FLORIANA HAYES
Red Marbles, pastel on heavy decal edged paper, 17 1/2" X 33 1/2", 2013

Award-winning Chicago-born artist, Floriana Hayes, has indulged her passion for capturing the beauty of wildlife, landscapes, still lifes, and nature scenes in pastels and pen and ink.  Her attention to detail gives vitality to each work of art.  While attending classes at the Art Institute of Chicago and the American Academy of Art, Floriana spent a number of years traveling the art circuit and exhibiting in various juried art fairs throughout the Midwest.  Giving up the art circuit, she married, raised a family, and completed a successful corporate career.  She is now reentering the world of art with gusto and a drive for beauty and creativity.  Floriana currently resides in Urbandale, Iowa with her husband Richard.

Floriana writes this about her work: "I normally work in pastels because I love the vibrant color.  Pastels will not fade like other mediums, so I'm guaranteed that the viewer will always see what I want to deliver.  My topics are wide, but normally realistic.  There is so much around us that I find beautiful and worth capturing that I'm never at a loss for subject matter.  My goal is to draw the viewer in so they see what I see whether it's the shine on an apple or the clarity and glow of a cats-eye marble.  I want the viewer to take a journey of discovery with me."

Floriana Hayes's website