Art on St. Armands: a guide to some outstanding galleries.

You've bought the ultimate cocktail dress and indulged in an afternoon at the spa, sampled the finest in gourmet dining, taken in an evening of jazz and dipped your toes in the warmth of the Gulf waters at Lido Beach.

All that's left to do now is visit an art gallery and delight in a kaleidoscope of canvases--and maybe even find the perfect painting to hang at home to remember the Circle by.

When it comes to art galleries, St. Armands Circle has no fewer than eight, featuring everything from seascapes to glass and bronze sculptures, wooden souvenirs and Native American artifacts. Two of them just opened in the past year; and all have plenty of exciting pieces to offer, so step in and delight your senses.

Miracle's Fine Art Studio Gallery

Acclaimed and prolific painter Ed Miracle is back in the United States after more than a decade of living with and painting for the royal families of Oman and Dubai.

And he's taken up abode on St. Armands Circle, where he paints every day in Miracle's Pine Art Studio Gallery, a delightful studio at the top of a butter-yellow staircase overlooking lush Circle Park. An eclectic collection of his original paintings and high-quality limited edition giclee work is on display there, including a new series depicting Sr. Armands Circle.

Miracle's canvases share space with the bronze sculptures of E. Dwight Conley and Jeffrey Robinson, sculptures by Ronald Febec, the photography of Werner Branz and the silk flowers of Emma Darke.

Manager Rose von Perbandt says art lovers can expect to visit the gallery quite often; thanks to one of the most charming balconies on the Circle (where Miracle often puts up an easel and paints), Von Perbandt is planning to host several receptions throughout the year.

Miracle's Fine Art Studio Gallery is on 369 St. Armands Circle. [phone].

The Brock Gallery

With a full spectrum of acclaimed artists on its walls, the year-old Brock Gallery is well worth a visit for art lovers who enjoy variety.

Gallery director Sean Taylor has been involved in the art world for more than 20 years and is thrilled with the stature of the 10 international artists who show there. Browse through Daniel Acebo's sleek animal sculptures, Tolla's enchanting abstract bronze sculptures depicting duos and balance, or Richard Satava's glass sculptures of marine life. Painter Hailan offers sublime narrative interpretations of womanhood, while Hal Stowers, Robert Cook and Jacquelynn Kresman depict nature in all its different forms in widely varying styles. Check out the unique illustrative style of painter Phillip Singer, the wistful and delicate beauty of a Ruo Li piece, and the charm and startling detail of Robert Crawford's work.

Attached to the gallery is Brock Publishing, through which Taylor and owner James Brock will release limited edition giclee prints of selected artists.

The Brock Gallery is at 468 John Ringling Blvd. [phone].

Wyland Galleries of Key West

For the ultimate in water-themed art creations, visit Wyland Galleries, a spacious gallery with walls and floors covered in aquatic paintings, prints, sculptures and furniture.

With more than 40 outlets across the United Stares, Wyland Galleries is eponymous with its founder, the famed marine painter, photographer and muralist who goes only by one name.

As in all Wyland Galleries, the artwork is both by Wyland himself and several other artists, who gallery director Guy Vincent says are some of the most talented and collectible artists in the country. Step in to see how these artists use paint and canvas, stainless steel, crystal, bronze, wood and glass to depict a swirling wave, a graceful dolphin, or the colors of a sea at sunset.

While many locals stop by to add to their collections, Vincent says Wyland also is a huge draw for tourists and many first-rime art collectors. With prices ranging from $20 to hundreds of thousands of dollars there's a piece in Wyland for everybody.

Wyland Galleries of Key West is at 465 John Ringling Blvd. [phone].

Sage Spirit

If you like authentic, and you like American, Sage Spirit is as native as it gets. Owner Lou Torres is a White Mountain Apache who scours the country searching for the exquisite Native American jewelry, evocative paintings and unique artifacts that he sells at his Sr. Armands and St. Petersburg stores.

Everything in the charming studio is handmade, from the silver jewelry studded with lapis, rare chariote, and turquoise to the beaded dreamcatcher earrings, rattles and pipes. Most items represent days of painstaking work, such as the smoked and tanned Sioux pipe bag decorated with beads and chewed porcupine quills (a traditional method that uses saliva to soften the quills); or the caribou bone fetish necklace hand-carved by a 72-year-old Zuni woman.

"We are supporting these crafts in an effort to keep them alive," says manager Mimi Skehen, who starts each day of work by burning a handful of sage so as to bring peace to the gallery.

Sage Spirit is at 17 Fillmore Drive. [phone].

Cardinal Galleries

Cardinal Galleries is an exclusive showcase for the stunning works of two noted modern masters: Andrea Stella and Bruno Paoli.

Stella's dreamlike, sensuous palettes, which can be seen at the Palazzo Pitti Museum in Florence and the Vatican City, shimmer with his unique style and technique, which combines paint with layers of oxidized 24-karat gold and copper.

Paoli, a native of Florence, has his work hanging in the Stia Museum in Tuscany and in the Gallery of Contemporary Art in Arezzo. Likened to the works of Paul Gaugin and Amedeo Modigliani, Paoli's work features women in all their many guises, often with the artist hidden in the background.

Art is not all Cardinal has to offer. Now the St. Armands gallery has incorporated a line of stunning jewelry--Elegant Illusions--that features natural and lab-made gems, from cubic zirconia, lab-grown emeralds, rubies and sapphires, to natural diamonds, opals, topaz and tanzanite.

"The two complement each other so well," says gallery director Vicki Beauzay. "It's just the best of all worlds."

Cardinal Gallery is at 464 John Ringling Blvd. [phone].

Perry Sherwood Gallery

At Perry Sherwood Gallery, you're as apt to pick up a lasting work of art as you are a funky new trinket for your dining table or souvenir for a friend back home.

A resort contemporary art gallery, Perry Sherwood (named for coowners Zalmon Sherwood and Jack Perry) has a branch in Petoskey, Mich., as well as St. Armands Circle. Tourists love to browse the shop for its quirky mobiles, sculptures and pictures; and faithful Longboat Key customers often stop by to pick up a wine rack, fruit bowl or vase that put the prosaic or ordinary to shame with their unexpected shapes and materials.

Almost everything in the shop is original art from around America, Canada and Europe, with some limited reproductions.

Perry Sherwood is at 24-A N. Boulevard of the Presidents. [phone].

John Dineen Gallery

If you're planning to buy just one captivating souvenir to rake home and want something especially evocative of your visit to Sarasota and St. Armands Circle, stop by John Dineen Gallery.

The gallery is on an upper floor of the Circle, the entryway off a sun-lit balcony with white walls, clusters of bougainvillea and a view over the bustling street. Inside are numerous posters and prints created by the director for whom the gallery is named, John Dineen.

In lovely, mellow colors and gentle themes, Dineen illustrates the details that make Sarasota so special: a shell catching the light of the sunrise on the beach, or the intimacy of an outdoor cafe table on the Circle.

John Dineen Gallery is on 415 St. Armands Circle. [phone].

St. Armands Woodery

Just a couple of doors down from the John Dineen Gallery is another delightful spot for picking up some original art, the St. Armands Woodery.

"Any wood you can imagine, I've got it," says owner Shelby Cowles, whose shop has been on St. Armands Circle for 20 years.

Cowles orders pieces from many different carvers, some local, others from all around the country. Their work appeals to both the very young (alphabet trains and tracks) and the more sophisticated (hand-carved wine corks). And there's everything in between, for the high-end client looking for an expensive sculpture to someone just browsing for one of the charming kittens Cowles showcases, for example.

Make it a point to stop by around the Christmas season, when Cowles will have lots of hand-carved Santa Clauses for sale.

St. Armands Woodery is at 8 Boulevard of the Presidents. [phone].