LUCKY DOG DINER | Niki Butcher

Venice, FL © 2023

Lucky Dog is an iconic eatery in Venice, Florida. It’s been around since 1945. Ever since we moved to Venice, I have wanted to do a hand-painting of this wonderful unique restaurant. It used to have all kinds of wonderful people sitting outside with their dogs, enjoying lunch or breakfast. It was the place to go if you were walking your dog. However, Venice has now become a popular destination, and major restaurants are everywhere on the island. Many are as unique as Lucky Dog but well known, so they get most of the traffic. History The Lucky Dog Diner is a noteworthy historic location in Southwest Florida. The historic nostalgic retro modern diner is a Valentine Diner, one of two that are documented in Florida, and came from Wichita, Kansas in 1955, was placed at its current location and has remained there ever since. Valentine Diners started their operation in 1947 and built their diners for close to 40 years and was an idea that came about because of the Great Depression. They were built generally for between eight to twelve customers so that one to two people could operate the eatery with relative ease. The Valentine Diners produced in Wichita were shipping the little pre-fab diners all across the country to industrial areas, along major roadways and in small towns. The Valentine Diners could be described as small boxes, nothing fancy and not particularly attractive they were easy to move on trucks and served their purpose well. This diner originally was open for 40 years doing business as the Bel-Bree Diner. The old diner was for a period of time called Uncle Bs Coney Dogs as well as Tonis Place until the diner finally closed for business in approximately 2004. The diner reopened in approximately 2007 and is now The Lucky Dog Diner with 12 original stools and tables for about 16 people. The basic structure of the diner has essentially remained unchained throughout its long history although it has been given a new retro exterior treatment. One can have the traditional favorite diner foods or choose from an updated choice of healthy foods. This little jewel of a diner continues to draw fans of the traditional diner, those interested in older historical places as well as people that are just plain hungry. The Art of Hand Painting Black and White Photographs Photographed with a Sony digital camera and instead of oil painting with Q-tips and cotton balls, Niki was able to paint using Photoshop. Changing from the old-fashioned way of doing her art, to the new ‘fashion’ of using technology was challenging, but she’s enjoying getting back to her own personal expression. Archival Print Making Niki’s open edition gicleé artwork is printed on Sunset Bright Velvet Rag matte finish paper using eight archival inks. A state-of-the-art Epson Stylus Pro printer creates deep, rich dark values that hold subtle detail in the shadows as well as bright vivid colors that are truly tropical.