Emerging Artist Amber Palomares to showcase work at Artigras
Four and a half years ago, Amber Palomares, a career development advisor and adjunct instructor, picked up her first paintbrush.
“I always loved art,” said Palomares. “I would go to local art shows and visit artist booths. I couldn’t get it off my mind.”
This passion led Palomares to try painting for herself, which led to hours of practicing and perfecting her work. To advance her skills, she even took a drawing class at the Palm Beach Gardens campus from Associate Professor of Visual Art Jacques de Beaufort.
Her dedication is now paying off. Palomares was chosen as an emerging artist and invited to display her work at the granddaddy of all creative events, the 29th annual ArtiGras Fine Arts Festival Feb. 15 to 17. Ranked as one of the top 50 art shows in the United States, the Jupiter event is expected to attract more than 85,000 visitors from all over Florida and beyond. The event is produced by the Northern Palm Beach County Chamber of Commerce.
Palomares will be one of more than 250 artists in 14 fine arts categories at the festival and will feature around 40 pieces of her work, which will be available for sale. Prices will range from $40 to $1,500. She will be in booth 705 (grassy area).
Before being chosen, Palomares submitted four paintings that were judged by a panel of experts in the industry in an intense evaluation system. She is one of only 12 in the emerging artist category.
“It is such an honor to be a part of this festival. I never imaged that I would be participating in Artigras this year!”
Palomares describes her work as impressionistic but representational, three-dimensional and wispy. Some of her favorite portraits are sunrises and sunsets. “I love to capture the beauty of nature.”
Her work is already gaining in popularity around south Florida. This month, one of her sunset paintings will be permanently featured in each hotel room at Ron Jon Cape Caribe Resort in Cocoa Beach, Fla.
Palomares hopes to one day have her art in art galleries but for now her goal is to participate in at least one to two arts shows per year.
Palomares has worked on the Palm Beach Gardens campus since 2006. For more on her, visit www.coastalartpaintings.com. For more on Artigras, visit www.artigras.org.
