Exploring Downtown Fort Myers

In my last blog, I told you I was going downtown to visit some galleries and to take photos of street scenes and buildings. An artist never knows when he or she is going to use these as background in a painting.

Urban paintings are a hot item right now, so I’m hoping I’ll find something in these photos that will inspire me. One young woman coming through a brick alley was striking in black boots and white tunic. I asked her if I could take her picture. She declined. You can barely see her walking toward me in the scene.



Fort Myers with its brick walkways and streets is probably classier than most, and on a weekday there are fewer people except on the lunch hour when they exit the buildings and stores like ants and flood the nearby restaurants.

The Caloosahatchee River is a short walk from First Avenue, so we were able to get some interesting photos of piers, bridges, and pilings (a must for painting pelicans and seagulls). Boats were churning through the water and under the bridge. A few fishermen dangled their lines from the wharf, and a group of teens gathered after school to roller blade and exchange gossip.



Some homeless men had ridden their bicycles into Centennial Park and were swapping stories with one another as we passed. We waved and said hello. By the sound of things, perhaps we made their day.

Doorways make good subjects for paintings, and my friend, Annie, took many more than I did. I’m a people person and would have liked more scenes with people, but that just didn’t happen.

Will I use any of these photos in a painting or will they just be filed “reference photos.” I’ll never know until the muse strikes. I hope you enjoyed seeing a tiny part of the Fort Myers I love. It is unique, memorable, and has ten remarkable art galleries within walking distance, theatre, and fifteen plus restaurants from white linen bistros offering fresh seafood and wine to pizza parlors and Chicago style hot dog cafes.

I don’t know about you, but if this is “small town” living, I’m lovin’ it!