ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Margaret Bayalis picked up a love of painting as a child. Now in her 70s, she’s using her skills to cheer up others.
“I think the self-expression, it’s just a really nice way to chill out and it’s something I feel like I can do pretty well,” said Bayalis, who's from St. Petersburg.
Portraits have always been her favorite thing to paint. Last week, she decided to focus her attention on painting portraits as keepsakes for families who have lost loved ones to the COVID-19 pandemic. Anyone who wants a portrait of a lost loved one will get one from Bayalis, who just wants to make people smile through tragedy.
“It’s given my work purpose,” she said. “Before I came up with this idea, I was having some issues with inspiration. I just felt sort of burnt out.”
So far, Bayalis has completed portraits of two women, Earlene and Lillie, and is working on a third, Marguerite, who died after just four days after getting COVID-19.
“I feel like I’m doing something positive for my community,” Bayalis said.
She initially broadcasted her intentions on the NextDoor app. She got six takers almost immediately. She hopes people outside of her neighborhood hear about her act of generosity.
“Any kind of art creates a connection. Somebody sees it and there is something about it that they connect to,” her husband John said. “The kind of art Margaret is creating creates a real connection between the people that are lost and the people who are still here and I think that’s why it’s very special.”
Both John and Margaret have art on display at the Woodfield Fine Art at 2253 Central Ave. If you’d like to have your loved one’s portrait painted by Bayalis, email her at margaret@bayalistudio.com.
You can also find her work at her online studio.
What other people are reading right now:
- Sarasota parents fight back against school mask mandate with lawsuit
- Can I change my vote in Florida? Google search spikes after President Trump's tweet
- Police: Florida man drinks whiskey, steals front-end loader and plows over Biden signs
- Voting by mail? Here's when the U.S. Postal Service says it should be signed, sealed and sent
- Here's the full 2020 World Series schedule
- Hurricane warnings issued for parts of the US; Tropical Storm Zeta expected to regain strength
- What you need to know about the 6 constitutional amendments on Florida ballots
►Breaking news and weather alerts: Get the free 10 Tampa Bay app
►Stay In the Know! Sign up now for the Brightside Blend Newsletter