The "Ruby Bute...Artist Extraordinaire!" Story

Ruby Bute, St. Maarten artist extraordinaire.

It was an ordinary day.  Was scrolling through FaceBook and all of a sudden there was a very colorful painting from an artist in St. Maarten by the name of Ruby Bute.  She had just finished a new painting that she will have prints made to sell to island residents as well as visitors to the Dutch side of the island of St. Martin/St. Maarten.  It was on Tuesday, November 20, 2018 that I wrote a story on this blog telling of my hour-long visit with Ruby at her home and art gallery.  Today's Facebook story on Ruby says that Ruby is renowned as St. Maarten's nation treasure.  She serves as a mentor to many emerging artist while painting daily in her gallery or on her porch of her adjacent home.  It was two years ago that I spent about an hour sitting on her porch with Ruby and helping her unpack a new batch of prints that she had just received after having them framed.  

Ruby with her latest new painting.

I so much enjoyed my hour or so with her that I wrote about her and her artistic talent as well as her knowledge of the island of which she calls home.  When I arrived at her place that fall day, her large metal gate was closed and locked.  I pushed the bell and before long she had opened the gate to admit me to a world of enjoyment and entertainment.  For over thirty years Ruby has produced paintings that document many of the historical aspects of St. Maarten's life and culture.  Her images are brightly colored which add vibrance to her work.  They are truly what you would think to be Caribbean art!  Her work is full of joy and happiness as well as a lesson in story telling.  You know exactly what she is trying to express in her painting from the moment you view it.  Ruby was born in Aruba of St. Maarten parents and has been painting since the age of 6.  In the early 1970s she move to St. Maarten and in 1983 held her first solo exhibition.  

This tree sits next to her home on the
island of St. Maarten.  We talked about
it during my visit with her.  Someday I
will buy a print of this painting!

In 2005 the was decorated by her Majesty, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands, and is since an honorable Member of the House of Orange-Nassau.  She exhibits her work in St. Martin as well as Amsterdam and other cities in Holland, Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao and Saba.  Ruby paints in her gallery, but on the day I visited her, she was painting on the porch of her home which sits near her gallery. She shared with me that her father lived in the home at one time.  She offered me something to drink as I enjoyed petting her cats that kept an eye on me.  I did help her uncrate a few new paintings she had just had framed.  My mission for the day was to buy a Ruby Bute print, but my time ran short and I never had the chance to visit her gallery.  Hopefully that will happen if and when I ever get a chance to visit the island again.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.