...About the Artist

Constance Wallace moved to St. John from New York City in 1980, a drop out from the computer industry.

Adventure called and she sailed the Virgins for a year. She apprenticed with Daphne Henderson, a Cordon Bleu chef (among her many talents), at Sandcastle on Jost van Dyke. Constance lived on St. John in a tent on her land overlooking the Drake Channel all the way to Virgin Gorda. Then shared Drex Patterson's Architectural office in Cruz Bay (for access to electricity and a shower) and from the tent, consulted to a computer company in New York and Silicon Valley. Eventually, she became tired of airports, traded the tent for a house in Cruz Bay, bought a hand painted clothing boutique, The Clothing Studio at Mongoose Junction, from Linda Smith Palmer, its founder, and settled down, on beautiful St. John. Sort of.

Photography was always in the picture. And this took a favorable turn when Constance met Eleanor Gibney, the island's well known horticulture expert. Eleanor was born on St. John and knows all kinds of wonderful stories about more.cgiants than you can imagine. Eleanor can identify everything. She not only knows but can spell botanical names; of course, she knows the common names, where the.cgiant is from, how it got everywhere else, and things you would never even think to ask about a.cgiant.

Many of the flowers in Constance's portfolio were grown by Eleanor. And there are more to come.

Weddings came later, when Constance began photographing her friends' weddings, casually, as a guest. She knew she was onto something when they preferred her photos to those of the professional wedding photographer they had hired. Once she went to a wedding,.cgianning to photograph along with the hired professional, as a gift to the bride and groom. But when she arrived, there was no hired professional, and her friends said, "We want you to do it!" So she did. Since then, she has developed a photojournalistic style for capturing the story of the wedding preparations, ceremony, and celebration. Even the traditional formal portraits are dynamic and interesting. Seeing one of her albums, you feel as if you have been at the wedding!

This led naturally to parties, families, and portraits.

Then there's her thing about beaches. (This is fabulous Trunk Bay on St. John, named again and again as one of the most beautiful beaches in the world.)

Oh, and birds.

When you meet her, ask her about bugs !

Better yet, when you are on St. John, visit her studio. It's a great way to buy island photography.

By appointment.

Enjoy the natural beauty of St. John by surrounding yourself with island photography!

Portrait of Constance by Eliot Moskowitz. Other photos © Constance Wallace