Tulip Time Festival announced Michele Gort and her painting, "Playful Time" as the winner of the 2017 Tulip Time Festival Poster Competition.
Gort is a Holland resident and a graduate of Kendall College of Art and Design. After she graduated, she participated in many art competitions across the state including ArtPrize. Many pieces of her work have appeared in exhibitions throughout West Michigan.
Gort says her inspiration for "Playful Time" came from taking photos of tulips along Holland's Tulip Lanes. The colors she used in her painting are similar to her photos of dark purple tulips against creamy white tulips. She then added tones that compliment a lime green foliage with a cerulean blue for the sky.
The name "Playful Time" comes from the process of creating the painting. Instead of going the traditional route painting a canvas on an easel, she spun her canvas on a rotating plate so the paint would go in all directions. Gort says she felt like a conductor of a symphony where "the paint hues were my instruments playfully making their melody."
"Playful Time" and the Top 20 pieces of art entered in this contest will be on display at the Holland Area Arts Council from May 6 though May 13.
There will be posters, giclee prints, and other Tulip Time merchandise of "Playful Time" available to buy at the Tulip Time office, area art galleries, and online.
Tulip Time runs from May 6 though 14. Click here for a full list of events scheduled so far.
