SFCC Alums Return To Showcase Their Art

AVON PARK - Never in Cody Coltharp's wildest dreams would he have imagined he would be in front of a classroom demonstrating his art skills or telling a captivated audience about his work.

But just three years after graduating from South Florida Community College, that became a reality at his alma mater during the opening of the SFCC Alumni Exhibit on Wednesday.

"I never would have thought I would make it to this point," said Coltharp, 24.

The exhibit, which runs through Oct. 25, features the work of alumni Coltharp and Keith Goodson.

Coltharp said it's an honor for him to be featured in the same exhibit as Goodson, who was one of his first artistic influences. Goodson, who is well known for his murals in Lake Placid, has photorealistic images and surrealistic collages on display.

"I learned a lot from watching him paint murals," Coltharp said. "If you look at some of my early paintings, you can definitely see a lot of his influence."

But Coltharp later found his own style - digital art, creating artwork with a wireless drawing tablet and Adobe Photoshop, a graphics editor program that he started learning at SFCC.

"Digital art is a genre that has been gaining in popularity, but people aren't used to it yet, so they don't quite know how to react," Coltharp said. "It's neat to be one of the first artists producing this type of work because I get to be a pioneer."

Unlike traditional paintings or sculptures, digital art does not have just one original, which appeals to Coltharp.

"I wanted my artwork to be reached by a lot of people," Coltharp said. "I didn't want to be an artist who did a painting that hangs in a bathroom and might be seen by 20 people. There is no limit to the number of times digital art can be reproduced, so it has the ability to reach a large audience."

The Sebring native now lives in Sarasota, where he attended New College of Florida. He is now working on a graphic novel called "The Pale," and some of the work from this series is on display at the exhibit.

"The Pale is the name I give to the place you go when you dream," Coltharp said. "This sequence is about a character going through a city in the dream world and what he sees and experiences."

Laura Wolfe, a freshman art student at SFCC, said she was impressed by the series of art called The Pale.

"I think the artwork is very deep and beautiful," Wolfe said. "I had a hard time believing it was really digital art. It is so realistic looking."

Cathy Futral, professor of art, said she is proud to have her former student's work featured in the exhibit.

"He was a real pleasure to have in class," Futral said. "He took every assignment and went above and beyond what was expected ... He was great to have in class because I think he raised the bar for standards because everyone was trying to keep up with him."

After seeing a brief presentation by Coltharp in which he created a rough piece in Photoshop, Linda Fischer said she was very impressed.

"I have a lot more respect for students who produce this type of art now that I know how much work goes into it," she said.

This is the first alumni exhibit MOFAC has hosted, and SFCC President Norm Stephens said he thinks it's a great way to showcase the art department's success.

"We have a lot of talented people who choose to come here, and this certainly shows our art department is something to be proud of," Stephens said.

MOFAC is located adjacent to SFCC Auditorium on the Highlands Campus. It is open to the public 12:30-4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday and by appointment for group tours. It is also open one hour prior to performances in the Artist and Matinee series.

For more information about the museum, exhibits or to schedule a museum tour, contact Mollie Doctrow at 784-7240.