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Artist Paints Community She Loves

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By DEREK MAUL

Tribune correspondent

Published: August 20, 2008

SEFFNER - Roxanne Tobaison had no idea she was an artist until she was grown, married and raising children.

"I was never exposed to the arts," she said. "I was adopted, and we were very poor, and I didn't know what painting was about. But when my daughter came along, I started going to art shows. The people I admired said they could teach me. I've been going at it ever since."

Today, her abundant talents are known throughout the state, and her works have won many awards. For example, her "Birds of the River" watercolor won the National League of American Pen Women Florida State Association Conference's 2007 Best of Show.

She was born in Mississippi but moved with her family to Tampa five years later and attended Egypt Lake Elementary School, Oak Grove Junior High School Chamberlain High School. She was a member of the high school's second graduating class in 1962.

She later worked as a bookkeeper, sometimes stopping in Brandon to buy ice cream at the Dipper Dan in Clayton Plaza and visit her future husband, Jim Tobaison.

"I'd visit quite often because Jim was there," she said. "He's been in Brandon since he was 5. Jim's dad Norm Tobaison operated Dipper Dan's from 1967 to 1985."

She married Jim Tobaison in 1974. "We lived on Lumsden Road at Parsons," she said. "That big vacant lot on the northwest corner was part of the family tract." Development later overtook the property, and Tobaison moved to Seffner. But her love for and ties to Brandon remain strong.

When she first moved to the community, she was "captivated immediately" by painting. "I worked in oils for a couple of years," she said, "then I started watercoloring, and I never looked back."

She scored her first sales quickly. "There was a little park on Oakfield and Parsons near the hospital, and we'd have art shows there. Then we hung my art in the ice cream parlor. I loved that part - selling it," she said.

Her membership in the Brandon League of Fine Arts has been an irreplaceable asset, she said, offering her exposure, boosting her confidence and presenting opportunities to connect with other area artists.

"I started getting into better shows," she said, "such as the Old Hyde Park Village Art Show and other outdoor venues. I love the community home-town shows. The Apollo Beach Manatee Arts Festival has been a favorite, and I've exhibited at the Temple Terrace Arts Festival more than 25 years."

As she earned more and more popularity, Tobaison was invited to design T-shirts and posters for festivals, covers for magazines, greetings cards for holidays and illustrations for calendars. Designing the cover for the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce community directory in 1995 was a landmark achievement, and her resume of honors makes an impressive catalog.

Tobaison sees a strong connection between creativity and personal faith. "God gave me this ability, and I appreciate it," she said. "My paintings reflect my understanding of the beauty of God's gift through creation.

"Plus, I'm very community oriented. What I love in Brandon is the community," she said. "If you love them, they love you back."

Community service is a priority for her. Her current project is facilitating a "gallery hop" Sept. 6 sponsored by the Greater Brandon Arts Council and the Brandon League of Fine Arts.

Called Bring Art Alive ... Find the Hidden Treasures of Greater Brandon," the event will invite people to visit exhibits and demonstrations at a variety of venues around Brandon.

"We have five galleries involved," Tobaison said, noting that music and dance demos will be on the agenda and the event will wind down at the Center Place Fine Arts and Civic Association. "It all comes together at Center Place that evening. We're talking it up. It's going to benefit the arts council scholarship fund, then it's going to be bigger and better next year.

A member of First Baptist Church of Brandon, Tobaison believes everyone has creativity inside.

"I can't imagine not doing this," she said. "It's part of me, an expression of what's in side of me and I love it."

MEET ROXANNE WARREN TOBAISON

BORN: Mississippi, 1943

GRADUATED: Chamberlain High School, Tampa, 1962

MARRIED: Jim Tobaison, 1974

CHILDREN: Libby, 31; Dinah, 22

MOVED TO BRANDON AREA: 1974

NOTABLE QUOTE: "I like to be an open book through my art."

Derek Maul can be reached at derekmaul@gmail.com.

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