Don’t Miss the Gulfport Fine Arts Festival

By Abby Baker

This weekend, discover seasoned favorites and spring chickens at the Gulfport Fine Arts Festival. Though this year’s event in Veteran’s Park is scaled back, the featured artwork is as original as ever.

More than 40 artists will grace the Gulfport Fine Arts Festival on Saturday, February 13 and Sunday, February 14; here are three must-see artists.

Paula Roy

Early mornings and sun-cast evenings you will find Paula Roy in Gulfport’s Marina District working on her newest oil-on-canvas landscape.

Roy uses the French phrase, “en plein air,” when discussing her approach to painting the Gulfport coastline, but she credits the warm Florida climate for making that happen.

Roy, a New Hampshire native, retired and relocated to Gulfport in 2018.

“It’s funny, when I moved to Florida, I had to change my color palette,” Roy said. “In New Hampshire I could paint lobster claws or sailboats; here there’s more color.”

An emerging artist, Roy received the Gulfport Merchants Chamber Rise and Shine artist grant in 2020. She worked with oil painter Jack Providenti and received grant funds and booth space to further her artistic career.

“I am really looking forward to the festival,” Roy said. “I stayed home and painted during lockdown, and it was my way to move forward, I can’t wait to share that.” Find “P Roy Fine Arts” on Facebook for more.

Zachary Knight

Zachary Knight started airbrushing fish and coastal scenes when he first discovered his love for creating.

Ten years later, his work is surreal and dark, with speckled nudity and dream-like waves, but the message is not meant to be despondent.

“It’s not the goal to shock or scare people,” Knight said. “I do dark art, but that’s just the aesthetic I’m comfortable with.”

Upon moving to the Sunshine State, he transformed his living room into an art studio and began experimenting with a pouring style of painting.

“After I pour, I try to deter from the original creation as little as possible,” Knight said. “It’s like looking at clouds – you see what you want to.”

A 2021 Rise and Shine grant winner, Knight creates with mixed media as well as graphic design and sculpture work. He used almost every bit of his grant winnings to purchase booth resources so that he can continue publicly showing his work.

“I know the festival may have a limited audience for my work,” Knight said. “I’d like to see more of this style of art in Gulfport.” Find more at zacharyknight.com.

Musa Jaman

Five years ago, Oregon native Musa Jaman asked herself, ‘Why don’t you just do what you really love?’

In 2021, she is creating nature-inspired paintings and gearing up for her second year in the Gulfport Fine Arts Festival.

“St. Petersburg is the Portland, Oregon of Florida, artfully speaking,” Jaman said. “When I met the love of my life, we needed to spend a lot of time down here, and truthfully I was blown away by the fresh springs and the nature here.”

Peacock colors and wide lines characterize Jaman’s painting style, and she’s recently picked up a new subject matter: pets.

“It’s about capturing an animal’s spirit through their eyes,” Jaman said. “People had such a great reaction to these; I just know Gulfport loves their pets.”