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Watercolorist Pat Weaver captured the Little Everglades Steeplechase on paper.
By CHASE SQUIRES
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 8, 2001
DADE CITY -- The image is striking: deep greens and leaping horses.
It's the symbol of an event that is making an impact on Dade City.
And it's the work of Dade City's former mayor, co-founder of Downtown Dade City Main Street, past Chamber of Commerce president, lifelong resident and well-traveled artist, Pat Weaver.
Weaver, 58, was commissioned last year to paint the signature image for this year's Little Everglades Steeplechase, which gallops into town Sunday at the Little Everglades Ranch just north of town.
Ranch owners Bob and Sharon Blanchard had already worked with Weaver on some commissioned projects when they struck an arrangement for her to come up with the race's defining depiction.
The end product was a result of about half a dozen watercolor paintings Weaver crafted after spending time at last year's inaugural race.
"They are compilations," she said. "This scene didn't happen just like this. These two horses weren't side by side. But they are collections of the things I saw, the colors of the jockey's silks, the shapes of the horses going over the jumps."
The work was done on a tight schedule last summer, fit around her annual trip to the south of France, where she teaches watercolor painting, and the 26 other classes she teaches throughout the year.
"I love to travel," she said. "I love to go new places, but I always love coming home to Dade City. It's my home."
Living on a ranch north of town with her husband, Glenn, and surrounded by cattle, Weaver said she enjoys painting animals and landscapes. In her studio, sunlight streams through windows on all sides, and the light shows off the bright colors she incorporates into her work.
"With watercolor, it's always something new," she said. "I paint very fast. I think like a turtle, then paint like a rabbit. Watercolor is very spontaneous; the colors mix and it's always a surprise."
She has taught at workshops across the United States and in England, Italy, France and the Virgin Islands.
After two terms on the City Commission in the late 1980s and early '90s, including a stint as mayor, Weaver isn't interested in getting back into politics but is still a Dade City supporter.
The steeplechase, which evolved from an exhibition last year to one of the richest events on the National Steeplechase Circuit this year, is a perfect match for Dade City, she said. "It brings new people to the area, and it's a quality event," she said. "I'm all for anything that will uplift Dade City."
While downtown has made strides since she spearheaded the Main Street program in the 1980s, Weaver said the north end of town now needs attention. The Little Everglades race can be the catalyst, she said.
"I think Dade City has a tremendous future," she said. "I always have."
General admission tickets for Sunday's race are $10 per person or $40 for a carload at the gate. Advance tickets for $5 per person and $25 a carload; call (813) 909-2354. To get to the race, take U.S. 301 about a mile north of the Dade City city limits.