The Laker/Lutz News

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Larry's Deli

Work by local artists leaves a lasting impression

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It was morning, but the heat was beating down on Caren Stevens, as she stood on a scaffold creating a mural.

It’s the kind of work she’s been doing for years.

Caren Stevens is seen illuminating the side wall of E & W Carpets Inc., in Land O’ Lakes on May 7. She and her sister, Dannie Jean, make up the art company, Art Inherited, which does work locally and abroad. (Brian Fernandes)

As Caren painted, her sister and fellow artist Dannie Jean looked up, to examine their latest art project: A mural at E & W Carpets Inc. –  a Land O’ Lakes landmark.

The colorful scene depicts a dock leading to a deep, blue ocean.

The work, which began just a week before, was approaching completion.

“The real creativity is taking our hands and putting what’s in the client’s mind on their wall,” Caren explained.

For nearly 30 years, the sisters have been part of a family owned business called Art Inherited.

Dannie Jean, left, and Caren Stevens are the sisters who own Art Inherited. For decades, they’ve been creating interior and exterior mural paintings, nationally and internationally. (Courtesy of Dannie Jean Stevens)

The company was initially made up of Caren and Dannie Jean; their two other sisters, Carol and Melody; and their mother, Billie.

The concept for the name came from the ladies adopting their mother’s gift as an artist, as they grew up watching her create oil paintings and pottery.

Before they teamed up, Dannie Jean said, “all of us sisters were doing something in art, but we were all doing different things.”

Collaborating together, the family designed murals, as well as tile and graphic art, among other works.

The business gained recognition, but began to dwindle in size when Melody moved out of state, and both their sister, Carol, and mother, passed away.

Art Inherited’s unique style provides this bathroom with an elegant yet relaxing scenery. (Courtesy of Dannie Jean Stevens)

But, Dannie Jean and Caren continue to put their gifts to use, remembering what their mother used to tell them: “In order to grow, art must be shared.”

The sisters began to shift their focus more on mural paintings and were hired to design artwork in model homes — which gave potential clients a chance to get a glimpse of what the artists had to offer.

Dannie Jean sketches what clients envision for their space and Caren brings the image to life through her colorful, crafted paintings.

So, what began with artwork in Sarasota model homes soon branched out to different areas of Tampa Bay.

Some of their clients have included the Northwest Community Church in Tampa; Larry’s Deli in Land O’ Lakes; and, the children’s emergency wing at the Medical Center of Trinity.

Who says art always has to be serious? In this painting, Caren Stevens uses humor to bring a smile to sick kids at the children’s emergency wing of the Medical Center of Trinity. (Courtesy of Dannie Jean Stevens)

Former baseball player Mariano Rivera was a client, too.

Client requests range from nature scenes, to religious imagery, to paintings of  animals.

The women have also developed an international reputation from work they’ve completed in the Bahamas and France.

Their artistry, Dannie Jean said, begins “with a God-given talent.”

“But, then it has to be nurtured,” she said.

“It’s fun,” she added, explaining “you get into the zone. It’s like reading a book – you’re just into it.”

Of the countless projects that Caren has worked on, her favorite was the interior of the Northwest Community Church.

She worked on the four-year project with her twin sister Carol, which made it special.

“It was so invigorating, so much fun,” Caren recalled. “That was one of my best memories that I had with my sister.”

Dannie Jean and Caren are at the helm of the company now, but occasionally they hire assistants for big assignments.

For this latest project, Caren has been working to give E & W’s bare wall a three-dimensional feel.

As seen here in Tampa’s Northwest Community Church, religious imagery is also in demand by clients of Art Inherited. (Courtesy of Dannie Jean Stevens)

Aside from the company name and contact information, the painting includes  two dogs at the front of a boardwalk, which is surrounded by palms trees and leads to a bay where a boat is docked.

It’s precisely what Chad Walter, the company owner, had envisioned.

“I saw something online that I liked,” Walter said. “It was the water scene.”

Walter said he wanted the mural to draw the attention of motorists as they traveled by — to attract business.

The building’s side wall faces drivers who are heading north on Land O’ Lakes Boulevard.

The new amenity also comes as E & W celebrates its 50th anniversary in business this year.

Kevin Barnes, who handles the company’s sales, said the painting has an advantage that social media ads don’t.

“What I like about it is, it’s concrete,” he said. “It’s going to be there forever.”

The sisters are no strangers to E & W. They’ve done work there before and plan to work there in the future.

While the sisters note that they’re imparting a lasting legacy through their art, they also realize they’re responding to the client’s vision and having an impact on those who view their work.

“I think it’s neat that we leave a little part of ourselves in so many places,” Dannie Jean said. “You don’t know who’s being touched by that.”

To find out more about the company, visit ArtInherited.com.

Published May 22, 2019

Land O’ Lakes native screening TV pilot

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Ryan Paul James’ first brush with fame came at the age of 6, when his name was listed in The Laker/Lutz News.

“I was playing Little League there, with the Red Sox. All of the players were mentioned there in an article,” said James, a former Land O’ Lakes resident, now an actor and writer who lives in Los Angeles.

Since moving to L.A., he’s performed in two dozen plays, has written 10 plays and is now shopping a pilot for a television show he’s written called “The Comeback Kids.”

The show is about a pair of actors who were famous as children and are attempting a comeback, decades later.

Melissa Disney is married to Ryan Paul James, who grew up in Land O’ Lakes. He’s shopping a television pilot, ‘The Comeback Kids,’ and she’s an acclaimed voiceover artist. She’s also related to Walt Disney, although she never met him. (Courtesy of Ryan Paul james)
Melissa Disney is married to Ryan Paul James, who grew up in Land O’ Lakes. He’s shopping a television pilot, ‘The Comeback Kids,’ and she’s an acclaimed voiceover artist. She’s also related to Walt Disney, although she never met him.
(Courtesy of Ryan Paul james)

While no one has picked up the television show yet, it has been screened at film festivals in such places as Los Angeles, Honolulu, Miami, Switzerland, Australia and London.

It also has picked up a number of awards.

It’s a project James has been working on for five years. He’s written eight episodes of the show and has casted most of them, with different stars who would be making appearances as themselves, or performing a role in the sitcom.

The TV pilot most recently screened on June 10 at The Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.

James said his desire to act began when he was a young boy, when his dad was a wildlife officer and the family lived on the grounds of Pine View Middle School in Land O’ Lakes.

“Living in the middle of nowhere and playing there on the campus of Pine View, I would let my imagination go.

“I remember, that, like for a year, they were building their (Pine View Middle) gym. I don’t think I can get in trouble for this anymore — but I would go in there and play Indiana Jones,” James said.

“I would watch probably too much television,” he added.

His acting debut came in 1994 when he played the role of a Mousekateer on the Mickey Mouse Club, filmed in Orlando. His acting teacher, who was the show’s casting director, got him the gig, he said.

He knew from the beginning the role would be a short run.

“When I was brought on, they’d already announced that the show was cancelled,” James said.

He replaced a cast member who wanted to go to Los Angeles to pursue a music career.

James moved to Los Angeles in 1995 to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

But, that didn’t last long, either.

“I was so homesick, and I hated L.A. — could not stand it,” he said.

So, he returned to the Tampa Bay area, where he became a disc jockey on 100.7 Kiss FM.

“I wasn’t really looking to get into radio, but it just happened for me. I bounced around to a couple of other radio stations. A radio station out here in Los Angeles heard one of my air checks, and they called me up and wanted to see if I would be interested in coming out here,” he said.

He wasn’t sure what he wanted to do.

So, he prayed about it.

“I was like, ‘God, you’ve got to give me a sign here’,” James said.

He knew he couldn’t afford to move to L.A., but within a month of his prayer, he had booked two national commercials and had received the offer from the radio station.

“And, so I thought, ‘I’ll give L.A. one more shot.’

“Here I am, 12 years later, married, with a kid,” James said.

His wife, Melissa Disney — a cousin of Walt Disney — is a voiceover artist.

Though not a household name like her cousin, she has attracted her own share of fame.

She narrated the trailer for the action movie, “Gone in 60 Seconds,” — widely credited as one of the first major movie trailers to employ a female voice, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She also has voiced The Academy Awards, The Emmy’s and the Billboard Music Awards.

While James and his wife work in the industry, their 4-year-old son, Ryder, gets a chance to dip into the lifestyle, too. He already has met such international stars as Madonna, Harrison Ford and James Earl Jones.

Although the Land O’ Lakes native has lived in L.A., for a dozen years, he still gets homesick and travels back to the area to visit family a couple of times a year.

Every time he comes home, he must make one stop before returning to L.A.

He drops by Larry’s Deli, on Land O’ Lakes Boulevard, where he loads up on Cuban sandwiches to take back to California.

The mere mention of them, James said during a recent telephone interview, makes his mouth water.

Published June 15, 2016