As Christmas rapidly approaches and people are looking for last-minute gift ideas, don't forget that St. Augustine has more than 30 art galleries, many of which sell unique works of art by local people. Below are a few of the galleries. 

Founded 40 years ago by the late painter Jean Wagner Troemel, the gallery of the Professional Artists of St. Augustine or P.A.St.A Gallery is one of the oldest galleries in the city. A cooperative located on Charlotte Street displays and sells works only by local artists.

“Carrying on Jean’s tradition, we're all local artists from the St. Augustine area," said gallery member and artist Marlene Zullig. "We have many different mediums here. We've got two potters; we have a woodturner that makes beautiful bowls. I'm the stained glass artist who also makes jewelry. We have a great watercolorist and artists that work in oils and acrylic. Also, we have two photographers right now. We have 17 all local members that do great work.

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“The gallery is cooperative, so it's staffed by the people who make the art," she continued. "We do everything from changing lightbulbs to mopping the floors. When you come in, you talk to an artist that has worked on display. A lot of what we do is based on the surroundings here in St.  Augustine, and everybody has their own style but when you buy something from us, you know that you are getting something unique to St. Augustine. “

The gallery prides itself on having something for everyone.

“We have little paintings from $25 way up to thousands of dollars, but you know, I would say we are realistically priced,” Zullig said. “We kind of pride ourselves on that people can come in here and buy an original piece of art that didn't cost thousands of dollars.”

Noon to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday | pastagalleryart.com | 214 Charlotte St. | 904-824-0251

Located in the old St. Augustine Beach city hall near the base of the St. Johns County Ocean and Fishing Pier, the art gallery is another nonprofit artist collective that only shows works by locals.

“We just celebrated our 10-year anniversary, which is very interesting for a small gallery,” said Paul Slava, president of the gallery. “We're a true community arts organization. We have on our mission statement that we give back to the community and we have affordable art, and it is all local.

“We have 175 registered artist members, but not everyone participates every month," he continued. "I'd never wanted this to be stagnant like a museum, so we are constantly changing. People will come in here one day and revisit us in a week or two, and what we have for sale is completely different. We like to make it really contemporary and moving.”

He said gallery offers paintings, photography, watercolor, ceramics, 3D art, cards, notecards and more.

"Our window of beautiful handcrafted stained glass draws people in," Slava said. "We have a little bit of everything like jewelry and we got extra gift items for the holidays. So really there is no excuse not to find the perfect last-minute gift. We don't have those supply chain issues, and it is all local. There's going to be someone here on Christmas Eve. So for the procrastinators, there is going to be someone here all the way till 5 p.m.

“You can buy an ornament right now from the tree as low as a dollar or you could get a fine art painting for as high as $750 to maybe $1,000, and everything in between — but you know it's good quality,” Slava said.

10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday | 370A A1A Beach Blvd. St Augustine Beach | beachartstudio.org | 904-295-4428

For more than 20 years, the Butterfield Garage Gallery on King Street in St. Augustine has been displaying and selling works of art by locals.   

“One thing that's unique about our gallery is we have international artists that happen to live here in the St. Augustine area, so we are very fortunate to have local artists that bring the international experience to the gallery,” said photographer and member Dan Voellinger. “We have all types of media covered, you can see mixed media, you can see oil paintings, abstract painting, photorealism, jewelry, and one thing we also have are four photographers. Most galleries don't have four photographers, so we're a little bit unique that way, and of course, we are all local.”

The gallery also has two small works for sale by internationally known sculptor Thomas Glover who lived in St. Augustine before his death in 2012.

Founded by local artist Jan Miller in 1999, the Butterfield is selective when choosing artists to become members and sell their works.

“We look at their work, but we also interview the person because we want the right person representing the gallery because all the artists take turns working at the desk. When you come here you meet the artists,” Voellinger said. “When someone comes in, it makes for a better experience for people visiting the gallery."

He said there's something special about shopping locally.

“For me, the thing that I would say is if you're buying local when you give the gift, you could say when I found this gift it spoke to me of you," he said. "I bought it in my hometown.” 

Open daily 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. | 137 King St.| butterfieldgarage.com | 904-825-4577

First Look, The Artisan's Market of San Marco Avenue in St. Augustine has a vast collection of inventory made by local people.

“We probably have more than 8,000 items for sale,” said owner Diana Sussa. “We have paintings; a man that handmakes knives; local authors; hot sauces; jewelry; crafts made from seashells; photography; macramé; we have a local honey person in here and a local jam guy. We try to kind of have everything under one roof so it's a one-stop shop. The only thing is that actually, it's all local. That is the rule, only local.”

She the work they display is reflective of the area.

“A lot of the paintings reflect the popular sites around St.  Augustine, like the Bridge of Lions and the lighthouse," she said. "We have a glassblower. We have a woodworker who's amazing; he does a lot of charcuterie boards and gift baskets, so if somebody wants something put together from all different artists, we'll do that for them as well.”

Sussa also tries to only carry items that can fit in a suitcase.

“We know that this is a big tourist town, so we've kind of made sure that we have a lot of small items so that people can travel with them. And a lot of the items are geared toward St. Augustine.”

10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday | firstlookartisans.com | 904-217-7250

Wendy Tatter, the owner of the W.B. Tatter gallery in St. Augustine, has been a part of the St. Augustine art community for a long time.

Tatter, whose primary medium is batiks, has a shop on Anastasia Boulevard in the city where she sells her own work and works of other local artists.

“We have a lot of really talented people in our area and I think the work that I have in here from the people that are local is as good as anything you can get anywhere else in the country and it kind of expresses the feel of St. Augustine, a little bit,” Tatter said.

“I've got greeting cards and calendars, I have socks with St.  Augustine pictured on them. They are hilarious,” she said. “People love this town, and I think people really appreciate buying gifts to give or send to people that remind them of how special this place really is.”

11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday | wbtattergallery.com | 501 Anastasia Blvd. | 904-907-1270