SANIBEL ISLAND, Fla. — Three years ago, Rachel Pierce jumped. Her “leap of faith” involved leaving her job as a news anchor at the NBC affiliate in Fort Myers and opening up an art gallery on Sanibel Island instead.

What You Need To Know

  • Sanibel Island resident Rachael Pierce left her job as a news anchor in Fort Myers to open an art gallery on Sanibel Island

  • After seeing immediate success with her art pieces, Pierce's gallery was destroyed by Hurricane Ian

  • Pierce said floodwaters sent her paintings flowing all over the island and instituted a ‘finders keepers’ policy, allowing anyone who found a painting to keep it as a memento of the storm

  • She’s rebuilding her gallery, has gotten her family settled in a new place and used a painting of the famous Sanibel Lighthouse to keep her business thriving

“At first, whew, scary,” Pierce said as she remembered making her transition. “But I’m glad I did it and it’s been such a journey.” 

That journey included moving her family to Sanibel Island as well, and embracing the Sanibel lifestyle. 

“When we moved out to this island, our life got really simple. It’s just a different life out here. Small town,” Pierce said, describing the beautiful island where the population does not exceed 7,000 people. 

Using Sanibel Island’s wildlife and marine life as artistic inspiration, Pierce found immediate success, selling numerous paintings and being commissioned for artwork all across Southwest Florida. 

Then came the low point: Hurricane Ian. 

Last September, Pierce boarded up her art gallery, evacuated her house and took her family to her dad’s place to ride out the storm. 

When she returned to the island, her gallery was in ruin. Flooding has wrecked most of her paintings, the gallery itself and her house. 

“The water coming in must have been violent, because the stuff downstairs was so tossed–just an absolute disaster,” Pierce said. “All your windows caved in, all your stuff spewed. We were cleaning up just dumpsters full of stuff.” 

Pierce said floodwaters sent her paintings flowing all over the island. She instituted a ‘finders keepers’ policy, allowing anyone who found a painting to keep it as a memento of the storm. One family found a painting in their yard, a staggering 2 - 3 miles away from the gallery. 

Pierce first took her family to stay with relatives in Texas before returning to Sanibel to rebuild. She’s rebuilding her gallery, has gotten her family settled in a new place and used a painting of the famous Sanibel Lighthouse to keep her business thriving. She sold numerous copies and even put it on vases and ornaments. 

“This painting has the most meaning to me,” Pierce said, pointing to the painting of the lighthouse, still erect despite a broken leg piece. “The sky appears menacing in the painting — dark and threatening — but the lighthouse stands tall. It kind of represents the storm and the hurricane washing over the lighthouse. But it’s still standing — battered, broken, missing a leg — but still standing,” Pierce said. 

She, too, is still standing. As of August, Pierce said she was hoping to reopen her gallery soon. Her family has returned to the island and her kids have returned to their school on Sanibel. 

Hurricane Ian may have knocked her down after her “leap of faith.” But, like the island itself, she stood back up.