Summer Elaine Hue

In this tense political landscape we are experiencing, especially in Florida - this moment, this spark has never been more crucial to share. As an artist who relies heavily on carefully curated color palettes, I’ll be the first to say, artistically speaking, I despise using a full “rainbow” palette. But in this moment, it has to be rainbow. It’s time to stand and shout and vote, and outwardly display Allyship on every sticky sidewalk in our state and beyond. It’s RIGHTS or RIOTS.

Artist Statement about the Piece (s) Submitted

Title/Medium: I Got You [Digital Illustration on Acrylic]

"With a nod to the “Creation of Adam,” my piece emphasizes the crisis of LGBTQ+ youth and the dire importance of Allyship. It features my adult hand refreshing an ice cream cone, melting in the cruel heat of summer, held by my own hand as a queer youth. This piece mirrors the positioning of the hands in Michelangelo’s work in the Sistine Chapel.

Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” depicts an exceedingly profound concept - the divine spark that grants life and consciousness, the soul of humanity. God’s transcendent figure extending his hand, a single finger outstretched. Opposite lies Adam, the first man created in God’s own image, reclining vulnerable within a lush landscape. The figures capture the spark not only of human life, but of human consciousness and reason that allows us to ponder our very existence.

My goal in “I got you” was to illustrate this very spiritual concept in a way that is modern and relatable. It highlights the moment of Allyship when one reaches out to someone in the LGBTQ+ community to help them feel the reassuring connection and warmth of humanity. The warm light featured in the piece nods to the radiance and energy created during a human connection. Human connection and support warms the soul."

Summer is a Gallery Artist, Illustrator & Designer working from her home studio in Historic Kenwood which she shares with her wife, and fellow artist, Perry DeVick.

Classically trained from a young age, Summer enjoyed her time at the University of Florida college of Journalism & Communications as a published cartoonist and received an additional degree from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh in Graphic Design. She has worked professionally with design and illustration since 1998. When the pandemic hit and art supplies became difficult to purchase locally, Summer leaned into the digital canvas. In 2023 she finnaly took the plunge to quit her full time career as a corporate Art Director and is now a full- time, self employed artist. She combines her understanding of technology with a traditional art background to create unique, 100% hand-drawn artworks for display in art galleries, group and solo shows, and even local markets.

Through her art, she seeks to build connections within St. Pete and beyond – to people, cultures, lifestyles and vibes. Featuring a gentle juxtaposition of real and unreal, silly and serious, beautiful and strange, her work features bold, uplifting color and expression to offer up fun fantasy-realism. She uses a digital canvas in the way an oil painter would; slowly and carefully layering and blending, building from sketch, to color block, to fully rendered pieces. And she does much of this process in public, happily chatting with locals, visitors, art appreciators and artists themselves out at Grand Central District coffee and bottle shops. Say “Hi” if you see her out drawing, it is a fun and meaningful part of her art to connect socially and it fuels her to keep creating.