Hand Painted Seascape

Hand Painted Seascape

Green is More Than Just a Color in the Art Business

With the emphasis on “going green” on most people’s minds these days, Nadine and Glenn’s Original Lobster Trap Art is a pioneer in their industry. Located in the Florida Keys, they take old and unusable lobster traps and recycle them, creating unique weathered picture frames from the wood. Because the traps are underwater, the wood gets very rustic from not only the water, but the marine animals that live on the trap. The wood, which varies from fisherman to fisherman, ages differently, making each frame a unique piece of art.

Most of the traps have been used for over 5 seasons in the Florida Keys lobster business. The season runs from August 6th through April 1st each year. During the off season, the lobstermen repair the broken traps and remove any old wood that will not make it through the next season. This repair wood is also used to make the picture frames. Nadine and Glenn collect the loose wood from Key West to Key Largo every year. They store the wood slats in a large warehouse until it is needed to make the picture frames. They also collect the whole lobster traps that cannot be repaired. These whole traps are dismantled, and the wood is placed with the loose wood collected during the repair season. “By recycling the lobster pots, we keep the landfills from being the final resting place for these traps” explains Nadine Lahti, co-founder of the company.

Nadine and Glenn are also both artists and they put their original paintings in these nautical frames. “It is like getting 2 pieces of artwork in one!” according to Glenn Lahti, the other partner in the company. Nadine paints mostly birds, fish, and other animals that are indigenous to the Florida Keys. Her Blue Herons, Roseate Spoonbills, Egrets, Turtles, and other game fish are very detailed. Glenn, on the other hand, paints local seascapes and landscapes usually putting in at least one palm tree, his trademark. He has also done several of the Florida Keys reef lighthouses. To see pictures of these fabulous frames, and the tropical art of Nadine and Glenn, visit their website at www.lobstertrapart.com.

About the Author

Owners of Nadine and Glenn Original Lobster Trap Art, Inc. Artists and frame builders located in the Florida Keys. Featuring our unique picture frames made from old lobster traps from the fabulous Florida Keys.

I am a born artist,I love painting it makes me happy if I don't do painting it feels like something missing

in my life, I made somany oil paintings I love making seascape, landscape paintings are my favorite. I am so creative person love doing these kind of thinkings, people always tells me you are so creative and you have a good hand why don't you do something. I want to do painting in my life I born to do this, and want to make a career but I have no degree. so please tell me what should I do I am a middle classes? I stay in home lookafter my husband and daughter but my husband always says its a stupid thing to do you are wasting your time. he hates my painting. becoz I am not doing job. what should I do.

next time he says something like that tell him how you really feel when you paint. it seems this is your main passion in life and tell him it hurts that he isn't supportive and doesn't respect such a wonderful God-given talent. you can totally make a career out of it, without a degree. try setting up a web-site and selling some. or go to a local gallery and see if they will host a few of your paintings! you could also do online classes if getting a degree is what you think you really need. online classes give you the whole aspect of learning at your own time. so, you could get a job while doing what you love! BEST OF LUCK!