NAUTICAL FINE ART by David Wegman
Walk down the street in Gustavia, St. Barths, to the eclectic eatery, Le Select. On the wall is a vivid mural of the establishment’s first location nearby, with the owners playing old-time dominos and a young guitar-strumming Jimmy Buffett. This is one of the masterful works of Wegman, who paints annually in five studios in the United States and Caribbean. “I don’t paint portraits or telephone poles, I paint what happens in my life. Every painting tells a story,” says Wegman, who counts Key West and Coral Bay, St. John, as inspiration as well as his eight-year circumnavigation in the 1990s aboard his sailboat, African Queen IV . Wegman’s casual pieces like the Cheeseburger in Paradise sign he painted for Le Select are among the most photographed, while his fine art such as a storm-tossed sailboat at sea titled
“How Many Times I’ve Prayed” are among his best-known. Wegman’s works are available at galleries on St. Barths and online. (facebook.com/david.wegman.77)
David Wegman painting
The Larimar Shop
LARIMAR JEWELRY by Angie Rodriguez Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but for Angie Rodriguez, who with her mother Cleo owns The Larimar Company, it’s a light blue semi- precious gem that is their “major amigo.” On the Dominican Republic’s southwest coast, the Barahona province is the only place in the world this crystallized mineral is mined. Larimar excavation started in earnest in the 1970s. For the last decade, the Rodriguezes buy stones direct from the miners and then work with local artists who fashion the Larimar into jewelry. “Each stone is so unique that every design, even if it’s the same style, is one-of-a-kind because of the stone’s different blue hues and bold patterns,” says Rodriguez. The duo’s most popular pieces of Larimar jewelry are earrings, bracelets and heart-shaped pendants. They have an online store, yet you can see Larimar close up at the Larimar Museum in Santo Domingo. Visitors can also book guided tours of the Larimar mines. (thelarimarshop.com)
David Wegman’s mural at Le Select in St. Barths
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WINTER 2022
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