “the luminous and romantic light of the Hudson River School painters is still an evident inspiration in her work.”
She cites Edward Hopper and William Eggleston as artistic influences, as well as the time she spent in Rome and Italy. While working at the Florida Museum of Natural History she produced numerous habitat murals and background paintings. She credits her experiences with providing her with a deeper observation of the natural world. Breheny’s art can be found in public buildings, private collections both regionally and nationally, and in large scale habitat murals at the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida. She shared that she “enjoys participating in local plein air events and working in her studio on personal works of art and commissions.” Breheny currently teaches drawing, painting and design courses at Santa Fe College.
For more information about the Santa Fe College Spring Arts Festival, visit sfcollege.edu/spring-arts.