The City of Tarpon Springs through the Public Art Committee (PAC) awarded their April 2021 Call to Artists to Tampa Bay artist Monica Swartley for an original baseball themed mural. It currently graces the west side of the field’s building and features a vivid pile of scuffed up baseballs – appropriate for one of America’s most beloved sports.
Due to the overwhelming positive public response to the original mural, the City of Tarpon Springs through the Public Art Committee commissioned a second mural from Swartley which was recently completed with a softball theme. Located on the east side of the same building, the bright green color of a softball, the white base plates and red ball laces combine to provide a colorful tribute to this popular sport and the teams that play there.
About the Artist:
Monica Swartley is a realist painter who lives and works in Tampa, Florida. A native of Colebrook, Connecticut, her small-town roots gave her an appreciation for the inherent value of nature from a young age. She went on to earn a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Tampa, where she cultivated a deep respect for the natural world through an objective lens. While immersed in scientific study, she was simultaneously exposed to a traditional arts education for the first time through figure drawing courses. The sciences instilled in her the desire to be precise, which has influenced her hyper-realistic style as an artist. Her work is an exploration of the balance between linear accuracy and painterly impressionism.