Independent Fine Art Professional
Tampa/St. Petersburg, Florida Area
- Current
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- Independent Visual Artist at Untitled Art Studio somewhere in Dunedin, FL (Sole Proprietorship)
- Past
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- Graphic Designer at John Harland Company
- Classified Art Department flunkie at The Tampa Tribune
- Education
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- University of Florida
- Connections
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4
connections
- Industry
- Fine Art
- Websites
Denis Gaston’s Summary
Denis Gaston has been an independent fine art professional in the Tampa Bay area since 1985. In that time, he has appeared in over two hundred exhibitions, with a dozen of them being one-person shows.
Gaston’s art works are included in many public and private collections. The Polk Museum of Art and The Gulf Coast Museum of Art are two Florida museums that own his art, as well as the Raymond James Financial Institution, Holland and Knight Law Firm, Eckerd College, Stetson College of Law, State of Florida Public Art Collection, and Pinellas County Florida Public Art Collection.
In 1989 Gaston received an Individual Artist Fellowship from the state of Florida and participated in a statewide travelling exhibition of fellowship winners. Over the years, he has won numerous awards in juried art exhibitions, and has shown his art in numerous venues, including The Tampa Museum of Art, Orlando Museum of Art, Boca Museum of Art, Boca Raton, Florida, The Florida State Capitol, Tallahassee, The Huntsville, Alabama Museum of Art, and The Drawing Center, New York City.
Denis Gaston received a BA in Art/Art History from the University of Florida in 1968.
Denis Gaston’s Specialties:
Specializes in mixed-media paintings and drawings.
Facilitates workshops on awakening the slumbering artist.
Advocates for the creative life.
Denis Gaston’s Experience
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Independent Visual Artist
Untitled Art Studio somewhere in Dunedin, FL (Sole Proprietorship)
(Sole Proprietorship; Myself Only; Fine Art industry)
January 1985 — Present (23 years 7 months)
Self employed visual artist
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Graphic Designer
John Harland Company
(Public Company; 1001-5000 employees; JH; Financial Services industry)
January 1979 — December 1980 (2 years)
For two years I sat in a 10' x 10' cubicle in a hermetically sealed building set down in the woods east of Atlanta. My job was to design bank logos that would be reduced to one-half inch and printed on checks. I spent a lot of time gazing out the window at traffic speeding silently by on Interstate-20. I pictured myself being carried in one of those big rigs far away from that job. I was not corporate material. It took me a year to make that realization and another year to say Sayonara.
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Classified Art Department flunkie
The Tampa Tribune
(Public Company; 501-1000 employees; MEG; Newspapers industry)
July 1968 — February 1969 (8 months)
In May, 1968 I had just flunked my army physical, and thankfully did not have to go to Viet Nam. My father knew one of the editors at the Tribune, and I believe the guy hired me as a favor.
At the interview, he said I would need to shave off my moustache, and wear a tie. I should have bolted out the door, but needed cash and didn't want to p.o. my dad.
I labored all day in the classified art department doing ads for used car lots and trailer parks. After lunch, I descended into the bowels of the building to the press-room to collect the afternoon edition. I left one on every sales person's desk, so they could check their accounts.
Later I read about Woodstock, and just knew there had to be more to life than arranging pictures of mobile homes. I had enough money saved to make it to Atlanta.
Denis Gaston’s Education
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University of Florida
1965 — 1968
Made it to the graduation ceremony.
Additional Information
Denis Gaston’s Websites:
Denis Gaston’s Groups:
PAVA (Professional Association of Visual Artists), Dunedin Fine Art Center, St. Petersburg Arts Center
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Search Engine Land member
Denis Gaston’s Contact Settings
Interested In:
- career opportunities
- consulting offers
- new ventures
- expertise requests
- business deals
- getting back in touch
