Herein lies the HISTORY of the Dedicated Painters.
The humble beginnings were in the 1970s with a group of decorative artists who grew this Chapter of the Society of Decorative Painters (SDP) with their talents and dedication. They became some wonderful painters and honored their own with the Golden Brush Award since 1990. The painters started as the Pelican Painters and came to be known as the Decorative Artists of Southwest Florida (DASF).
Reorganized in 2019 as the Dedicated Artists of Southwest Florida Inc (DASF), a tax-exempt charitable 501(c)(3) corporation, we became an independent club. Our purpose is to build social networks through artistic expression, provide visual arts learning opportunities, and to benefit the community through our activities such as an annual scholarship and a memory box program.
Joyce Kostelak, pictured above, was one of the original members and driving force through it all and remains as an Honorary Member. Thank you to all who have worked hard to move us to where we are today. Fine friendships and artistic skills have developed among our members as we have supported an annual art scholarship for students, the Harry Chapin Food Bank for the food insecure, and an array of other charitable endeavors.
Past projects dating back to 2011 can be seen in the associated web pages collected here.
The humble beginnings were in the 1970s with a group of decorative artists who grew this Chapter of the Society of Decorative Painters (SDP) with their talents and dedication. They became some wonderful painters and honored their own with the Golden Brush Award since 1990. The painters started as the Pelican Painters and came to be known as the Decorative Artists of Southwest Florida (DASF).
Reorganized in 2019 as the Dedicated Artists of Southwest Florida Inc (DASF), a tax-exempt charitable 501(c)(3) corporation, we became an independent club. Our purpose is to build social networks through artistic expression, provide visual arts learning opportunities, and to benefit the community through our activities such as an annual scholarship and a memory box program.
Joyce Kostelak, pictured above, was one of the original members and driving force through it all and remains as an Honorary Member. Thank you to all who have worked hard to move us to where we are today. Fine friendships and artistic skills have developed among our members as we have supported an annual art scholarship for students, the Harry Chapin Food Bank for the food insecure, and an array of other charitable endeavors.
Past projects dating back to 2011 can be seen in the associated web pages collected here.