Don't touch that "Every Hour is Happy Hour" T-shirt.
If you go to St. John in the Virgin Islands, please forego the cheap imitations in the hotel gift shop and buy a hand-painted T-shirt - or some art, or a pillow, or SOMETHING - from Sloop Jones instead.
What's more, while you can buy his work at shops in Cruz Bay, the island's largest town, you owe it to yourself to drive out to the Sloop Jones Art Studio on the pristine eastern end of the island instead. That's because Sloop happens to live in one of the most beautiful parts of St. John, 15 minutes past Coral Bay, and his property is a magical garden of banana groves, Ylang-Ylang trees and gorgeous views. It's a glimpse of rural St. John which, for now, is still undeveloped.
More importantly, there's a Pittsburgh connection. Sloop, aka Terry McKoy, grew up in the city's Point Breeze neighborhood and still has relatives in the area. And while, during a recent visit, he asked about folks living in Pittsburgh, don't blame him for wanting to live where he is.
Mr. Jones (a nickname from long ago that just stuck, he says), came here several decades ago from Massachusetts with his wife, Barbara Alperen, fell in love with the island and decided to use all of their artistic and business talents to make a living here.
Mr. Jones mixes all of his paint from scratch and creates clothing inspired by the technicolor blues and greens of the Caribbean as well as the local flora and fauna, painting on cotton, linen and tencel - all natural fibers.
We looked at them during a recent visit and wanted to buy them all, and maybe next time we go back, we will.
For more information on Sloop Jones Art Studio, go to www.sloopjones.com.
First Published: September 15, 2010, 8:00 a.m.
