Artist David Wegman's studio, Saint Barthélemy, FWI...

I always love a chance to visit other peoples creative spaces and the art studio of local legend David Wegman did not disappoint.

His palette has flourished over the years.

And his canvas?

As you'll see the sky is the limit. In fact, one of my favorite features of the studio is the mural that he painted on the wall across the courtyard from his window. I'm not sure what was there before, but for now it's endless blue skies and {extremely quiet} seagulls.

Wouldn't it be nice to be able to just paint whatever view we would like to look at each day?

This artist spends his time in his studio above Le Select, sailing around the islands on his boat The African Queen IV and at a house on a lake in Maine. He's emblematic of the saltier, earthier side of St. Barts, and travels with a group that lives a truly laid back island lifestyle.

David Wegman, self-portrait

The room is completely filled with art and relics. One of the most famous pieces in the studio is the original sign he was commissioned to create for Le Select, a courtyard gathering spot, widely considered to be the soul of St. Barts. Owner Marius Stackelborough opened that ultra-casual eatery back in 1949, and watched it grow in popularity, especially after Jimmy Buffet wrote a song about a simple cheeseburger he enjoyed in that paradisaical setting.

Original Cheeseburger in Paradise sign, David Wegman

I loved this photo of Keith Richards playing on the island. Reportedly, the rockers look at this concert is what compelled Johnny Depp to use the this Rolling Stone as character inspiration for his role as Captain Jack Sparrow in The Pirates of the Carribean movie series. To the right is the guitar Keith Richards is using in the photo, hanging in the studio, signed by Mr. Richards, naturally... and I'm pretty sure they said the other the other well worn guitar is signed by Jimmy Buffet.

Back in the 90's Wegman took 8 years to circumnavigate the globe on his schooner, the African Queen IV.  He created art along the way, which helped him hone his craft and fund the voyage. Most of his art reflects his love of the sea,

The Rescue, David Wegman

island life,

Avoiding progress since 1949, David Wegman

San Blas Woman, David Wegman

music, 

and art

I first met the artist on the beach when he and his friends, came to shore in the beautiful blue weathered rowboat featured in come away with me.

For a little more insight on this creative salt, you might enjoy this local pirate legend he likes to share, and for more of his art, click on artistspace.

Cheeseburger in Paradise..

Here it is, arguably the most famous cheeseburger in the world, the cheeseburger that inspired Jimmy Buffet to write the famous song "Cheeseburger in Paradise".  Though Buffets song mentions every layer of this creation, if you listen to the lyrics, the inspiration is actually more about the surrounding  "Paradise", and the breaking of a 70 day~vegetarian fast than the burger. 

As far as burgers go this one is pretty basic, but it's the setting in which it is served that stirs one to sing.

No visit to St. Barts is complete without a trip to the home of this well-sung sandwich, Le Select. Le Select has a tree filled courtyard with a mix-match of plastic tables and chairs and bright red umbrellas and strings of lights. Most days you can find artist David Wegmen {more on him to come} and fellow musicians sitting in front strumming the blues and singing folksy tunes, click on Geronimos Cadillac to enjoy the full musical effect. Their music is like the sirens song, beckoning one in to sit, forget about the time, enjoy the warm breeze, a burger and a bev. 

Le select is the place to go to enjoy the local, laid back, and more pirate-like spirit of St. Barts.

Find it at the end of the Quai de la République, the main shopping street that runs along the harbor sporting high end shops such as Gucci, Cartier and Louis Vuitton. At the end of the road one can choose to go left, right, 

or continue straight ahead for a cheeseburger in paradise.

beach to table...

The wraparound veranda of our classic West Indies style rental house was just begging to host a crew dinner one night during the regatta. The house overlooked the bay of Gustavia and was conveniently located right on the main shopping strip {contact Jean~Pierre at St. Barth Estates (or me) if you'd like more details}.

Planning the menu was easy, because right across the street was La Poissonnerie, where the local fisherman would sell their morning catch. On the morning of our dinner, I strolled over to see what looked good and selected some beautiful Mahi Mahi which they expertly filleted for me. I prepared the fish with this flavorful Thai coconut sauce. We made the sauce in the morning, and allowed the fillets to marinate in a cup or so of the sauce in zip lock bags in the refrigerator for the rest of the day before grilling them in the evening.



Beverages were easy, the markets in St. Barth's are well stocked with all of the French wines and champagnes, for this dinner I bought bottles of Ott's and Minuty rosé, champagne and rum. We also had some ginger beer to make Dark & Stormy's {rum + ginger beer}.

Now, what to do about a centerpiece??

Without my closet of vases and other flower arranging supplies, I had to get creative.

Thankfully, the gardener was doing some pruning on the surrounding properties, and was more than happy to give me some of the trimmings.

But what to put them in....

after doing all of the prep work for dinner, my daughter and I headed to the beach for lunch, and a little down time.  Here on the beach I found the answer to my question....sand... 

beautiful, natural, plentiful, sand.

I scooped a few pounds from the beach into my sarong.

Back at home I spread the sarong and sand out on the table and plunged in the stems of these 

beautiful celadon colored branches that the gardener had given to me that morning. 

I think these are baby dates from a date palm {any other ideas??}.

In the sand they looked almost coral-like. Bougainvillea grows all over the islands, so I added several little bouquets for bursts of color.

Sadly, I didn't have any candles to sink into this sandy beach scene, 

but the beautiful sunset provided a naturally warm glow to the scene.

If you're thinking you'd like to bring the beach to your table this summer, you may find some inspiration from this beach scene table scape how-to,



and these DIY beach scene invitations.



Here's a little interior shot,



I love the combination of colonial furnishings and palm fronds, don't you?