Ta Daaa....Thank You, Stuart, Florida
After almost three months of painting, mostly seven days a week, in the sun, I have finished the murals at 47 West Osceola Ave. in Stuart, Florida.
The plan was for me to finish this last week painting another mural inside the alcove. That idea was scrapped and instead, I painted the numbers on the keystone over the front entry. And that was it...done.....finished.
The last corner I finished, which I mentioned in my previous post, is the Ashley Gang corner. As you can see in the first photo, they have just emerged from inside what could be a bank, or not, hands and pockets full of the money they just made off with, and apparently quite pleased with themselves.
The next photo shows the lower niche in that corner which various elements that depict the history of the Ashley Gang as they pertain to Stuart, in particular.
The most interesting element, and a surprise to me, was that large poster in the lower left corner. It's an over sized image of a movie poster. The movie is called "Little Laura and Big John" and was actually filmed in Stuart. It was apparently all about the adventures, and demise, of the Ashley Gang. I've not yet viewed the movie but I read, and was told, that it's really bad. It starred Karen Black and Fabian and was distributed by Crown International Pictures, famous, I believe, for their 'B' movies. I guess this one was more like a 'C'.
Some of the other elements are a wanted poster showing an actual image of John Ashley. Next to that is a framed portrait of Sheriff R.C. "Bob" Baker, who ultimately arrested the gang. Below is a 20's era photo of the old bank that the gang robbed, which is now a restaurant called The Ashley Restaurant. Great food....
Up above in the little alcove you'll find bags of money and jugs of rum and moonshine, socked away by the gang.
And last, but not least, is the finishing touch...the address....
And so.....I'm back home. I've mentioned previously all the nice people I met in Stuart....and I'd like to mention those that I can remember....recall that I spent the entire summer in the sun...so I probably lost quite a few brain cells in the process....more than normal and more than I could afford.....
The people I met and would like to thank....at least some of them...
First and foremost would be Mike Ryan, the developer. A great guy, easy to work with and very understanding. Not only did Mike expand the amount of work I was initially expecting to do, he trusted me. I didn't always have sketches 'approved' for many of the smaller windows and even parts of the larger niches. We really collaborated on much of the project and in fact, the Frances Langford corner was his idea, and a good one, at that. And what a great family he is surrounded by...Tommy., Larry, wife Lyla (gee...I hope I got that right....) and darn...I forget some of the others names. Great crew....
Thank you just as much to Robert Flagg. This is the guy that contacted me way back....over a year ago. He was the original developer and the guy with the vision to paint Trompe L'oeil windows on the sides of the building.....so thank you Bob.
Mayor Mary Hutchinson, who I sort of met by accident. I was waiting for some storm clouds to pass so I could go paint and stopped by her husbands gallery. We had some great conversations and her husband is very talented.....and he designed the street flags in Stuart, as well. Also Chuck and Robin from the Community Redevelopment Department, who told me about Stuart's previous mural program.
The Tram guys, especially the one who mostly works what might be the 'second shift'. He often brought his riders by to show me working on the murals.
Linda from the Geoffrey Smith Gallery. I painted her dog in one of the windows. I regret that I ended up leaving on a Wednesday....I forgot that they are closed then so I never got to say goodbye to Linda...darn.....I'll be back though.
Tara and the crew from the Ashley Restaurant. Also Jeff, Lolli and Mike from the Black Marlin. I never took time to eat there....but I will.
Paul Daly, owner of the Flager Grill and Bar, who talked me into joining a meeting of the Downtown Merchant's Assoc., after I just got off the lift, all soaking wet and dirty....thanks for the beer, Bernie.
Terri Monaghan from the Martin County Convention & Visitors Bureau, who I met at the above meeting and sent letters to other periodicals suggesting articles about the murals.....
The Stuart/Martin County Chamber of Commerce for placing my press release on their website.
Tom Corcoran, of TreasureCoast.net property management for showing me that great condo I stayed in for almost three months. Also a pro football fanatic like myself....
Albert and crew from Albert G.'s as well as Debbie from the place next door. They all often 'checked up' on me....just to check my progress. It was great meeting you all...
The nice lady from Rhetta B's across the street. Of course, I forgot her name, too, even though we talked a few times. Maybe that was Rhetta!
Of course all the guys that worked on the building while I was there.....
John....who posed for my fisherman corner.
Mark, the job super.
Patrick, Jamie and Jamie Lee, the painters. Patrick is a Dallas Cowboys fan....too bad.
The tile guys.
Chris the handyman and his assistant...
And last, but not the least, Pat Beonde', who stopped by to check up on me often, many times accompanied by friends (I think she knows everyone in Stuart). And for inviting us to her great birthday party, where I met even more nice folks.
I'm sure I forgot someone.....but that only means I forgot while I'm writing this....as things come back to me, I'll add them here....
So that's it for my 'Summer in Stuart". Onward to the next project....
Once again, Thank you Stuart, FL.
Skip
The plan was for me to finish this last week painting another mural inside the alcove. That idea was scrapped and instead, I painted the numbers on the keystone over the front entry. And that was it...done.....finished.
The last corner I finished, which I mentioned in my previous post, is the Ashley Gang corner. As you can see in the first photo, they have just emerged from inside what could be a bank, or not, hands and pockets full of the money they just made off with, and apparently quite pleased with themselves.
The next photo shows the lower niche in that corner which various elements that depict the history of the Ashley Gang as they pertain to Stuart, in particular.
The most interesting element, and a surprise to me, was that large poster in the lower left corner. It's an over sized image of a movie poster. The movie is called "Little Laura and Big John" and was actually filmed in Stuart. It was apparently all about the adventures, and demise, of the Ashley Gang. I've not yet viewed the movie but I read, and was told, that it's really bad. It starred Karen Black and Fabian and was distributed by Crown International Pictures, famous, I believe, for their 'B' movies. I guess this one was more like a 'C'.
Some of the other elements are a wanted poster showing an actual image of John Ashley. Next to that is a framed portrait of Sheriff R.C. "Bob" Baker, who ultimately arrested the gang. Below is a 20's era photo of the old bank that the gang robbed, which is now a restaurant called The Ashley Restaurant. Great food....
Up above in the little alcove you'll find bags of money and jugs of rum and moonshine, socked away by the gang.
And last, but not least, is the finishing touch...the address....
And so.....I'm back home. I've mentioned previously all the nice people I met in Stuart....and I'd like to mention those that I can remember....recall that I spent the entire summer in the sun...so I probably lost quite a few brain cells in the process....more than normal and more than I could afford.....
The people I met and would like to thank....at least some of them...
First and foremost would be Mike Ryan, the developer. A great guy, easy to work with and very understanding. Not only did Mike expand the amount of work I was initially expecting to do, he trusted me. I didn't always have sketches 'approved' for many of the smaller windows and even parts of the larger niches. We really collaborated on much of the project and in fact, the Frances Langford corner was his idea, and a good one, at that. And what a great family he is surrounded by...Tommy., Larry, wife Lyla (gee...I hope I got that right....) and darn...I forget some of the others names. Great crew....
Thank you just as much to Robert Flagg. This is the guy that contacted me way back....over a year ago. He was the original developer and the guy with the vision to paint Trompe L'oeil windows on the sides of the building.....so thank you Bob.
Mayor Mary Hutchinson, who I sort of met by accident. I was waiting for some storm clouds to pass so I could go paint and stopped by her husbands gallery. We had some great conversations and her husband is very talented.....and he designed the street flags in Stuart, as well. Also Chuck and Robin from the Community Redevelopment Department, who told me about Stuart's previous mural program.
The Tram guys, especially the one who mostly works what might be the 'second shift'. He often brought his riders by to show me working on the murals.
Linda from the Geoffrey Smith Gallery. I painted her dog in one of the windows. I regret that I ended up leaving on a Wednesday....I forgot that they are closed then so I never got to say goodbye to Linda...darn.....I'll be back though.
Tara and the crew from the Ashley Restaurant. Also Jeff, Lolli and Mike from the Black Marlin. I never took time to eat there....but I will.
Paul Daly, owner of the Flager Grill and Bar, who talked me into joining a meeting of the Downtown Merchant's Assoc., after I just got off the lift, all soaking wet and dirty....thanks for the beer, Bernie.
Terri Monaghan from the Martin County Convention & Visitors Bureau, who I met at the above meeting and sent letters to other periodicals suggesting articles about the murals.....
The Stuart/Martin County Chamber of Commerce for placing my press release on their website.
Tom Corcoran, of TreasureCoast.net property management for showing me that great condo I stayed in for almost three months. Also a pro football fanatic like myself....
Albert and crew from Albert G.'s as well as Debbie from the place next door. They all often 'checked up' on me....just to check my progress. It was great meeting you all...
The nice lady from Rhetta B's across the street. Of course, I forgot her name, too, even though we talked a few times. Maybe that was Rhetta!
Of course all the guys that worked on the building while I was there.....
John....who posed for my fisherman corner.
Mark, the job super.
Patrick, Jamie and Jamie Lee, the painters. Patrick is a Dallas Cowboys fan....too bad.
The tile guys.
Chris the handyman and his assistant...
And last, but not the least, Pat Beonde', who stopped by to check up on me often, many times accompanied by friends (I think she knows everyone in Stuart). And for inviting us to her great birthday party, where I met even more nice folks.
I'm sure I forgot someone.....but that only means I forgot while I'm writing this....as things come back to me, I'll add them here....
So that's it for my 'Summer in Stuart". Onward to the next project....
Once again, Thank you Stuart, FL.
Skip
posted by Painterskip at 8:23 AM
1 Comments:
You write very well.
Post a Comment
<< Home