For ten years, every issue of The New Barker has featured the work of a different Florida artist. This issue’s cover artist, Evelyn McCorristin Peters, is from Myakka City.
My favorite place is my studio. It is an old fifth wheel house trailer my husband and I used when travel- ing for his business. Philip built a roof over it and a deck out front where I have a wonderful ham- mock and a memorial garden for our dogs who have crossed the Rainbow Bridge. We modified the inside with more lighting and took out the old furniture to install cork flooring. Behind my easel is a huge window that looks out on our back pasture where, over the summer, I take care of a friend’s horses. Beyond that is a cow pasture that backs up to the Myakka River. The studio is my sanctuary, my own place.
Hazel of Boxer Angels Rescue of Florida.
I want others to know the special joy of adopting an older dog. The holiday season is a very busy time for me with dog portrait orders, but after that I will continue work on my project highlighting senior dogs. They often are overlooked but have so much to offer and they deserve to live out their lives filled with love. I am represented by Art Uptown Gallery in Sarasota and am hoping to create a solo show featuring my senior dog portraits. Part of the proceeds will go to rescues I support.
Practice is important for a painter. The more you paint the better painter you become. I am in my studio mid- morning to early evening, six days a week, but always take Sundays off.
Purple is my favorite color. As an artist, color is a very important part of my identity. I was a scenic artist for Ringling Brothers Barnum and Bailey Circus for several years. The strong and bright colors of the circus have definitely influenced in my work.
My pet portrait business was largely an accident. When Florida Boxer Rescue came to interview me as a potential adopter, they saw the por-
46 THE NEW BARKER
trait of my Boxer Frank and asked if I would be willing to donate my work to help raise funds. My busi- ness was born. I donate to rescues and shelters across the country and abroad to help animals and their caretakers. Through this involve- ment I have met the most amazing people and many have become my friends. What they do is incredibly inspiring. Being involved with res- cue requires a tremendous amount of emotional strength, and these people never waiver — they just do what needs to be done.
My dog Johnny is either in my studio or right outside on the little deck. He often watches what I’m doing and stands between me and the easel during thunderstorms.
A favorite item on my desk is this tiny, glittery snowman ornament. Almost every year, my dad and I do some kind of Christmas shopping. Each year I have bought an ornament. I love that snowman ornament so much that it never gets put away at the end of the season. It just makes the trip from my studio to the tree and back again each year.
I have embraced my husband’s favorite sport of football. Not the American kind, but the European kind. My husband is from the Netherlands and to put it mildly is an avid fan.
It gives me goosebumps when I receive a phone call or an email let- ting me know how much the por- trait of the pet I painted for some- one means to them. I am also a landscape artist, so it’s nice when people appreciate and/or purchase my landscape paintings as well.
I will again be painting a sculpture for the Southeastern Guide Dogs fundraising campaign in 2017. I was fortunate enough to be one of the artists selected this past year and it was a phenomenal experience.
www.TheNewBarker.com
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