BRAVA Artists

BRAVA at Salt Creek Artworks

2011-05-07T05:30:00.002-07:00

Kim Radatz Opens at Salt Creek 3/14/2008

2008-03-11T10:32:00.006-07:00

Kim Radatz is in last minute preparation for the opening of her solo show at Salt Creek Artworks in St. Petersburg Friday, March 14th. You can read all about it here in Art Squeeze.

I've had a sneak preview and this show is not to be missed. I'm not just saying that because she's my friend. It is an amazing show. So get yourself moving Friday and just get there!

by Martha Marshall

Two Brava Artists in Upcoming Show

2007-09-17T05:27:00.001-07:00

Candace Knapp and Martha Marshall will be part of "Irreconcilable Differences" billed as "The Art Show of the Year" opening September 29th at Carmine's, Club Zion, and The World Famous Kick's in Ybor City. This is one of many underground shows produced throughout the year by a vibrant collective of artists in the Tampa Bay area. You can read more about this exciting event on their MySpace page.

Shows such as this promise to shake up the Bay Area art scene, which is seriously in need of shaking.

Coming up in November, which will include all of the Brava group, is Gala Corina. More about that in a future post!

Brava at Gallery O

2007-03-04T05:16:00.001-08:00

Brava opens this Friday, March 9, 2007, at Gallery O in Largo, Florida. Here is the press release:

Largo, FL – Gallery O and The Women of BRAVA invite you to attend our opening at 6 PM at Gallery O at 720 9TH AV SW in Largo to see a beautiful, eclectic array of color, style and diverse mediums from Lyla Haggard, Margret Conte, Kim Radatz, and Martha Marshall.

Lyla L. Haggard is a lifelong artist who delayed her true passion to make a living in the corporate world of health care for twenty-five years. In time, the artist in her demanded to be set free. She now resides in Tampa, FL, and focuses on sculpture, painting and other fine art disciplines.

Margaret Conte has been a working artist for many years. A Tampa, Florida, native, she studied at Hillsborough Community College, University of South Florida and Penland School of Crafts in Penland, North Carolina. Her work is in collections in Russia, Japan, Canada, South America, and the United States.

Kim Radatz holds a Master's Degree in Fine Arts from the University of Miami , Coral Gables , FL where she earned a degree in sculpture. After graduation, Radatz taught at both Florida International University and the University of Miami as an adjunct professor. She moved from Miami to the Tampa Bay area in 1998 and has since been a full time studio artist. She won the Best of Show Award in the 2006 Gasparilla Festival of the Arts.

Martha Marshall paints full time from her studio in Valrico, Florida. Her work has been featured in numerous gallery shows from Washington DC to southern most tip of Florida. In 2003, one of Marshall’s paintings was chosen for use in the motion picture "The Punisher," filmed in the Tampa Bay area and released in 2004. Marshall’s works can be found in many major collections, both private and corporate, throughout the United States.

This group of wonderfully talented and award winning artists from Tampa will be at the Gallery O Friday Night and the artists will be donating pieces to auction to benefit The Children’s Home. For more information please call 727 439-1532 or visit us at http://www.artisticsolutions2005.com/ and http://www.galleryo.net/

BRAVA and the Brandon Area Arts Scene

2006-05-13T10:32:00.001-07:00

If there is a Brandon area arts scene, it has been difficult to find at times. But suddenly, in the past few months, there seem to be signs of life. Artists and arts supporters are beginning to come together and stir things up here and there, and our recent BRAVA-sponsored Slide Slam and JPEG Jam was just one example of that. Artists attended from as far away as St. Petersburg and Tampa Palms, but many were also from right here in Brandon. Click here for an excellent article by columnist Ernest Hooper of the St. Petersburg Times, who attended the event and interviewed BRAVA's Candace Knapp and Martha Marshall.

This article also has information and links about the newly formed steering committee of the Arts Council of Hillsborough County, which will investigate the community's interest in having an arts facility for Brandon.

BRAVA Slide Slam and Jpeg Jam

2006-04-10T02:31:00.000-07:00

Attention Artists and Art Lovers in the Tampa Bay Area: BRAVA is sponsoring a slide slam and jpeg jam, a gathering for artists, collectors, and all who enjoy art, Sunday May 7th from 7-9 p.m. at O’Brien’s Irish Pub at Kings and Lumsden in Brandon, 701 Lumsden Road West. Artists are invited to bring up to 7 slides or digital images to show your work and share your thoughts and ideas. Artists who do not wish to show their work will still enjoy a fun evening meeting other artists in an artist-friendly environment. If you want to bring jpegs, please bring a CD-R with images no larger than 72 dpi and a maximum of 768 x 1024 pixels. Contact any Brava member by following our links here for more information.

Kim Radatz Wins Best of Show at Gasparilla!

2006-03-05T05:32:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to BRAVA member Kim Radatz who just walked away with the $15,000 Best of Show award at Tampa's prestigious Gasparilla Festival of the Arts! Although this linked article in the St. Pete Times implies that this is Kim's first juried competition, it is far from that, as evidenced by previous articles on this blog. She has numerous awards from past shows. But Gasparilla is a biggie, and now doors will be opening for her everywhere! We are all so happy for her. The winning mixed media piece is shown here, titled "The Scarlet Letter."

by Martha Marshall

Brava at Arts on the Park

2005-12-08T09:09:00.000-08:00

Thanks to Bjorn Andren, Candace Knapp's husband, we managed to document our opening at Arts on the Park in Lakeland, Florida, on November 29th. Margaret Conte has already sold a piece - way to go, Margaret!

Just so you know, this show will be up through December 27th, 115 North Kentucky Avenue, Lakeland, phone 863-680-2787.

Rivergate Tower, Downtown Tampa, 12/10/05

2005-12-05T13:28:00.002-08:00

Brava artists Martha Marshall, Margaret Conte, and Candace Knapp are participating in this show. It's a beautiful venue. Hope to see you there this Friday night 6-10 p.m.!

Kim Radatz Wins Best of Show

2005-11-21T12:38:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to Brava's Kim Radatz for her Best of Show award in the upcoming "Black and White (and Read All Over)" at Ridge Art in Winter Haven, Florida. The show is from November 30 through December 18, 2005, with opening Reception on Saturday, Dec.3 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. Check the gallery's website for additional information.

BRAVA Show at Arts on the Park and More Happenings

2005-10-30T16:30:00.001-08:00

Last night, November 14th, Brava hosted a "slide slam" at the temporary Gala Corina space in Tampa's Channel District. About 20 artists attended and talked about their work, which was shown on a huge screen, with their choice of low or high-tech equipment. A huge "thank you" goes to John Landsman of Directions Media for the screen, all of the projection, and putting together the presentations for the artists!

A few artists brought slides, and a few more provided jpegs. Since the space had no seating, we brought our own chairs and one or two to share, and Brava's Kim Radatz brought the wine and sodas. Some expressed a little apprehension about the public speaking aspect of it, even though many of us can bluff our way through. I am always nervous too. It just means we don't practice it enough, and these events give us a little more courage, I think. A couple of the artists had to have their arms twisted even to come, but each of them said how glad they were that they did it.

In the future we probably will have to rename these "jpeg jams." I will do a happy dance when slides are no longer part of an artist's life.

This fabulous show is only up for a few more days, so please don't miss it if you can get there.

The opening reception for BRAVA's December show at Arts on the Park in Lakeland, Florida, is November 29th, from 6-9 p.m., during Lakeland's Downtown Holiday Walk-About. The show runs through December 27th. There will be a fun, eclectic mix of new works in various media. We hope to see you there!

The Dunedin Fine Arts Center's holiday show Unwrapped opens November 5th, and is open during regular gallery hours throughout the holidays. Brava's Margaret Conte was invited to participate in this one, so from the rest of us -- Congratulations, Margaret!

Member artists Margaret Conte, Candace Knapp, and Lyla haggard -- will be exhibiting in the oh-so-hip and happening Gala Corina show "Nueva Vida," open to the public from Friday, Nov. 11, 2005, through Saturday, Nov. 19, 2005. For more information on the schedule and for directions, visit the events page. The 2005 roster containing more than 100 artists is available on the artists page.

Brava will be hosting a slide slam, open to all area artists, during the show. This year's artists are invited to come and discuss their work among fellow artists at 7 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 14. This event is open to the public. So invite your friends, potential buyers and anyone else who has an interest in good art. Just be sure to bring some slides of your work.

Martha Marshall's Thursday night acrylic painting classes at Gold Dragon Gallery have been great fun, and they're hoping to continue these in the future. Do let Martha or the gallery know if you're interested in attending a future session.

Fun with Sculpture and Painting

2005-09-27T04:13:00.000-07:00

In case I didn't mention that we also teach classes around the Tampa Bay area, here are some learning opportunities for you . . .

Lyla Haggard is teaching an all-media painting class, “Art in the Afternoon,” on Thursdays, 1:30-3:30 pm, at the David M. Barksdale Senior Citizen Center, 1801 N. Lincoln Avenue, Tampa 33607. Call the Center at 813-348-1180 for more information. New members are accepted anytime.

Martha Marshall will be teaching an acrylic painting class on Thursday evenings from 6-8 p.m. at Gold Dragon Gallery, Located at 3508 South Manhattan Avenue in Tampa, just south of El Prado. Please call 832-2755 for directions. This will be a six-week class, and will begin as soon as the slots are filled.

Candace Knapp's Thursday morning sculpture group will hold a member’s show, “Spotlight on Sculpture” beginning in November. The opening will be November 11th at the The Old Hyde Park Art Center, located at 705 Swann Avenue, Tampa, Florida. For information about Candace's classes and about the show's opening time, please call the Center at 813-251-3780.

Lyla will have several pieces in that show as well!

The Latest on Upcoming Member Shows

2005-09-08T05:29:00.000-07:00

Martha Marshall has a solo show at Gold Dragon Gallery, opening reception September 9th, from 6-9 p.m. Click on the Gallery Link for phone number and directions.

Martha will also be attending ArtExpo Atlanta next week end, September 15th - 18th, to sign some of her giclee prints in the Corporate Canvas booth.

Congratulations to Brava's Margaret Conte who will be exhibiting works in "Unwrapped" a National Invitational of Contemporary Art and Craft November 4th through December 24th at the Dunedin Fine Arts Center, Dunedin, Florida.

First, A Little Background . . .

2005-09-07T15:53:00.001-07:00

"Brava" is an informal group of women artists who create independently but show our work collectively, who get together for critiques of our work, examine new trends and techniques, and encourage one another in our individual quest for excellence. We are located in the Brandon/Valrico area of Florida, near Tampa -- hence the name "Brava."

We've been gathering once a month since some time in 2001. Founding members include Martha Marshall (that's me), Candace Knapp, Margaret Conte, and Kim Radatz. Members from the greater Tampa area are Lyla Haggard and Phyllis McEwen.

We will keep you up on what's happening with Brava. If you're in the Tampa Bay area, we hope you will come to one of our openings, or perhaps a future "slide slam" open to all artists.

Our next group show will be at Arts on the Park in Lakeland, Florida, during the month of December. When I get the exact dates, I will add those here. Stay tuned for more exciting news!