Dancing with Sea Lions
The Dancing With Sea Lions project began as a fundraiser for the 20th Anniversary of the Florence Events Center. The volunteers of the Florence Arts, Culture, and Entertainment nonprofit group (previously known as the Friends of the FEC) headed up this project in conjunction with the Florence Events Center Staff. Twenty life size sea lion sculptures were each painted by a different artist. All of them were displayed with their sponsors along the Oregon Coast till October of 2016, when they were then purchased by businesses and individuals. Fifteen of them are still publicly displayed in Florence and near by coastal locations. See our 'Where are they now' map for their current locations, and check our blog for updates. Share your Dancing Sea Lion pics with us and we'll add them to our Gallery of images.
Katie Miller
Project Name: Neptune’s Breakers
The crashing waves and the spray that blows off the ocean on a windy day, combined with the powerful motion of galloping horses inspired artist Katie Miller to create Neptune’s Breakers. She wanted to balance nature with imagination and discovered Poseidon’s horses. Capturing the spirit of both: the power of charging horses and the mist of the ocean, Neptune’s Breakers compliments both the curves of the sea lion sculpture and the rhythm both the waves and the sea lion in life.
This native Oregon artist is self-taught and works in several different mediums including colored pencil, marker, digital arts, and most recently acrylics. Katie says that
animals—real and fantasy —are her inspirations, as are the rugged high desert, majestic mountains, and rocky shores of Oregon. Capturing the movement and life of the creatures and landscapes is her intent.
A resident of Florence for the last nine years, Katie Miller was born in Portland. But it hasn’t been all city and coast. Miller has lived in a variety of Oregon settings including Newberg, Dundee, and Bend.
Miller used Bondo glazing and spot putty - To repair a small hole/defect. Liquitex white gesso for her Surface prep. Liquitex airbrush effects medium, for thinning paints. Liquitex soft-body acrylic paints. And finally Lascaux UV-1 gloss varnish.
