INDIAN ROCKS BEACH — For years, Mary Rose Holmes has set up her easel along Gulf Boulevard to paint the weathered cottages that give this beach town its character. Last month, the city honored her for it.
Mayor Lan Vaughan presented Holmes with a proclamation at the July 14 City Commission meeting, recognizing her work to preserve the city’s history through the Plein Aire Cottage Artists, the three-member group she founded with Helen Tilson and Violetta Chandler.
The trio paints in plein air — outdoors and on site — capturing the historic coastal cottages and natural beauty of Indian Rocks Beach and Florida. Their work has been featured in local, national and international exhibitions and publications, and Vaughan credited Holmes with portraying the cottages’ “beauty, history and unique character” while drawing broader attention to the community’s cultural heritage.
The proclamation also traced Holmes’ Florida roots.
“Mary Rose Holmes, a fifth-generation pioneer Floridian, descends from a family lineage deeply rooted in both America and Florida history,” Vaughan read, noting that her great-great-great-grandfather served in the American Revolution and that her ancestors established some of the state’s earliest commercial orange groves.
The paintings have come to mean more than a celebration of local beauty, Vaughan said. They have become a symbol of the Save Our Cottages movement, “inspiring residents and visitors alike to appreciate, preserve, and protect the historic cottages and contribute to the unique identity of Indian Rocks Beach.”
“On behalf of the City Commission, I do hereby recognize and commend Mary Rose Holmes for her extraordinary achievements, exceptional artistic talent and enduring commitment to using her gifts to enrich the city of Indian Rocks Beach and the state of Florida,” Vaughan said before welcoming Holmes to the dais.
Holmes received a standing ovation.
“I’m very humbled by all of this,” she said, recalling that she and her husband arrived in Indian Rocks Beach many years ago. “We came for one night, and we never left.”
She said she stayed because of the waterfront community itself.
“It was so beautiful. So old-fashioned. So fabulous. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Indian Rocks Beach!”