Tucked into a quiet Lady Lake neighborhood is a house unlike any other. 

It’s home to Tim Kirton and Jennifer Myers Kirton, artists whose work couldn’t be more different, but whose hearts beat to the same creative rhythm.

“I tell people we live in an art museum, but some of the art just happens to be ours,” Jennifer says.

Jennifer brings flowers, butterflies, and other bits of nature to life with pen, ink, and Prismacolor® colored pencils. Her joyful yet structured art—which reflects her personality—shows up on prints and cards she sells on her website.

Jennifer sees inspiration in things that others consider everyday sights.  

“A bouquet of flowers dies soon, but painting it makes it last forever,” she says, then pointing to some fruit on her kitchen table. “Some people think of eating fruit, but I just want to draw it.”

Her art unfolds slowly, beginning with color details, then layered with intricate pen-and-ink work—what Jennifer beautifully calls “a dance between the two.” 

Tim builds entire towns in miniature, with HO-scale trains chugging past tiny buildings he crafts from memory and imagination. He doesn’t sell his work—he just loves making it. And one look at his layouts tells you that every scene has a story.

“We’re very different, but we both love what we do, and we both appreciate each other’s passion,” Jennifer says.

Their creative headquarters—affectionately called ‘The Art Depot’—is a studio space in their home where Jennifer’s drawing table and supplies coexist in perfect harmony with Tim’s train layouts. 

Family photos and artwork by artists they admire fill every wall in the studio and are featured throughout the rest of the home

Sketch to Story

Jennifer graduated from Apopka Memorial High in 1967 and went on to nursing school. In 1968, she—as a nursing student—returned to visit her old high school where Tim taught English. Their first exchange was instant and a little comedic.

“He asked if I liked trains, and I said we had one that circles our Christmas tree,” Jennifer recalls. “Then he said, ‘Well, I have about 1,400 of them,’ and I was like, ‘Well, I like to draw!’”

Tim continued coaching softball and baseball for more than 40 years and authored several Christian books, while Jennifer returned to the artistic talent she discovered in high school and grew into a lifelong passion.

Mini World

While Jennifer paints from nature, Tim builds from memory. The third-generation model railroader (now passed to fourth and hopefully fifth generations), has been crafting miniature towns since childhood. His layouts are incredibly detailed, with tiny storefronts, streetlights and people going about their day—all under the watchful eye of looping trains.

“It’s about telling a story,” he says. “Sometimes I’ll build a whole scene based on a place I remember visiting with my dad, a place from our family’s history, something Jennifer remembers or imaginary towns like Hope and Charity.”

Tim says his hobby is relaxing . . . most of the time. 

“It can get very tense because sometimes your fingers don’t work right, especially when it comes to tiny things, like a doorknob or something. It’s frustrating, but if you can accomplish what you set out to do, it can be relaxing and fun,” Tim says.

Perfect Imperfections

Jennifer is honest about the nuances of being a full-time artist. 

“Sometimes I’ll mess up while painting but I’ve learned that every mistake is not devastating,” she says.

“I entered one of my paintings in a competition once, and it was awarded Best of Show by the judge, after commenting, ‘The ladybug is an inspiration,’” Jennifer recalls.  I looked at him and said, ‘You don’t know how much!’ I worked on that piece almost nine months and then I dropped ink on it. I cried and put it away for three days before going back and adding a ladybug where the ink fell,” she says matter-of-factly. “Ink is non forgiving, but there’s an old art rule that says, ‘If you can’t hide it, make it obvious,’ which is just what I did. It’s kind of freeing.” 

She also invented a mascot to help her through creative ruts—a cheerful, quirky seahorse named Clyde who often appears in her ocean-themed pieces.

“Clyde is my alter ego,” Jennifer says.

More Than Art

The Kirtons are familiar with the greats of the art world, but they’re just as fluent in life’s harder lessons. Jennifer overcame a severely broken arm and a stroke. Tim, who lives with pulmonary fibrosis, is on full-time oxygen. Yet quitting has never been part of their vocabulary.

Instead, their life is stitched together with faith, family, perseverance—and a deep devotion to the art they create and the love they’ve shared for more than 55 years.

Three children, a handful of grandchildren and two great grandchildren later, they’ll tell you the joy outweighs every hardship.

At the heart of it all is mutual respect. Tim and Jennifer don’t compete—they encourage. And their Art Depot is more than just a workspace. It’s a shared sanctuary, a creative refuge where imagination is welcome, mistakes turn into masterpieces and dreams are always under construction.

“We feel lucky every day,” Jennifer says. 

Photos: Nicole Hamel