Spread Love One

C Fi 9830

As lockdown was occurring in downtown Sarasota, a viral message of love was spreading. Seemingly from the ether, a painted canvas, wood or piece of cardboard saying "Spread Love" would appear on a storefront planter, leaning against a tree and elsewhere in the community. This message eased a smile and settled rattled brains as people adjusted to wearing masks while exercising and moving about town. Uplifting thoughts made it somewhat easier to make eye contact with people that were hard to read under the relative anonymity of the mask. The notion of love "spreading" like a virus allowed people to transition thinking from illness to love, a healthy approach.

Artist

Brandon head

Brandon Thrift

Brandon Thrift's 'Spread Love' journey is a multi-faceted, ongoing artistic installment showcasing a particular combined stylistic approach of creative abstract expressionism, the fundamental concept of youthful emotion, and explosively raw innocence.

Brandon Thrift is a Sarasota, FL native, artist, musician, and lover.

His Spread Love journey began in early April 2020 amidst a global pandemic from the ashes of mental tribulation, the necessity for cathartic rebelliousness and personal development, sprung forth an innate pursuit of youthful expressionism.

Utilizing his surroundings he fueled his artistic fire with anything he could get his hands on from broken down furniture, to used canvases, mirrors and old bedsheets. In June 2020 alone, he spent about a month on the road, traveling over 13,000 miles from state to state sprinkling around hundreds Spread Love pieces for people to receive the message.

Since then, he has continuously traveled to 43/50 United States sharing the fundamentally connective message of love.

From the inception of this project, he has created and shared almost 3,000 individual pieces of art." I was so kindly asked by Bill & Denise to be a part of this particular artistic exhibition showcasing the last 100 years of Sarasota culture and gratefully accepted the invitation! It was lovely being able to connect with this part of the community, with like minded individuals, and incredibly talented artists to create a collection of art! In two separate sidewalk squares, I am showcasing my signature SPREAD LOVE lettering atop the paint splatter background.