There are only a few shrimp boats left in Key West

We just returned from a three week Florida painting trip.  ’Spent one morning painting what is left of the Key West shrimp boats on Stock Island.  It was nice to get back there and talk to the guys on the waterfront.  They’re a little different crowd than you find on Duval Street.  The old boats are being displaced by pleasure boats, and the old workshops are being converted into condos.  The place is getting all gussied-up, but I miss the old days when there was more junk and it smelled bad.  The place has lost some of its soul, but there’s no sense in getting all sentimental about it.  I wonder what happened to some of the old characters like Monkey Tom.  I hope he’s at peace somewhere with a can of beer and a cigarette.

2009 Update

Its seemed like a good idea and lots of fun to start this site, but I just haven’t had time to keep up with it lately.  Feel free to email the Sobrans with any questions or comments on our travels or paintings.  We have been traveling and I have been painting, as always, and the new paintings gallery should give you an idea where we’ve been in the last year.  There are many other paintings in our inventory, so email us if you have something special in mind.  We can email you individual images of other paintings.

~Greg Sobran

Aspen

Greg Paints on a sunny morning in Aspen.  The weather was perfect and the people were friendly as always in this little mountain town.  Heather Rousseau took this picture of the local paper and published it the next day.

Aspen is a very friendly place for dogs as well as for people, and our little dog Jigs was welcome in many restaurants and was successfully snuck into the rest.  He can “lay low” in his little bag when necessary and has even been smuggled onto airplanes to save fare.  That is no longer necessary as he now has official “service dog” status (see his website: www.myjigs.wordpress.com.

Panama

Greg, Wanda and Jigs all had a wonderful three weeks in Panama, staying in the homes of Bruce Young and his lovely wife, Giselle.  No, this is not Giselle and Bruce in the picture.  This is Bruce and Jane Mansfield; taken some years back when Bruce was in Vietnam with the U.S. Navy.  Giselle is every bit as lovely, and Bruce is still smiling these days.  Our artist’s family made visits to several parts of Panama including Giselle’s marvelous penthouse apartment overlooking Panama City, the Pacific Ocean and the entrance to the canal.  From there, they went to Playa Blanco on the Pacific, a few hours drive, then they flew to Boquete.  This is a wonderful village up in the mountains near the border of Costa Rica.  Boquete is a paradise known for bananas and coffee.  Life is very relaxed for the three main populations: the local “Indians” who live very simply outside of the villages; the Spanish, who tend to be a little more mechanized and “20th century”; and the Gringo retirees who seem to prefer gated communities recreating their U.S. and European neighborhoods.  Everyone gets along very well and there is very little crime.  The cost of living is extremely low and fresh, good food is plentiful.  Excellent South American wine can be had for prices that seem ridiculously low compared to the rest of the world.  The climate is perfect all year-round and the wildlife and the birds are spectacular.  There are some old hippies and even VW vans which they probably drove down from California years ago.  The road ends in Panama as it is separated from Columbia by a massive, impenetrable jungle that forms a natural border.  You must fly or take a boat if you wish to travel further South.