Strolling through the city streets, carolers grace your ears and the fresh snow gives you a little chill on your nose. Colorful little lights illuminate the buildings as you walk home.
You think to yourself, perhaps I’ll roast some chestnuts or hang some stockings by the chimney with care? Yes, that is what the holiday songs tell you life is going to be like in December. That might be suitable in the great white north, or what I call everything above Florida. Snowbirds love their seasons, but in the Florida Keys, the holidays are different.
Our Christmas happens without the snow, but rather sand and palm trees. That is not to say we don’t have our holiday spirit. Don’t worry Santa, we believe. Our holidays are filled with just as much joy, but they are unique and have a tropical flavor. That tropical flavor here in the Keys is crafted by local artist Kim McCoy.
If you have been out to the many wonderful holiday festivals our community has, you surely would have met McCoy. She creates a tropical Keys Christmas with her coastal-themed ornaments and painted driftwood palm pieces. McCoy knew she wanted to be an artist since she was a little kid. Some kids want to be an astronaut, a doctor or a police officer. For McCoy, she wanted to beautify the world and be an artist.
Even at a young age she really stood out with her creative talents. Art always had a place in her home. McCoy’s talents were passed down from her grandfather and mother.
“I feel like my artistic abilities are a gift from them,” she said.
McCoy became known for painting on visors that she sold at the old Mrs. Mac’s Kitchen restaurant, where she worked for 25 years. Mrs. Mac’s is also where she started painting her ornaments. Most locals and repeat Keys visitors know her best from those visors and ornaments. The one thing you will notice about McCoy is that she likes to paint on things that are not canvas. She paints with acrylics because they are the only paints that can keep up with her fast painting. Acrylics dry quickly and tend to have brighter colors, perfect for her style.
Besides ornaments, palm pieces and visors, McCoy paints murals. She painted a big lobster at Key Largo Fisheries.
Her visions of what to paint come from within.
“I am a creative person and kind of get a vision sometimes of what I want to paint. I don’t look at anything, it just comes out of me,” she said.
McCoy likes to get crafty making holiday and Keysy earrings, jewelry and fused glass. She gets inspiration from comic book art, great illustrations and tattoo art.
“I love the holidays because I make people happy with my ornaments,” she said.
McCoy has become an essential part of holidays in the Florida Keys. She has been selling her coastal holiday ornaments at the local festivals and art shows on and off for the last 30 years. Her son, Jack, is following in his family’s artistic footsteps in being an artist.
McCoy’s ornaments are available at Garrett Chiropractic in Tavernier on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Her work can also be purchased online by emailing Keysartist@gmail.com or private messaging Kim Hyde McCoy on Facebook.
I wish you all a very artsy and merry Christmas and holiday season.
Contributed photos
