Red tide isn’t just killing fish. It’s killing inspiration for local artists

Many local artists, including Jane Keeling, depend on the waterfront landscapes of Manatee and Sarasota counties to provide not only the inspiration for their work but also to be the subject of their art.

From the painting nook of her second-floor condo in the waterfront community of Wild Oak Bay in Bayshore Gardens, Keeling has a vast view of Sarasota Bay. But even when the smell of red tide is not invading her oasis, the scenery is nothing but dead fish of all sizes as far as the eye can see.

“I can’t work,” Keeling said on Friday.

Keeling loves to paint the birds that feed from the bay, but on Friday there were no birds in sight.

“The birds are confused,” she said.

But it’s not just that her normally picturesque backyard is lined with thousands of dead fish, she explained. The red tide has killed more than just fish and other marine live, but her inspiration and that of other local artists.

“It messes with your head, for sure,” Keeling said.

While she was home Friday, red tide had forced Keeling and her husband to stay in a hotel for six nights, she said. Her husband, who suffers from allergies, could not take the irritation that red tide was causing and eventually neither could she.

The worst of it, she said, has been during high tide and when a breeze comes in from the bay.

“This is why we moved here,” Keeling said of her waterfront view.

Keeling said it’s the worst case of red tide she has witnessed she since and her husband moved here in 2006 from Oklahoma. She has been calling officials for days, and has been told by staff in the offices of U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Longboat Key, and state Sen. Bill Galvano, R-Bradenton, that Manatee County has the money to pay for the cleanup of the bays and the canals, not just the beach.

Over on the shore of Palma Sola Bay along the causeway, the stench of red tide and rotting dead fish and other marine life hits you like a brick wall. Stringrays were among the other marine life, normally not affected by red tide, but could be spotted along the shore of the bay.

The fish kills are piling up.

On Friday afternoon, county officials announced that it would be expanding cleanup efforts into other waterways and canals, beginning on Monday.

Over the weekend, the county will be surveying these waterways to determine where the worst fish kills are to create a plan.

But based on the details officials provided, cleanup efforts may not be extended to much of the shoreline alongside Sarasota Bay.

“We’re not going to be able to do a thorough job on the mangrove coastlines of the county,” said Charlie Hunsicker, the director of the Department of Parks and Natural Resources. “Those prop roots and shallow waters make it very difficult for any type of boat to get in and around. So we are trying to manage expectations by saying this.”

But meanwhile businesses continue to suffer. For artists like Keeling, it isn’t just that she is getting any new work done, but less visitors to Anna Maria Island means fewer potential buyers visiting Island Gallery West.

“Granted it’s a slow time of year, but we don’t know long how long it’s going to last,” Keeling said.

This story was originally published August 18, 2018 at 5:00 AM.