Located between Georgia and Tallahassee is a small town called Monticello, Florida which consists mostly of farm lands, dairies, and old plantation homes. Here my parents raised a family of five children. If you have ever heard the song "Small Town" by John Couger Mellencamp, it pretty much sums up my entire life. Monticello, which has no red lights, traffic jams, or places to go, was the perfect place to draw my life away.

Drawing was like magic to me. I spent at least 4 hours a day drawing since age four. I think my eyes grew big from the fascination of drawing! By the time I was 5, my family and friends were already calling me an artist. At 3, I had already figured out how to open a new gallon of paint and attempted to make my 2 year old brother help me paint small barn before our parents got home from work, but we weren't quite tall enough to do a very good job. Again in our new home at the age 4, I attempted to do a wall mural in the living room. My parents freaked! But the many years of dedication and hard work paid off when I won an art scholarship at the age of 15. My parents couldn't believe it! I had competed with over 6000 other artists and won 1 of 5 correspondence scholarships from an Art institute in Minnesota. I started receiving huge boxes in the mail filled with drawing tables, painting easels, and everything you couldn't buy at our non existent local art store.

I became bored with High School, so I took Early Admissions into College and earned a Bachelor's degree in Visual Communications/Studio Art at Tallahassee's Florida State University. Go Seminoles! I later earned a Digital Design Degree as well. After I graduated, I decided to teach art in Tallahassee at the "Brush & Palette Art Studio" which led me back to my hometown where I taught High School Art, Photography, and Journalism. What a delightful experience to give something back to my home town, and of course, to work along side with all the teachers that had taught me. The students were the greatest, and they gave me the courage to finally move to a bigger city to attempt to be a real artist, knowing that there was "little opportunity" in small towns for artists.

I decided to move to Orlando first, where I learned about Faux painting. I interior-designed and painted the new Gold's Gym in 1999 which would end up winning "The Best Gym of the Year" in 2000. I decided to become a self employed artist and move to Tampa, Florida. This is when I developed my business name Olly van Zapp and started keeping track of my art patrons. By this time I must have had hundreds of paintings and drawings in circulation signed Holly M. Sapp, their whereabouts unknown.

During the year 2002, I worked as an Art Director on an The Green Goddess, an independent film in Europe. My responsibilites included set design, photography, story-boarding, continuity, character development, and costume design. Check it out!

Since The Green Goddess I have continued to create oil paintings, faux paint and interior-design for restaurnts, bars, and high-end homes. One of my favorites is the Acropolis Taverna in Ybor City, Tampa, which can be seen elsewhere on this site.

Some people say I am a nomad since I will pick up and go anywhere to pursue this crazy art career, and they're probably right. Life has not one dull moment when you are an artist.

Thank you for visiting my web site!

© 2006 Olly van Zapp