Covered from head to toe in vivid color, and often paint, Leoma Lovegrove could not confine her creative spirit solely to the canvas. “If you stand still around me for very long, you’re likely to get painted,” Lovegrove wrote in a 2017 blog post. She had a different paint-splattered outfit for every day of the week and was widely recognized by her signature sunburst glasses. She painted on clothes, shoes, coconuts, roof shingles, and campers. She created collages with mirrors, fabric, and photographs. Her bright, bold art was dictated by a passion that knew no limits.
A graduate of Ringling College of Art and Design, Lovegrove knew the conventional parameters of art, but found feeling to be a better guide than any one rule. “My paintings, they are subservient to my highly subjective, very personal, spontaneous self-expression,” Lovegrove said. It was this very spontaneity that fueled her Paint Out Loud performances. These one-woman shows, often taking place at the Broadway Palm Dinner Theater in Fort Myers, were extremely popular. “They would sell out within a couple of hours, and they’d have to add additional days for people to go and watch her,” said Sarah Cushman, General Manager of Lovegrove Gallery and Gardens. Audiences flocked to Lovegrove’s shows to be showered in glitter, listen to roaring music, and witness the creation of a masterpiece with intense speed. Lucky spectators would even leave with what Lovegrove called one of her “flying saucers,” a hand-painted paper plate she would toss into the crowd as a souvenir.
Lovegrove’s affinity for entertaining stemmed from her enduring love of people. Aptly nicknamed “The People’s Painter,” she enjoyed speaking with fans, sharing her knowledge, and bringing joy to those around her. “When she was available to interact with the community she was all in,” said Cushman, “she would have meet-and-greets and she would paint jackets and she would paint sweatshirts … she was very interactive.” Lovegrove taught art classes at the Venice Art Center and her Matlacha gallery—the latter serving as her headquarters for almost 30 years. Of her presence in Matlacha, Cushman said “she left a major impact; people are still finding out about her passing.” Although Lovegrove passed away at age 72 from breast cancer in April 2025, her art continues to show brightly in Matlacha and beyond.
After moving from Texas to Naples, Florida in the early 1990s, Lovegrove and her husband, Mike Silberg, accidentally happened upon Matlacha while searching for a ferry to Gasparilla Island. It only took a day of enjoying island life for the couple to decide to move there and open a gallery. “Matlacha has that effect on people,” said Lovegrove. She would soon have a major effect on the island herself. In August 2013, Lovegrove painted a mural on the side of the Matlacha Island Post Office called The Catch of Matlacha Island. The mural was sponsored by the Matlacha Island Chamber of Commerce and depicts an orange tarpon shouldering colorful studios and shops. Lovegrove sought to highlight the role the community’s artists—including herself—played in the Island’s economic revival after the net fishing ban of 1992. In true Leoma fashion, she used the reflectors once stationed on a popular fishing bridge as the tarpon’s shimmering scales.
Hurricane Ian devastated Matlacha Island in September 2022. Fortunately, Lovegrove had secured a home in North Fort Myers a month before her Matlacha home and studio were destroyed. Upon finding herself in North Fort Myers, Lovegrove decided to open a studio Downtown. “Matlacha is still a work in progress after being hit by not only Ian, but also Helene and Milton,” said Cushman. “We just opened about two months ago. We are hoping by next season to have the garden repaired so people can go back out there, because that’s a major draw,” she explained.
While Lovegrove’s art is concentrated in Matlacha and Downtown Fort Myers, her work has also graced Bealls department stores, the White House, and Giverny, France. “Bealls literally put her on the map in Southwest Florida,” said Cushman of the decade-long contract. Lovegrove’s Bealls line featured images of her most popular paintings celebrating Florida life on clothing, accessories, and home décor. When she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017, Bealls collaborated with Lovegrove to produce a pink-themed breast cancer awareness line. “The designs appeared on women’s T-shirts, housewares, and even quilts that Bealls sold during Breast Cancer Awareness month,” said Lovegrove. She hoped that, by wearing her art, people would spread joy. “When you put on a Lovegrove tee or other top, you become a smile ambassador as you go about your day,” she said.
Her positive spirit and immense talent captured the attention of former Presidents George W. Bush and Jimmy Carter, and she was recognized by former First Lady, Laura Bush in a reception honoring 250 artists who crafted ornaments for the White House Christmas tree. “In my inimitable style, I painted an outfit to wear to the event, right down to my heels. When Mrs. Bush admired them, I promised to send her a pair, but I could never seem to get her shoe size,” Lovegrove said of her meeting with the former First Lady.
In France, Lovegrove was the first American to paint on Claude Monet’s floating studio replica in Giverny and exhibit her art in the Pierre Bonnard home in Vernon. It was also during her time in France that Lovegrove began to paint The Beatles. She found much inspiration in Europe, due in part to her admiration of the works of Monet and Vincent Van Gogh.
Another influential artist in Lovegrove’s life was her mother. “My mother, Rosemary, was a great painter who inspired me to create from day one,” Lovegrove said in a 2024 Mother’s Day weekend Instagram post. She recalled painting her own bedsheets as a child and being warmly encouraged, rather than chastised. When it came to making art together, Lovegrove remembered, “as adults, we always tried to outdo each other … we reveled in this love fest of artistic passion and exploration.” On the ultimate origins of Lovegrove’s artistry and talent, Cushman said with a smile, “maybe she was born this way.” Find her artwork and more at LeomaLovegrove.Store.
Audiences flocked to Lovegrove’s shows to be showered in glitter, listen to roaring music, and witness the creation of a masterpiece with intense speed.