Trujillo Grocery as Remembered by Ronny Bailey, Key West Folk Artist

I have written several blogs over the past few years touting the folk art of Ronny Bailey, Key West's "artist of residences" so to speak. Ronny is a fifth generation Conch (local who can trace his ancestry for five generations who have lived on the Island of Key West). Ronny  built houses for a living until his retirement a few years ago. Not satisfied with watching re-runs on TV, Ronny emerged from retirement to build tiny houses - very tiny houses, the kind you put in a box and take on a plane back home up north. The houses he builds are re-interpretations of actual houses in Key West. His artwork is an homage to the way these places looked when Ronny he was growing up.

The black and white photo at the top shows the Trujillo Grocery as it appeared about fifty years ago. The simple wood building was located at the corner of  Windsor Lane and Olivia Street (800 Olivia Street) in Old Town.  Most of the homes in this area where vernacular like this building, but others were cigar maker cottages and some two story grand conchs. The Trujillo Grocery building was razed and replaced a couple of decades ago by a new 4167 square foot concrete block structure. The cute and quirky wood frame structure was was replaced by big and efficient concrete box. The Trujillo Grocery business continues to operate at the same location today.  Ronny Bailey's recently completed folk art piece shown in today's blog is an artistic tribute to a part of Key West that once was.

Each of Ronny's projects involves sourcing of materials to replicate the original buildings.  On this piece Ronny used salvaged Dade County Pine wood which he ripped into small pieces which resembled original planks which he assembled to create a physical structure  He builds the tiny structures using the same kind of framing and building techniques used in the real houses. The patina on the wood is the result of careful selection of used lumber with real paint that peeled away after decades of exposure to the sun and rain in Key West. This particular piece of art incorporates a new skill Ronny developed.  Ronny told me he had to figure out how to bend actual salvaged metal roof to simulate the "crimp" portion of a genuine V crimp roof. He found a nicely rusted sheet of old metal roofing, perfectly bent it multiple times, and then secured it in place. Prior to perfecting the use of real metal roofing, Ronny would paint a wood roof to look like metal.

I'll bet Ronny was a bit of a mischief maker when he was in school because he is one now when it comes to his art. The Trujillo Grocery piece incorporates nostalgic advertising signs with a lounging cat, a pecking chicken, and a cigar smoking Conch inside the store. The old gent on the inside has a lit cigar in his mouth as he looks back at the modern day people who stare into his world of yore. When you look down through the glass window you will notice loaves of bread on the shelves and a six pack of bottle COKE.

Ronny is a big man and a gentle man. He is a man of faith. He incorporates three watchwords of his faith into each of his creations: peace, joy, and love. See if you can spot them in the photos. CLICK HERE to view more photos of Trujillo Grocery.

You can view the Trujillo Grocery artwork in person January 27 and 28 at the 33rd Annual Key West Craft Show (free to attend). Location Whitehead at Caroline Street 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM.  Go meet Ronny.  You could save yourself thousands and thousands of dollars if you buy one of his tiny houses. Of course, you will be denying me the opportunity to sell you a place you could actually call your home.

5 Brothers Key West - An Homage

My friend Ronny Bailey dropped by my office a few days ago to show me his latest piece of folk art, a wood cutting depicting 5 Brothers Grocery and Sandwich Shop located at 930 Southard Street in Key West. Ronny is a native Key Wester, a multi-generation Conch. He was a carpenter by trade until he retired a few years ago. He hung up his saw, stowed the hammer, and began the second phase of his life as a folk artist. I don't think he started out to become an artist as much as he used his skills as a carpenter to create miniature versions of the facades of the old houses of Key West - the way they used to be - before the gentrification that is forever erasing memory of the past imperfect houses and their conversion into perfect tiny million dollar cottages. Later Ronny depicted larger homes and then added some commercial buildings. Most recently Ronny added added wood carving to his repertoire.

The 5 Brothers piece is Ronny's homage to the place and the people that go there each morning. If you drive by this place on any weekday morning you will invariably see a couple of cops, several healthy looking men who obviously work for a living (as opposed to guys who sit at a computer or who sell houses), some older guys who look like retirees, and some tourists. There are a couple of benches which are usually occupied. Many others stand and swap stories. A former neighbor of mine (who I will call "Norm")  told me what really goes on at 5 Brothers. Norm was also a general contractor. He said he and other contractors would meet there to discuss what projects they were working on or going to be making bids on that day or that week. He told me the same guys would meet after work at a bar and discuss the projects and prices they would quote so that they could distribute the work among each other and not get into bidding wars. I have to live here and can't tell the rest. Imagine "collusion".

Notice the three officers inside the store, two sitting on the bench, and the guy in the patrol car. Look carefully at the license plate which reads "SWEET H2O". The cop driving the car is Officer Sweetwater. Ronny chcukled with glee at his cleverness.

Ronny's depiction is more generous than Norm's narrative description. The wood cutting is three boards made into one larger piece which was then painted black. Ronny carved out layer after layer to create the building, the streetscape, the sky with helicopter, and the Key West people - each a real life Key West character.  Ronny referred to each person with the word "mister" before each person's name followed by some descriptive sentence about who that person was and why he is on that piece of art. You will notice the helicopter on the upper right side. The wood cutting depicts the real life helicopter pilot "back in the day" on a special ops mission for his Cuban coffee and cheese toast! When I saw the helicopter I was reminded of the scene in the the 1989 James Bond movie License to Kill which was filmed in Key West when Bond and his pal parachuted from a helicopter down to St. Mary's Catholic Church on Truman Avenue to attend Bond's pal's wedding. Ronny told me about the many "stories" that the pilot described from his life. I added an arrow directing your attention to the word Peace on the helicopter. Ronny adds the words Love, Peace, and Joy each piece of art he creates.

The building at 930 Southard Street has remained pretty much the same since the black and white photo below was taken in 1965. Note the cutout police figure in the lower right hand corner. The prop-cop was used to alert drivers to the Harris School located at the next corner. I found a similar roadside cop in a photo taken at 1200 White Street which warned drivers to slow down for the old Key West high school one block to the south.(Look at the far left side of the road to see the policeman) In today's Key West there are real life cops standing guard at every school in town, each adorned with bright neon yellow vests and whistles. I personally like the less expensive and more clever cutout cops. I'd slow down if I came upon one and smile for a block or two.

I looked through my old shoebox and found some photos I took over the years of 5 Brothers. I rarely go there myself. I drink way too much coffee when I get up. But I know a lot of people who do go there regularly. I stopped by 5 Brothers on my way to the office to snap a couple of photos of 5 Brothers. Those pics are at the bottom of this blog. Stop by the next time you are in town. Go inside where you will find the original Ronny Bailey wood carving. Smile to yourself as you see the Key West characters and the place that made them famous.

Photos taken May 26, 2017 below. The scene never changes. The characters do.

New Ronny Bailey Artwork of Old Key West

Ronny Bailey dropped by my office the other day to show me his newest wood carving depicting a Key West cigar maker's cottage of long ago. Frequent Readers of my blog will remember I first learned of Ronny several years ago when he stopped by Preferred Properties Key West to show a new wood installation he had created. Ronny is a Conch, a native Key Wester. He was a general contractor by trade. When he retired he began the second phase of his life as a folk artist. I don't think he started out to be an artist as much as he used his skills as a carpenter to create replicate miniature versions of the facades of homes that used to dot much of our Old Town area. Later he did larger homes and then added some commercial buildings. (CLICK any photo to enlarge it.)

I photographed the above piece in front of the actual house to demonstrate the attention to detail and historical correctness. Ronny used reclaimed Dade County Pine lumber which he cut, planed, sanded, painted to create this remembrance of a time that is now a memory. As our heritage gets "restored" or "renovated" Ronny's works are becoming the last memory of what Key West of years ago once looked like - before everything was decreed by the do-gooders on HARC to become perfect and as contractors took months and months to fix the old old houses at the cost of hundred of thousands of dollars to fix houses that originally only cost a few hundred dollars.

The new wood carving is number five in what may become a series of  many. Ronny told me he joined two boards together with biscuits, stained all sides, and then began to carve the detailed images. The dark stain accentuates the carving. The carving below exhibits the same whimsy, attention to detail as his more elaborate installations.  There are always little touches such as chickens, cats, a hanging light bulb, a mailbox, a broom. Here a clothes line and a stick prop open a window with a propensity to obey Newton's Law of Gravity and a man feeding the chickens in his front yard. I have never seen or heard of locals who eat their chickens. But it wouldn't surprise me. Finally note the three watchwords appearing on each of Ronny's are: Love, Joy, and Peace.

I noticed the address over the door - 522. I asked Ronny the address of the house. He said it was the spirit of our houses, not a particular house, then added the number refers to Galatians 5:22 (But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,).  He is a man of faith and those are the guiding spirit of his life.

Locals and returning visitors to Key West can tell the time of year depicted - sometime between May and June when the Royal Poinciana Tree (red tree on the left) is is full bloom. The original home was so minimal in size and construction. It would have cost only a few hundred dollars to build. Today contractors take months and months to restore these homes at the cost of thousands upon thousands of dollars. Of course the red rooster, mama hen, and baby chicks are evermore on this their island home.

It may come to pass that Ronny Bailey's artwork may become the only remaining remnant of historic Key West.

Ronny Bailey - Key West Folk Art - Peter's Fish Market and Gas Station

If you are in Key West this coming weekend, you are invited to attend the 31st Annual Key West Craft Show being held January 30 - 31, 2016 between 10 AM - 5 PM on Whitehead Street between Eaton and Caroline Streets. Admission is Free. Among the featured artists is Ronny Bailey, Key West Folk Artist.  I have written about Ronny on several precious occasions. He is a Conch by birth, a contractor by trade, a Christian by choice, and an artist by inspiration. Ronny retired from his trade several years ago and began to tinker with old Dade County Pine he had saved from various jobs. After his wife Stephanie saw his first creation, she remarked "I didn't know you could do that!" to which he replied "Neither did I". Thus began his career as a folk artist. He has created numerous miniature cottages that portray the Key West architecture of yore. He used specific homes as his historic reference. Some of the homes no longer exist, and some that do exist have been gentrified and no longer look as bedraggled as before. Later he tackled commercial enterprises. Two of his most recent pieces, both of which are commercial enterprises, and shown in today's blog,  will be on display this weekend at the craft show.

The top black and white photo above shows Peter's Fish Market which is the subject of one of the new pieces. Peter's Fish Market which dominated the Key West fish scene for many years was located on Front Street on the waterfront. If you look to the right you will see an artist painting the building even then. The building was the inspiration decades later when Ronny Bailey decided to create a miniature version. Peter Roberts (the gent in the straw hat above looking down at the catch of the day) was the proprietor. The Coca Cola sign above the loading platform is original to the site. Ronny added a bit of whimsy when he added the red delivery truck.In fact all of Ronny's creations are dotted with whimsy. You'll note the perched pelican atop the Fish Market sign, the bucket of fish on the loading platform, and the idle "worker" standing around with his hand in his pants inside the market. In his book Grits & Grunts: Folkloric Key West Stetson Kennedy wrote "In 1940, the Key West waterfront, like the street fronts, was looking beat-up, unpainted, and picturesque". Today the old waterfront has been replaced by high priced hotels, restaurants, and t-shirt shops. Some call it progress.

I knew from past conversations with Ronny that he used salvaged Dade County Pine to create the majority of his projects. I questioned him how he created the details in this installation. He said he used his table saw to slice the Dade County Pine into small sheets and used the saw to create individual boards, timbers, and other wood pieces. He hand carved the male worker figure. He fashioned the metal roof from old metal. He painted and repainted the roof to create the patina.  He told me he always wanted to build a truck and he got the opportunity here. He bent old metal to create the truck's body. He carved the wheels out of wood.

You can "click"any photo to enlarge the image. You might want to click the image two above to see the cost of turtle steak back in the day. And if you click the image immediately above you will see the word "PEACE" on the rear bumper. Elsewhere you will see LOVE and JOY. These are the three watchwords of this gentle artisan. CLICK HERE to view more photos of Peter's Fish Market.

If you look closely at the red gas pumps you will see the Biblical reference to JOY and LOVE.  Ronny bent metal to create the pumps. Then he applied layer upon layer of various colors of paint to create the weathered and rusted surface. The old light bulb in the last image is actually wood that was repeatedly dipped into a white enamel paint which created the effect of the light bulb. The weathered floor boars and siding are the natural patina of old Dade County Pine which Ronny planed and sliced to perfection. Ronny confided that other carpenters have told him that he inspired them to create similar pieces. They became so frustrated in the detail work necessary to achieve similar perfection  that they smashed their pieces to smithereens. CLICK HERE to see more photos of the gas station.

I encourage locals and visitors to check out Ronny Bailey's stand this weekend. And if you really appreciate his work, to buy an original piece. He also has more affordable prints that you can take home. They will be a continuous reminder of how special Key West is. Like our old houses, these pieces of art will only go up in value.