Local artist Heidi Lifrage loved seeing people enjoy Central Park this spring during the pandemic lockdown. Picnicking, reading, talking and just enjoying the warm Florida weather while social distancing each day and evening brought folks out to the park to just relax and spend quality family time together. She was so inspired by it that she took some photos and turned the scene into a painting that captures the essence of a small community finding some solace in a crisis. 

“I had just gotten back from a painting workshop, so I was very excited to paint. I would go on my walk every night, and I would see all these people in the park and the family time they were enjoying. I took different pictures of groupings of people to find the right one to paint,” says Lifrage.

Aptly named, “Quarantine in Winter Park,” the painting’s beauty and message resonated with the Winter Park Chamber’s Board of Trustees, the staff and the Autumn Art Festival Committee and thus was selected as the 2020 Commemorative Edition Poster. For the 20th consecutive year, the poster was printed by C&S Press.
 
So while the Autumn Art Festival has been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and in adherence with CDC guidelines, the poster tradition lives on, including with an unveiling last Friday in Central Park. 
 
Proceeds from poster sales will go to THRIVE Winter Park, which is a hyper-local charitable response to the financial impacts of COVID-19 on residents and small businesses in Winter Park. The cost is $25, which includes shipping, and can be ordered from the Autumn Art Festival Facebook Page.
 
Lifrage, who began her painting career in 1997 after taking an art class while living in Sophia, Bulgaria, has studied under many notable artists from Charleston, S.C., and central Florida. She now paints commissions and teaches after-school art classes during the school year and week-long summer camps. Her classes have transitioned to Zoom virtual classes plus some small groups in her art studio. 
 
“The Zoom classes have been great. The quality of the work is great because there’s so much focus,” says Lifrage.

Purchase your 2020 Commemorative Autumn Art Festival poster here.