Portrait Painter Joins the St. Pete Art Scene

Emerging from the Jungle

After five years of living in a small town in Costa Rica, and after spending a few months in Tampa, my home town, I am now ready to join the St. Pete art community. I’ve been interested in St. Petersburg ever since I first learned of the dynamic art scene that continues to grow there. And, while much of my work depicts Costa Rican wildlife, I am expecting my focus to shift to portrait painting. And, honestly, I think there is a lot of room for a portrait painter in the Tampa Bay area. I adapt to where I am, and while I do enjoy painting wildlife, I also love to paint people. I’m eager to see how my art will evolve as I leave the quiet jungle life and enter the vibrant art scene in St. Petersburg, Florida.

So Why the St. Pete Art Scene?

Years ago, while living in Tampa, I visited the Salvador Dali Museum and thought “Wow! how amazing is it that one of the greatest and most well known artists in history happens to have his work in my backyard. Years later I would learn that St. Pete was not only home to the Dali Museum, but also home to Museum of Fine Arts, and Chihuly Collection. Chihuly, if you don’t know already, is one of the greatest glass artists in the world. More museums are about to open as well, like the Museum of the American Arts and Crafts Movement and the James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art.

St. Pete is also home to working artists with studios around town. Many can be found in the Warehouse District. Among these artists, the most famous is probably Duncan McClellan, whose studio and gallery will blow you away. But since most artists are working to take their art to the next level, private and public donors are offering affordable art studio space through the ArtsXchange project. This will allow artists to focus more on their art while worrying less about the increasing cost of rent. Stunning murals can be found on walls throughout the city. Galleries are abundant as well. Artists’ studios and galleries are open to the public on the second Saturday of every month during St. Pete’s popular Art Walk. Even artists of the Historic Kenwood neighborhood open up their studios twice a year during a special Artist Tour. In other words, the St. Petersburg art scene has it going on!

A Little About My Art

Now I’d like to share with you a little about my art. The piece above is called The Circle of Life. It features eighteen animals found in Costa Rica. I have always loved animals, so it was a joy to be surrounded by them and inspired by them. Since returning to the US, I’ve continued painting wildlife and people. And in some cases I combine the two. The piece below is my latest painting, Eventide, featuring Sandhill Cranes and a young women sitting in the sand. In this piece, I explore the connection between nature and the human spirit. It’s a theme I’m sure to keep exploring throughout my life.

The Next Chapter in My Art Career

I’m excited for this new chapter. I’m ready to meet other artists, attend St. Pete art receptions, meet clientele, receive commissions, and get to work. After having spent five years developing my art in a small town, I am eager to be among a community of artists in a city that recognizes the value of art. Working in a very natural setting, with the sound of birds chirping and waves crashing was extremely good for me. It gave me the time and space necessary to develop my style. It influenced my themes and contributed to my evolution as an artist. But now it’s time to find new inspiration as I set out to join an already established, and growing, community of artists.

The picture below features the Circle of Life painting as I dropped it off to its owner the day I left Nosara. Today, I am developing a new body of work and am open to commissions. If you are interested in my work you can reach me at [email protected] or by phone at 813-452-8963. You can also follow me on Facebook at Facebook.com/nathanmillerfineart.

Thank you for visiting. I look forward to meeting you!

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