Sherry Lynn Diaz
Local artist Sherry Lynn Diaz painted two murals for the Fort Myers River Basin project. The first is Mural #3, the great Seminole Alligator Chief and warrior Billy Bowlegs, and the second is Mural #15 of Major James Evans who homesteaded all of the land located within the old Seminole and Civil War fort in 1875.
Sherry has exhibited her art in juried local, state and national shows, earning awards on all three levels, including two well-received one-woman shows. Her art can be found in private and corporate collections in the Dominican Republic as well as many places throughout the United States. Sherry also had the distinction of painting the graphics and signs for the World’s Fair held in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1982, 
and also worked in the movie industry as a Scenic Artist.
Diaz has owned two art galleries, one in Florida and a second in the D.R., and has also judged numerous art shows.
Operating under the motto “Have brush, will travel,” Sherry Lynn paints in Naples, Marco Island, Bonita Springs, Estero, Sanibel, Captiva Islands and in many other homes and businesses in Lee, Collier and Charlotte Counties. She also paints in New York and New Jersey.
Sherry has shared her talent with neophyte, aspiring and mid-career artists
by teaching in Florida schools, art league workshops and volunteering her time to teach art in the Dominican Republic. She taught at Edison Community College as Professor Sherry Lynn (Lilly) and maintains an affiliation with several art leagues in this area. Sherry majored in Art at Ossining High School in Ossining, New York before going on to earn both a Bachelor’s and Master’s in Fine Art and Art Education at the University of South Florida.
For more information or to view her work, please visit https://www.CustomArtBySherry.com.
Sherry Lynn’s mural of Billy Bowlegs can be found at the Bay Street entrance to the detention basin, just outside the door to Ella Mae’s Diner in the Luminary Hotel. Her mural of Major James Evans is farther up the sidewalk at Edwards Drive, just outside the main entrance into Luminary Hotel. Audios providing the historic context for each mural are live on Otocast, the free mobile app that the City’s Public Art Committee is using to tell the public about the artworks in the City’s public art collection.
January 16, 2023; revised July 25, 2023.
About the Author
Tom Hall is both an amateur artist and aspiring novelist who writes art quest thrillers. He is in the final stages of completing his debut novel titled "Art Detective," a story that fictionalizes the discovery of the fabled billion-dollar Impressionist collection of Parisian art dealer Josse Bernheim-Jeune, thought by many to have perished during World War II when the collection's hiding place, Castle de Rastignac in southern France, was destroyed by the Wehrmacht in reprisal for attacks made by members of the Resistance operating in the area. A former tax attorney, Tom holds a bachelor's degree as well as both a juris doctorate and masters of laws in taxation from the University of Florida. Tom lives in Estero, Florida with his fiancee, Connie, and their four cats.