2010 Delray Affair Poster
Posters from prior years are available through the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce (561-279-1380) or online.
Announcing 2010 Delray Affair Commemorative Poster Artist... Eileen Seitz
Born in midtown Manhattan, June 28, 1951, growing up and living in New York City, her interests in drawing and painting began at the early age of eight years old. At age thirteen she won a first place award for an oil painting in a New York City street art show. At sixteen she sold her first painting to a New York City art dealer. Eileen studied Fine Arts at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY and continued to develop her already gifted passion for drawing, oil painting and watercolors.
About the concept...
The day I went to find "the next inspiration for the Delray Affair 2010 Poster", a friend of mine who has been living in Delray for over 35 years went with me. She had lists of homes and neighborhoods she wanted to show me. As we drove around to see the historical areas unknown to me before in my past visits, I was surprised to see so many new places. So - between her ideas and my feelings I found what I was looking for. It was on Federal Hwy where I spotted this yellow house with porches and gardens and hanging baskets overflowing with fuschia and pink nasturtiums.
I went "hmm" and kept it in my mind as "I like that". We went around the block again so I could take a longer and better look and then proceeded forward. I still felt I needed to find something more... and to see what else could be a possibility. I did not want to draw Federal Hwy in the foreground.
We drove North and then east to the MARINA district to an area of beautiful houses along the intercoastal, where I SPOTTED these 3 magnificent Baby Coconut Palm Trees. That was what grabbed my heart and I jumped out of the car, took my stool, chair, paper and pencils and began to draw.
The owner of the home who planted these 3 coconuts came out curious to see who this lady was in the front of her house. She asked me "What are you doing?" I told her, "I was inspired by the 3 beautiful coconut trees and wanted to include them in creating an art piece for the Delray Affair 2010 official poster". She was tickled pink and said "So when I see the poster, I will know that those are my coconut trees" and smiled.
After I finished drawing the trees we drove back to Federal Hwy aka SE 6th Ave. Again that yellow house with the green shutters and pink flowers in hanging baskets called out to me. So I parked the car and crossed the road, sat down and began to draw. I worked until the sun was going down and it was time to leave. I left a space on the left side of the drawing knowing that "Spirit" wanted me to add 2 more important features of Delray Beach.
The Hobi Cat on the beach and the purple bicycle are symbolic of the simple out door way of life in Delray. The residents and visitors of Delray Beach are so fortunate to live so close to such a beautiful beach. A small town atmosphere is what every visitor and property owner of Delray Beach knows and feels when they choose to live here, visit, walk, dine and swim in this beautiful Jewel of a town in Florida.
Seitz will be on hand from 1:00 - 2:00 pm each day at the Merchandise booth on Atlantic Avenue to sign your purchased commemorative Delray Affair poster for free. She will also have a booth in Atlantic Plaza featuring her watercolors, oil paintings, rugs and textiles.
Please visit Eileen's website at www.eileenseitz.com.