Artist to exhibit at Wirtz Gallery in February

Artist to exhibit at Wirtz Gallery in February
Artist to exhibit at Wirtz Gallery in February
Artist Urszula Dudek with a copy of one of her more well
known works.

Like many South Florida residents, Urszula Dudek has developed a love affair with the beautiful bromeliad. However, Dudek has taken her passion one step further by marrying her fascination with her artistic ability to capture the beauty of the tropical plant on canvas.

Recently, one of her bromeliad renderings was judged so precise and colorful that it won the hearts and minds of the judges at the recent state bromeliad conference in Orlando and they awarded her painting a first-place ribbon. For the record, Dudek is a member of the board of directors of the Bromeliad Society of South Florida.

Dudek, 53, originally is from Poland and she has been painting for “just about all of my life.” She came to United States in 1994 and initially settled in Chicago, where she lived for nine years, before moving to Miami in 2003.

Artist to exhibit at Wirtz Gallery in February
Artist Urszula Dudek stands before a copy of her bromeliad painting that won a blue ribbon at the state bromeliad conference in Orlando.

“I remember when I first started thinking about doing this (painting) a little more seriously was when I was 14 and there was time to choose your life and career,” she says. “I was torn between being a herpetologist and being an artist. My art teacher pushed me into art and art school – which was not easy in Poland – and I was chosen, so I was very lucky.”

Today, Dudek lives with her significant other in The Falls area, where the back yard garden of their home is covered with a variety of bromeliads. She has a 25-year-old son, who just recently graduated from Florida International University. Her home is also her studio and her bromeliad paintings in various sizes adorn the walls.

“Most people describe my work as photo-reality, but I disagree,” Dudek says. “In photo-reality, you are trying to hide the brush strokes. In my paintings, you can see the brush strokes. Sometimes you have to look closely, but they are visible. So, I really don’t know what to call my art; realism? Certainly; but not photo-realism.”

And while her subject matter today is the colorful plants of nature, it was not always that way.

“This has changed with my aging,” she says. “Years ago I was more into painting people; but I was never a fan of architecture or landscape painting; I liked painting people. But now I am more into nature with my work.

“And how can I not be into nature when I live in Florida?” she asks rhetorically.

“This is really what impressed me when I moved here, the plants and the beauty of nature; I was really in awe. And especially now, when I am really into bromeliads, as you can see.”

Dudek is also a very active member of the Pinecrest Garden Club.

“It was via the Pinecrest Garden Club that I was lured to the Bromeliad Society of South Florida and I started coming to the shows,” she says. “And I just fell in love with those plants.”

She became so enamored that she became a member of the board of directors of the Bromeliad Society of South Florida.

“If you see my garden, you will understand why I love plants,” she says. “I love gardening and I do a lot of work in the garden. As a result, this is what I want to paint.”

Dudek is also active and in many other Village activities. She even painted one of the dogs for Mayor Lerner’s recent SmARTy Dogs program that raised money for Village schools. The dog that she painted ultimately found a very special home.

“My dog was bought – you cannot believe my surprise – by my significant other,” she says. “He bought my dog at the auction and the dog is now standing in our garden!”

Dudek will exhibit her artwork in February at the Wirtz Gallery in the First National Bank of South Miami, 5750 Sunset Drive. Her paintings will be on display along with the art work of three other talented local artists — Pauline Goldsmith, Jacqueline Hannon and Barbara Hesse Baron. The exhibit opened Feb. 1 and continues through Feb. 28.

For more information, call 305-781-0477 or go online at www.urszuladudek.fineartamerica.com.


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