Cover artist Abby Ober today lives and works in St. Michaels, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay. But she graduated from Rollins College in 1984 with a degree in fine art and has a special place in her heart for Winter Park.
Casa Feliz Vista, which was finished during the 2023 Winter Park Paint Out at the Albin Polasek Museum & Sculpture Gardens, marks Ober’s third cover for Winter Park Magazine. The previous two were Boathouse on Lake Osceola (Spring 2022) and Park Plaza (Summer 2021).
“I enjoyed the juxtaposition of the masonry of the farmhouse with the surrounding foliage,” says Ober, whose contemporary style explores expressive color and simplified shapes.
As a student, Ober worked as a prep chef at the Park Plaza Hotel’s restaurant, then The Palms (later Park Plaza Gardens and now Bovine, which is unaffiliated with the hotel). And, as a lover of plein air painting, she’s a regular at the Polasek’s annual event, where her works always sell quickly.
A native of Illinois, Ober spent her youth abroad as the daughter of a foreign service officer and lived in Poland, Germany, Russia, India and Greece. She dreamed of becoming an artist since childhood and attended the Corcoran School of Art in Washington, D.C., following her graduation from Rollins.
After a career in advertising Ober moved to Pennsylvania, where she raised two children and began teaching art to adults and children — including those with disabilities — at Wayne Art Center in Wayne, Pennsylvania. She also began a career as a fine artist, painting both in her studio and at plein air events across the country.
Ober’s work has been featured in exhibitions and is held in many private collections. She accepts commissions and does many personalized paintings for homes and businesses. See more of her work at abbyober.com or check out abbyart on Instagram.