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Email: [email protected]
Phone: 727.519.3553
This is who I am...
Hello, I'm Lyle Polyak, illustrator, fine artist and founder of Talentum Meritus Arts Foundation (TMAF).
Over the course of many years, I have strived to nurture my skills in the visual arts, and to bring my artwork to the marketplace, to make it a self-sustaining endeavor.
(I'm sure that sounds familiar...)
I have had the pleasure of meeting several individuals on the same journey toward mastery and recognition. I can say with certainty, that the majority of the nation's artistic talent goes unknown and uncelebrated due to a lack of exposure. I have seen artistic prodigies overlooked by professional galleries and museums, who favor established names and studios instead. Many modern masters lack the funding and access to professionally reproduce and showcase their work. For these individuals, TMAF was founded, to bring under-recognized talents and emerging artists the means to affordably acquire inventory and market their work.
In partnership with local venues, network businesses and using my own growing collection of fine art printers, I am committed to helping local artists earn the recognition they so richly deserve.
Talentum Meritus is Latin for "Earned Talent," a phrase synonymous with the daily practice that brings all artists to mastery of their craft. It is the name of an undertaking jumpstarted by TMAF Art & Design, a project that seeks to breathe life into an eventual, full-scale, museum of local art, "The Museum of Artistic Fellowship." The Museum will promote the works of local artists, record and celebrate the artistic and cultural contributions of the regions' creative community, and supply meeting space, lecture halls and classrooms, for masters of the field to train young minds in their craft. TMAF Art & Design, as a business, brings me in touch with corporations and cooperatives capable of supporting this effort. Inspired by artists, and through these interactions, this goal becomes more tangible with every passing day.
TMAF would like to thank the representatives, businesses and venues, committed to displaying the creative works of local artists.
A special thank you to painter, Arlen Thorensen, who motivated me to set my artwork before the public, Captain Robert "Tut" Barrett, avian expert, animal rights advocate, a man who showed me the positive impact that one person could make, Mary Polyak, who believed in the possibilities that only I could see, watercolorist, Richard Jansen, a dedicated leader and friend, Barbara Lewis, visual artist and musician, always compassionate and generous with her advice, Karen Baker, an artist lead by faith who inspires other artists with the same.
"Self portrait in professional attire."
Lyle Polyak,
Illustrator, Owner
One-to-one
design services
and printing
Private visits by appointment.
715 Pinellas Street,
Suite # 6
Clearwater, FL 33756
My Artistic Style:
“Tell a wonderful story.” This simple phrase sums up my artist’s statement and it is the driving desire behind my art. Realistic art is a language I use - It’s a vehicle to converse about an event, without using words, and to summon into your psyche the essence of an individual, real or imaginary. Influenced by the whimsical illustrations that I penned, early in my career, my realist style introduces a meaningful scene, or recollection, in storybook fashion. I’m not trying to document a moment in time for posterity, but rather to weave a visual tale, rich in emotion and detail, emphasizing the qualities that make it special, and spurring the viewer to explore the page and imagine, “What’s happening here?”
I should like to be considered a “storyteller artist” like my idol Norman Rockwell, capturing scenes rather than places and personalities rather than portraits. My purpose is to bring you into a tale, to rope you with detail and flashes of color, and as you gaze deeper, and notice the surprise hues that underpin the scene. Attentive viewers will notice hints and visual cues in much of my art that include you in an unfolding plot. A scene that at first seemed commonplace now unfolds and exposes its intrigues. Ask what’s happening. Put yourself in this place and ponder what happens next. Look into the eyes of the person and ponder who they are, what they’re like and, most importantly, what they’ve experienced. My art is an investment of time to bring you into my story.
I envision a show of artwork in whose interpretation lies its value… A great visual tale that unfolds before the viewer, taking them deep into their own creative soul, to find the artist and storyteller within, to ask questions and explore a world that is made real in their imaginations. I think it may be possible to produce such an exhibit, which brings together individuals, of all cultures and creeds, and collects them, in a place inspired by art, where language and beliefs are secondary to a shared creative journey, a visual story that everyone can appreciate equally, that is what I strive to create.
The Goal:
