ThInK bIg, Go PlAcEs, CeLeBrAtE

This is another one of my favorite artists, Carrie Disrud. I have no idea where she is now, but she used to live in Florida, in the Key West area. I love her primitive, colorful art. This painting, if you can believe it, was commissioned for me by my brother for my birthday. How cool is that?

I visited Key West only once. I loved the weather, the water, the scooters but wasn't as enamoured as many with Duval Street and all the bars or the shops with all the pink flamingos and palm trees. Did you know that neither are indiginous to Key West? It's just how people imagine Key West so it's what the shops sell.

On my one and only trip down to the most southern tip of the United States, I found Carrie's shop off the beaten track. It was a cute little house, converted into her studio/shop, the Calypso Gallery (what a cool name?) on Whitehead Street. Carrie had painted clothes, furniture and canvases and displayed them inside and out. It was my kind of place and I loved everything she created.

My husband and step-son traveled to Key West a couple of years ago. They tell about the trek they went on in search of the Calypso Gallery. Sadly, it was no where to be found.