The Hogansville Hummingbird Festival has selected the artwork to represent this fall’s Hummingbird Festival.

Elisa Dallas’ painting of two green, ruby-throated hummingbirds on a blue background was the winning piece out of 30 entries, according to a press release from the festival committee. 

“We had so many great pieces to choose from,” said Mary Stewart of the Festival committee.

“The committee thought Elisa’s bright, whimsical painting really brought to mind our festival.”

Dallas’s acrylic painting, with its geometric lines and elegant flowers, evokes the Art Deco or Art Nouveau style of art.

“I love Art Deco and Art Nouveau,” Dallas said. 

In fact, when Dallas and her husband were looking for houses in the region, Hogansville’s Royal Theater was a big attraction for them. The theater was built in 1937 in the Art Deco style. 

“We’re excited that the city plans to restore the theater,” she said.

Dallas’ husband is also an artist. He built a bright blue oversized rocking chair that is reminiscent of Lily Tomlin as “Edith Ann” to those of a certain age. The chair adorns the family’s front porch, which is visible from Main Street. Their daughter will attend Hogansville Elementary School this fall. 

Dallas’s father was an artist and she can’t remember a time in her life when she wasn’t involved in some way with art.

“My dad had a ton of art books,” Dallas said. “He wanted us to be exposed to all kinds of art.” 

As a child, she liked to make cut-outs using scissors. She even constructed little books at home, and her love of books has stayed with her. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Georgia, specializing in printmaking and book arts.

“My work in printmaking helped develop my painting style,” Dallas said. “But after a while, I was ready to simplify.” 

She let her printing press go and she now focuses on writing and illustrating children’s books. She’s completed the story and illustrations for one children’s book, and she has several others in process. She’s in the market for a literary agent, and she’s a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

Dallas will have a booth at this year’s Hummingbird Festival on Oct. 20-21 in Hogansville. 

“I have several pieces already that I’ll have at my booth,” she said. 

Between now and then, she’s planning to make other pieces that will be geared toward the festival. She posts about her art online at Elisa-dallas.squarespace.com, and on Instagram as elisa.dallas.

Elisa Dallas’s original framed painting will hang in Hogansville’s City Hall along with the works of previous festival artists. As in past years, this year’s art will be used in the designs for the festival t-shirt, poster, and guidebook. Those designs will be revealed in the coming weeks, and 2018 festival t-shirts will be available for sale in the early fall.