Art Galleries on Matlacha & Pine Island

A lightness enters my soul as I drive across the bridge to Matlacha. Perhaps it's the water on all sides, or the lingering remnants of Calusa culture. Maybe it's the distinct quality of light, and life, that infuses this tiny community long home to fishermen who haul in their catch at the end of a fruitful day on the water. Or maybe it's the artists who've brought their rainbow-hued world to this stretch of Matlacha, their brightly colored galleries reflecting the work – and personalities – inside.

Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens

The pioneer is Leoma Lovegrove, an effervescent woman whose passion for art is contagious. At Lovegrove Gallery & Gardens, the outside is decorated with vibrant hot pink polka dots on a sea-blue background. Inside, you'll find prints and originals of Lovegrove's work.

As I take in the variety of images, I find myself humming a Beatles tune, inspired by Lovegrove's series that pays homage to the Fab Four. Paint your own souvenir on a seashell, wooden fish or tile or send a hand painted Coco-Note to someone back home.

Wild Child Art Gallery

Next door is Wild Child Art Gallery, where you'll find an eclectic mix of creations from more than 120 Southwest Florida artists, including those of owner Peggy McTeague, who specializes in metal sculptures and fountains. Wild Child has an outdoor space with a colorful waterside deck and a garden rocking chair made in part from welded horseshoes. The gallery hosts weekly demonstrations by area artists October through April.

Traders Hitching Post

Cross the road to Traders Hitching Post, featuring silver and turquoise jewelry and award-winning art with a Southwestern flavor. Owners Jerry and Cindee Tolliver seek out traditional and contemporary Native American pieces, such as kachina dolls, Navajo pottery, peace pipes and faces carved out of cottonwood. The original Matlacha art gallery, Traders has been at the same location for more than 25 years.

Crossed Palms Gallery

I'm off to the north tip of Pine Island in search of Crossed Palms Gallery and the old settlement of Bokeelia, a charming outpost overlooking Charlotte Harbor. True to the gallery’s name, a pair of palms frame the waterfront view, crossed decorously.

Crossed Palms represents about 120 painters, sculptors, potters, jewelers and glass artists. Blenko glass shares space with famed Sanibel artist Ikki Matsumoto's graphics-inspired paintings, and there's lovely gold sea-life jewelry from the imagination and workbench of Evan Lloyd. Pottery glazes range from the subtle to the sublime.

Koucky Gallery

The spirit of individuality is alive and well at Koucky (pronounced Koo-ske) Gallery, near the turnoff to Pineland on Baypoint Road on Pine Island. Nancy and Chuck Koucky bought the old plant nursery called McGowan's Farm and made it their home and gallery and Chuck's pottery studio, where he teaches classes and creates his functional pieces in the colors of earth, sea and sky. I love his brie bakers, which come with recipes inside.