Florida Landmarks, Lodgings & Legends: Drawings and sometimes accurate accounts

By Charles Greacen

When asked why I like to draw buildings my simple answer is that buildings don’t ever complain that you make them look fat.
The real truth is that buildings do speak to me. No, not in a creepy, haunted-house way or anything like that, but through styles, materials, and proportions, buildings tell much about their creators’ hopes and aspirations.
Respect has to be paid to the fact that most of these structures have lifespans far longer than our own. Lifespan is not inappropriate here; buildings are far more organic than they initially appear. Not too dissimilar from the way our own bodies constantly replace cells, our houses, schools, and stores undergo the replacement of roofs, windows, hardware, utilities, and more, throughout their existences. It is not unrealistic to think of these structures as shared exoskeletons that we shape around the ways we live, learn, and work.
When I moved sight-unseen to Florida I discovered a delightfully welcoming population and a rich diversity of architecture. Both continue to make me proud to call this my home.
Charles Greacen

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Meet the Author

Charles Greacen

Author

Charles Greacen was born in Camden, NJ, and was raised in the nearby town of Merchantville. He attended Denison University in Granville, OH, earning his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and receiving fellowships in both the school’s Fine Arts and Classics departments.
After graduating, he moved to Tampa, FL, and embarked on a career in the graphic arts field. He worked at the Tampa Tribune and Tampa Times as a staff artist, then Brewmasters Steakhouse, Inc. as Advertising and Public Relations Manager before opening his art studio, Charles Greacen Illustration & Graphics. Over the years CGI&G created logos, maps, cartoons and illustrations for all forms of print media. He produced a cartoon for two years for The Tampa Tribune and for 17 years published a weekly, topical cartoon for the Tampa Bay Times (formerly named St. Petersburg Times).
Almost 15 years ago he merged his rendering skills with an urge to create his own product line, opening Town Tiles to create unique items for museum stores and specialty shops throughout the country.
He lives in Tampa’s Hyde Park with his wife, writer Mary Scourtes Greacen, and is the father of two children, Alexandra and Scott.

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