Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation (MKAF) has named Jamie Babula of Panama City Beach as the Featured Poster Artist for the 31st Annual Festival of the Arts, set for Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 24-25, 2026, at the Mattie Kelly Dugas Pavilion Green in Destin.
Recognized as one of Northwest Florida's premier juried fine arts festivals, the two-day celebration brings together more than 100 acclaimed artists from across the country, along with live music, local cuisine, interactive children's activities and family-friendly entertainment.
Admission and parking are free.
For Babula, the honor represents the realization of a dream nearly three decades in the making.
"I first attended the Festival when I was 16 years old and remember dreaming about exhibiting here someday," Babula says. "To now be selected as the Featured Poster Artist is both an incredible honor and a little surreal."
At 44, Babula has spent nearly three decades inspired by the Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation Festival of the Arts. Known for her hyper-realistic colored-pencil drawings, the Panama City Beach artist creates remarkably lifelike works that often leave viewers questioning whether they're looking at a drawing or a photograph. A self-taught artist who later studied art at Gulf Coast State College, she has exhibited at the Festival numerous times and earned six MKAF Festival awards, including Best of Show, First Place, two Judges Recognition Awards and two Awards of Excellence.
Her featured artwork, Drawn to Paint (20 x 30 inches, colored pencil on paper), offers a fresh interpretation of the Festival's creative spirit. Rather than depicting a finished painting, Babula chose to draw an artist's palette featuring paint mixed to match the Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation's signature colors, capturing the quiet moment before creation begins.
"I thought, 'If I'm going to create the Festival poster, it still has to be me,'" Babula says. "I draw, so I drew the paint that would be used to create it."
Completed in approximately 60 to 70 hours using nearly 40 colored-pencil hues, the artwork reflects Babula's fascination with hyperrealism and her desire to spark curiosity.
"I hope people stop, ask questions and wonder whether they're looking at a drawing or a photograph," she says. "If it makes them curious, then I've done my job."
As the annual Featured Poster Artist, Babula will receive a $750 cash award, and the winning artwork will serve as the visual centerpiece of the Festival, appearing on the official Festival poster, Festival Guide, commemorative T-shirt, marketing campaign, website, social media and promotional materials throughout the year.
Festival attendees will have the opportunity to meet Babula, view Drawn to Paint on display and shop her collection of original artwork throughout the weekend. The original artwork will be included in a Silent Auction to benefit MKAF. The auction will be live during the Festival for those who would like to bid on it.
More than 100 artists from across the United States will compete for more than $10,000 in cash awards in 18 categories, including Best in Show and the People's Choice Award. Guests also can enjoy live entertainment, artist demonstrations, hands-on children's activities, an art raffle, local food vendors, a beer and wine garden, and more.
Proceeds from the Festival benefit MKAF's ArtsReach education initiatives, which provide arts programming for K-12 students, individuals with special needs and members of the military community along the Emerald Coast.
For more information, sponsorship opportunities or to become a Mattie Kelly Arts Foundation member, visit MKAF.org or call (850) 650-2226.
