[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 2]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 3009]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO LEOMA LOVEGROVE

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. FRANCIS ROONEY

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 21, 2017

  Mr. FRANCIS ROONEY of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor of 
a creative visionary in Florida's 19th district--Leoma Lovegrove. As an 
excerpt from the Fort Myers News-Press says, ``Walking into Lovegrove 
Gallery & Gardens is like walking into a rainbow full of eye-popping 
neon pinks, oranges, purples, greens and blues . . . She applies her 
paintbrush to everything from cats to hearts to The Beatles.''
  Leoma Lovegrove is an impressionist-expressionist painter known for 
her vivid paintings and colorful imagery. Leoma first started her art 
career making pottery, belt buckles and even decorated cow skulls. 
Then, a little over 20 years ago, she made her way to Matlacha--a small 
island community that became her home and her headquarters. Her artwork 
is represented in numerous galleries all over the world, including 
England and France. In fact, Leoma was the first American to paint on 
the replica of Claude Monet's floating studio in Giverny, France and 
the first American painter to have an exhibition in the famous Pierre 
Bonnard home in Vernon, France.
  I applaud Leoma and her art studio, Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens, 
which has brought thousands of visitors to Matlacha and all of 
Southwest Florida. Leoma is inspired to paint with endless imagination, 
and her contribution to the arts, culture and economy of Southwest 
Florida deserves our recognition. She has inspired artists in us all.

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