Meet BAM! Fest Artists At Realize Bradenton Fundraiser

BRADENTON, FL — The eight large-scale artworks painted live during the April 5 inaugural BAM! Fest (Bradenton Art & Music Festival) along the Bradenton Riverwalk are on display at The Bishop Museum of Science and Nature, and available to purchase via an online auction.

Bids can be made on the paintings through Dec. 31. All funds raised benefit the nonprofit organization Realize Bradenton, which is dedicated to enhancing downtown Bradenton and produced the festival.

The museum is hosting the participating artists Thursday, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., for a reception.

Attendees will get to meet the artists and learn more about their inspiration and the live-painting process.

Darryl Goldman, who created “Bradenton’s Pier 22,” a 4-by-6-foot piece, during BAM! Fest, will be at the museum on Thursday to talk about his painting.

The retired U.S. Army chaplain and Presbyterian minister, who has been painting for much of his life, has called Bradenton home for the past five years.

He recalls painting with watercolors while in the field with soldiers when serving in Europe.

“I’ve always painted,” Goldman told Patch, adding that he took his work more seriously when he retired. “That’s when I started applying to galleries and things. That’s one of the reasons we settled here. There’s so much going on in the arts.”

While his work can be found in various spaces, he predominantly sells his paintings through Island Gallery and Studios in downtown Bradenton, where he also hosts art classes.

Live painting at BAM! Fest aligns with his typical process, as he’s used to painting outdoors, often with onlookers.

“People come up to me all the time,” he said. “I’m always amazed. People want to see what you’re doing when you’re painting. It’s hard to paint in a public place without getting an audience.”

So, the festival was “a natural fit,” he added.

Goldman tackles a range of subjects from marine life to landscapes to homes.

“I like colorful compositions. I like clouds and all that was sort of in that painting [done at BAM! Fest,] the clouds and the dark versus light contrast,” he said. “For me what’s important is not the subject matter; it’s the light.”

Other BAM! Fest artists include Laura Diffendal, Chris Dyer, Stephanie Guevara, Lillian Fox, Mary Frangapane, Jason Harvin, Arielle Katarina and Ellen Kantro.