Key West Native Artist Rafael Medina
Experience the Island Life Through The Art Of An Island Boy
The Island Boy
The Island Boy Arts Shop
The Island Boy Art
Rafael Antonio "Tony" Medina, born 1979, is a 5th generation native of Key West, Florida. From a young age he was inspired by his grandfather, Danny Acosta, who was the inventor and original creator of the famous Key West landmark, the Southernmost Point Buoy.
This story is not just about an Island Boy, it is about some of the most cherished history of the Island of Key West.
The Island Boy Art
The Island Boy Arts Shop
The Island Boy Art
CHECK OUT THE NEWEST RELEASE!
A HISTORIC TRIBUTE TO A LEGEND
This portfolio offers the best in curating, documenting and production, while ensuring a great value and investment for current and future collectors that can be enjoyed for years and years.
Limited Editions utilize archival, UV protected Giclee and/or Dye-Sublimation on either ca
CHECK OUT THE NEWEST RELEASE!
A HISTORIC TRIBUTE TO A LEGEND
This portfolio offers the best in curating, documenting and production, while ensuring a great value and investment for current and future collectors that can be enjoyed for years and years.
Limited Editions utilize archival, UV protected Giclee and/or Dye-Sublimation on either canvas or premium grade aluminum for the HD effect! Each piece is Signed, Numbered and Certified with a COA (Certificate of Authenticity)
Domestic and International shipping is also available.
Please inquire for more info and a “first-look” overview of the entire Limited Edition portfolio.
The Island Boy Arts Shop
The Island Boy Arts Shop
The Island Boy Arts Shop
COMING SOON
For information on pricing and availability of
Original or Limited Edition Artworks
please contact the Island Boy Arts Studio
or one of our Gallery Partners
In mid-century Key West, Danny Acosta did a lot of work painting signs for small businesses like local charters and marinas. In the mid 1970s, just for fun, Danny began playing around with different designs about a “Southernmost Point of Southernmost City”, and started painting these words on huge slabs of wood in his tropical back yard.
Musings like “Home of The Sunset” and “90 Miles To Cuba” came to mind and it gave the family joy to see him paint so playfully about their beautiful island. Then one day, a neighbor saw these playful signs and brought it to the attention of the city. The city of Key West was delighted and commissioned the first sign from Danny right away.
Over the years, the painted signs were stolen 3 separate times, and the city had to hire Danny again and again to remake the beloved landmark. Then, in 1983 the first “un-stealable” concrete monument was commissioned to Danny by the City of Key West.
Some of the first drafts for this commission were done while little Rafael "Tony" played games around the backyard as Danny contemplated ideas and drafted some patterns, incorporating many of his initial designs he had done just for fun, just for the family.
Danny Acosta’s Buoy became the official and final monument to the “Southernmost Point” in the Continental USA. The original lettering patterns for the first Buoy are now in the loving care of his Grandson, Key West Fine Artist and Gallery Proprietor, Rafael Medina.
Danny’s casual paintings, which were never intended to be seen publicly, have gracefully evolved into one of the main focal points of the Key West experience. The iconic work of art is now one of the most photographed landmarks in the country, with the city of Key West estimating that over 1 billion photos and selfies are taken every year at the Southernmost Point Buoy, in the Southernmost City of Key West.
