If you are a musician or an artist, why not settle in a place where tourists arrive daily by boat, plane and car. We have met many, many folk on Key West who have some sort of artistic talent. Two of my favorite people are Suzanne Pereira and her husband Tortuga Jack. Suzanne comes to volunteer on the mural most days and is a wealth of knowledge about the art happenings in the area. She and Jack took Baily and on on what we now refer to as field trips to different mural sites, art galleries, poetry readings, churches, and some really amazing ceramics at the community college. We are feeling somewhat spoiled with all the attention but can’t say no to the company and experiences.

Suzanne is a very modest artist. She took us to a restaurant where she worked on a collaborative mural with several other artists. The wall is short but wraps around the seating area. Every artist was allowed to create a piece on the wall in their own personal style. Her subject matter, honoring the life of “Reefa”  a graffiti artist who was tased to death by Miami Police in 2013, is a beautiful, colorful tribute to how his life impacted others.

Suzanne also worked as a volunteer on another mosaic with children which is on the outside of a CVS drug store (12 Duval Street: go around to back wall) Very playful with bright color and local sites depicted.

A really hidden mural is all the way to the very end of the Island where the USCGC Ingham Maritime Museum is located. (The only Coast Guard Cutter afloat today to receive two
Presidential Unit Citations for extraordinary heroism)  Look to the right and you will see a not so appealing white Navy building. walk down  bit and look behind it fora surreal mural that was done during the Key West Chalk Fest.

Suzanne showed us another painted mural on a wall opposite the Blue Heaven restaurant:

We have been invited to many events, boat cruises, and art parties by neighbors and people just walking by the mural site. Key West feels very friendly and open that way. I bump into runners in the morning and they are happy to converse. Mary, who walks her dog daily by the mural, invited us to listen to her play guitar and sing at a French Restaurant called Bistro Sole. We enjoyed the low lit garden atmosphere with hints of formality. Two glasses of wine, a bowl of clams with bread and a bike ride back to the van for a cool night sleep. Pinch me. This is January is it not?