Bio

Tonya Toole is a retired Florida State University professor of Exercise Science who has been active in watercolor since 2005. She has studied with local portrait watercolorist, Suzanna Winton, and Tallahassee Senior Center Instructors, Laura Bell, Linda Pelc, and currently, Rosemary Ferguson. She won Best of Show, Academy Category, at the Tallahassee Senior Center Insider’s Exhibition, 3^rd place and Honorable Mention at the Tallahassee Senior Center Personal Expressions Exhibition, and 1^st place at the Tallahassee Senior Center Insiders’ Show. She has also displayed her works at other juried exhibits in 2008 at the Florida Senior Art Showcase, Thomasville Cultural Center Summer Showcase, Tallahassee Watercolor Society’s Brush Strokes Exhibit and the 2009 TaWS Tri-State Exhibit, Brush Strokes, and Florida Senior Art Showcase. She was accepted for the Georgia Watercolor Society Exhibition in Jonesboro, GA and won Honorable Mention in 2009 when she also won 1st place in the Amateur Division at the North Florida Fair. Tonya had her painting "Blue-footed Booby Dance" accepted in the Watercolor Society of Alabama National Exhibition in 2010. In addition, her paintings have been shown at non-juried exhibits including the FSU Medical College’s Art Gallery, Wakulla Springs Wildlife and Art Festival, and Mexico Beach Art Festival. She has shorebird paintings on display at the Sea Oat Gallery in St. George Island, FL. Tonya has a love of nature and especially birds which are her favorite painting models. She is a member of the Tallahassee Watercolor Society for which she serves as Secretary and Fundraising Chair, the Georgia Watercolor Society, the Watercolor Society of Alabama, the LeMoyne Center for the Visual Arts, and the Gadsden Art Center.