Port Tampa Bay Comes Alive with Local Painter’s Palette

By Kendra Langlie, a freelance writer, communications consultant and lover of arts and culture, lives in Tampa. Comments? Contact 83 Degrees. Article photos by Julie Branaman. Published November 11, 2015.

Artist Laura Waller’s new series of 25 paintings puts the spotlight on the gritty grandeur and bustle of Tampa’s most important international commerce hub — Port Tampa Bay. The series will be available for viewing at the Clayton Galleries in South Tampa beginning January 23 through March 7, 2015.


Waller’s work — in water-based oils for this series — provides a warmth and an impressionistic feel in how she treats light, though any softness of more often painted subjects, say, haystacks or water lilies, is entirely absent. Imposing, formidable ships with all their rugged, angled accoutrements – heavy, steel, potentially lethal (should they snap) mooring ropes, forklifts, tugboats and a ubiquity of rust — instead lend the viewer the true brute perspective of human-to-craft scale at the Port. 

“The feeling you get is a lot like looking up at a skyscraper in New York, like you are going to fall over,” Waller describes. “The ships set the narrative. The people are insignificant in these massive boats.”


To behold raw industry through the eyes of an artist like Waller brings a level of beauty, color and interest rarely bestowed upon such a subject. In fact, the existence of this particular subject, Florida’s biggest Port, is all but ignored by most, save for the occasional cheer surrounding the comings and goings of cruise ships.

In reality, the gravitas of Port Tampa Bay and its impact on the state’s economy cannot be underestimated.

The local Port in the heart of downtown Tampa represents $15.1 billion in economic activity and provides directly or indirectly 80,000 above-average-salaried jobs, according to Edward Miyagishima, Port Tampa Bay Senior Advisor in citing a 2013 economic impact study. 

It is currently the largest and deepest port in Florida – with 5,000 acres and a depth of 43 feet, though Miami and Jacksonville have plans to deepen their ports soon. Put in context, Tampa’s Port is about 10 times the size of Miami’s in terms of acreage. It is also the largest in Florida in terms of tonnage shipped of phosphates and petroleum. 

From Backyard to Shipyard

Waller’s Port paintings are an expansion of her 2009-2013 East Coast-West Coast series in which she became intrigued with the everyday environment of the working waterfront.

On the East Coast, she discovered, “you interface with the water close-in,” and decided it was time to explore more closely her own backyard. 

“I started researching the Port Tampa Bay,” she says. “Usually you think of the cruise ships, but its so much more than that. The port is where, historically, civilization spread and commerce grows. Tampa is a big city, because we are a port.” 

She wanted to experience the Port first hand. This is easier said than done. 

As Miyagishima says, “Ports are mysterious. Everyone walks through the airport, you don’t get that opportunity at the port.” Homeland Security and safety regulations keep access tight; the Port is generally closed to the public.  


Waller’s persistence paid off and thanks to a connection at Gulf Marine Repair – part of the Hendry family shipyard operations that have been in service at the Port Tampa Bay for nearly 90 years – she was granted permission to explore the Port. Accompanied by a guard at all times, she took hundreds of photos from the docks and was also permitted access from the water, her son maneuvering through the port in his small boat, a visit she terms “a primordial experience.”

Waller’s fascination with the Port only grew from there. Most of the paintings for this series are named for the ships portrayed “so that you can follow them” as she often does, watching their journeys through pirated waters and dangerous straits thanks to vessel tracker technologies. She imagines the stories, how civilization must have once watched “gorgeous parfait colored ships coming around the bend. … Vikings ready to plunder.” 

Even the maritime vocabulary and equipment requires a learning curve, which Waller describes as “almost like calligraphy.” She says she would like to go back and have the opportunity to accompany a harbor pilot – the specialist who boards and guides the barges and ships safely to dock – and also to photograph the port at night. 

A Personal Journey, Too

Waller’s route to professional artist has been an interesting journey in its own right.

Founder and CEO of Waller & Wax Advisors, Waller was a successful certified financial planner based in Tampa for more than 30 years. For nearly as long, she has found refuge in another port town of a different flavor: Rockland, ME.

“It’s the only way I could get away from the stock market!” she says. While her left-brain was wrapped up in her day job, she continuously nurtured her artistic side studying and painting watercolors, particularly during the time she spent in Maine.  

While Waller was more than accustomed to helping others plan their transitions into retirement, her own transition was marked by a diagnosis of breast cancer in 2005 and her treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota. There, she was encouraged to participate in the biennial Eli Lilly Oncology on Canvas Program, entering a watercolor painting that was included along with the passage she wrote about it, in the exhibition that traveled to the Royal Academy of Art in London and worldwide. 

“The passage spoke about cancer giving permission,” says Waller. “That is truly the gift of the experience, and led to my choosing to pursue art full time and to selling my practice to my son.”

Since making that transition in 2011, she has also changed her media of choice to water-based oil and studied closely with artist Tina Ingraham to perfect technique. Waller has since won numerous awards, has exhibited at galleries and shows throughout Florida, Maine and Oregon, and has received three fellowships to the prestigious Vermont Studio Center Residency in Arts Program (the third will be in 2015).

Bringing the Images to the Public
  
Cathy Clayton, founder of Clayton Galleries, an established gallery in South Tampa that typically represents Florida artists, says she knew Waller as a friend, a neighbor, a financial advisor and a collector for the past 15 years. She’s been watching Waller’s career and development as an artist and says she was impressed when Waller started focusing on her artistic expression “in a very linear, professional way. I am really happy the way she has changed and evolved into a fine artist.”

When Waller shared her Port project with Clayton, Clayton felt “this is the time [to represent Waller]: Let’s introduce this series.”  

Clayton says there is already tremendous interest in the project from the Port and the City of Tampa and anticipates more so when the series is displayed in its entirety. A piece from the series is already on exhibit at the Fine Art Exhibition at the Tampa Bay Lightning Amalie Arena, and another has been requested from a museum in Oregon. 

“She found the beauty, the poetry in industrial boats,” says Clayton. ”That makes you pay attention.”  

Laura Waller’s Working Ships Cruise Streets, ArtPop Tampa

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Terri

The big ships of Port Tampa are hitting the highways of Tampa. Laura Waller’s painting of OIG Giant II is part of her series of paintings featuring the working ships in the Port of Tampa.

Dividing her schedule between her two studios in Maine and Florida, Laura Waller paints full time and is currently working on her series, Port of Tampa Bay, which was featured in a 2015 solo exhibition at the Clayton Galleries, Tampa, FL. Her award-winning work is collected by individuals and corporations nationwide. A solo exhibition of the latest of Laura Waller’s Port Tampa Bay Series will open January 2017 at Clayton Galleries in Tampa Florida.

Laura’s work is being shown on two OUTFRONT digital boards in these two locations:

  • Dale Mabry Highway, .5 mile north of Hillsborough Ave, visible to northbound drivers (this is just north of Raymond James Stadium)
  • State Road 60 (aka Brandon Blvd) .5 mile east of I-75, visible to eastbound drivers (this is just east of the Westfield mall)

OUTFRONT Media estimates that each week nearly 250,000 will see the boards displaying the art as they travel those busy highways.

Artwork from seven local artists will pop up on various billboards as part of ArtPop Tampa, a year-long program sponsored by the Arts Council of Hillsborough County, ArtPop and OUTFRONT Media. The artwork will travel to different locations during the program.

ArtPop People’s Choice Artist Announced

Their works will be up high for all to see!

Arts Council – Hillsborough County: Posted By JULIE GARISTO on Sun, Jun 7, 2015 at 5:22 PM

Congratulations to all of the Arts Council’s inaugural ArtPop Tampa artists. ArtPop uses the urban landscape as gallery to spotlight local artists, displaying their artwork on Outfront Media’s digital and vinyl billboards.

The People’s Choice artist, Caitlin Albritton of Tampa, was selected by popular vote for the Arts Council of Hillsborough County’s latest program for Hillsborough artists.

Other winners include Laura Waller, Tampa. To find out more visit tampaarts.com.

“OIG Giant II No. 1,” oil on linen — Laura Waller, Tampa.

Laura Waller  paints full-time and is working on her series, Port of Tampa Bay, which was featured in a 2015 solo exhibition at the Clayton Galleries, Tampa. Her award-winning work is collected by individuals and corporations nationwide. A solo exhibition of the latest of Laura Waller’s Port Tampa Bay Series will open January 2017 at Clayton Galleries.

New Paintings of Port Tampa Bay are Artful Documentaries

By Lennie Bennett, Times Art Critic – January 20, 2015

Laura Waller has been a presence in the bay area arts community for decades. Besides being involved as an advocate and supporter of various organizations, she’s a painter whose loosely worked, soft watercolors have evolved into a more muscular style with a heavier water-based oil paint. And what a surprise to see the subject matter of a new series that opens at Clayton Galleries Friday.

In “The Working Waterfront: Port of Tampa,” Waller explores the bustling industrial waterfront in 25 paintings that take viewers to scenes closed to outsiders and curiosity seekers because of strict security. She wrangled her way in through a personal connection and spent months exploring the area and operations from wharfs and a small boat.

The result is a triumphant hybrid of art and documentary. The ships, never designed or maintained as objects of beauty, become so on her canvases. Her compositions bring out their massiveness, emphasizing the relationship between their size and ours. Their forms dominate the paintings, though rarely shown in their entirety. The result is a sense of abstract form folded into a realist work.

The exhibition continues through March 7. Clayton Galleries is located at 4105 S MacDill Ave., Tampa. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Free. Opening reception is 7 to 9 p.m. Friday. claytongalleries.net; (813) 831-3753.

Women Contemporary Artists: Program January 19

WCA GENERAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING: Monday, January 19, 2015: 2 p.m. – 4 p.m.

Sarasota Herald Tribune bldg. 1741 Main St. Sarasota FL 34236
(Board meeting 12 p.m. – 2 p.m.)

PROGRAM: JANUARY 19 — “Excuse me, do you speak muse?”

How do you communicate with your muse? This is a serious and real question for an artist – one which Laura Waller can address. The paintings in her Port Tampa Bay series are representational, but her work reaches far beyond mere observation.  They at once tell a narrative and capture a moment; they serve as landscapes and abstractions; they reveal in-depth research and delight in the mysteries of painting. In her presentation, Waller will share with us the whole story of creating the series – a story which most certainly will help each of us connect with our own muse!

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Waller received her undergraduate and master’s degrees from Newcomb College and Tulane University in New Orleans. Concurrent with her studies in sociology, psychology and social work, she developed a passion for art and art history. After an eleven year career as a professional therapist, Waller became a certified financial planner and founder of the successful Waller & Wax Advisors firm in Tampa, Florida. Throughout her thirty year career in finance, she continued to paint and study independently with a number of prestigious artists in Arizona, Florida and Maine. Waller was selected in 2013, 2014 and again for 2015, for artist residencies at the Vermont Studio Center. Her new series will be featured in a six week solo exhibition opening January 23, 2015, titled The Working Waterfront: Port Tampa Bay, New Paintings by Laura Wallerat the Clayton Galleries, Tampa, Florida.

Laura’s website is: laurawallerart.com

Talk Back Florida: Huge Life Changes – Inside An Artist’s Head

By Lynn Marvin Dingfelder

Florida resident Laura Waller left the competitive profession of financial planning to become an award winning painter. Her most recent work, all about Tampa’s Port, will go on display at Clayton Galleries in S Tampa. We talked to Laura about this dramatic career change and how she creates:

 

http://bit.ly/1xDjCqI (Follow this link to listen to the full radio broadcast.)

THE WORKING WATERFRONT: PORT TAMPA BAY

New Paintings by Laura Waller

PRESS RELEASE: January 2, 2015, Tampa, Florida. Clayton Galleries at 4105 South MacDill Avenue, will be featuring the paintings of local artist Laura Waller in her inaugural exhibition at the gallery titled: “The Working Waterfront: Port Tampa Bay — New Paintings by Laura Waller” January 23 – March 7, 2015. There will be an opening reception to meet the artist on Friday, January 23rd, from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The new series of twenty five oil paintings explores the raw, industrial side of Tampa’s waterfront through her up-close, painterly portrayal of the ships in the Port. “The Port is closed to the public, but with resolve I was able to gain access and an escort to tour the dockyards and other sites. I explored each channel by power boat, photo documenting the ships from a water level perspective. Since I find worn, aged surfaces and humble objects beautiful, the Port’s rusty, gritty shapes provide a fascinating subject to explore,” Waller explained.

Waller currently paints full time, dividing her schedule between Maine and Tampa studios. For thirty years she was a certified financial planner, but throughout her career continued to paint and study independently with many prestigious artists in Arizona, Florida and Maine.

Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5p.m. and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information please call: (813) 832-3753 or write to: [email protected]

 
Top Island No. 2, 2014, Oil on linen, 20 x 24 inches


Lacanau, 2014, Oil on linen, 36 x 48 inches

Laura Waller Wins Award of Excellence at 9th Biennial Art Exhibition

by Thomas Hall – examiner.com
February 10, 2014

Last June, new Baker Museum of Art Curator Frank Verpoorten conferred Best of Show honors on Tampa artist Laura Waller at the Alliance for the Arts’ 27th Annual All Florida Juried Show. Last Thursday, two-time National Portrait Competition winner Carl J. Samson gave Waller an Award of Excellence at the Visual Arts Center of Punta Gorda’s 9th Biennial National Art Exhibition for her oil on canvas titled Approaching the Harbor.

Waller’s painting was chosen for the $500 Award of Excellence from a highly-competitive field of more than 450 entries from 27 states. In fact, Approaching the Harbor was one of only 130 pieces that Samson juried into the exhibition, which is regarded as one of the most prestigious juried exhibits of traditional two dimensional media in the entire nation. The show is produced by the Visual Arts Center of Punta Gorda every other year to benefit its programs and artists.

Waller has stated that she wants collectors to be able to come home, turn off their televisions, tune out the world and find respite within the four corners of her paintings from the rigors and stress of the financial, business and political worlds. Waller knows of what she speaks, having negotiated a highly successful career as a financial planner that spanned more than three decades. But at the end of 2011, she decided to focus full time on her career as an oil and watercolor painter, and it’s proven to be a wise decision.

One of the chief characteristics of Waller’s paintings is their softness. Waller applies paint to canvas so sparingly, it’s as though she were trying squeeze the last bit of pigment from her tubes of paint rather than making a run to the art supply store. But Baker Museum Curator Frank Verpoorten astutely notes that Waller intentionally allows “portions of the linen [to] show through so that her colors [will] vibrate.” It is this intelligently translucent quality that makes Waller’s work both seductive and beautiful.

The 9th Biennial National Art Exhibition can be seen at the Visual Arts Center of Punta Gorda through March 9, 2014. For more information, please contact VAC at 941-639-8810.