A surprise awaits those who stroll a few blocks south of King Street along Riberia to a small, nondescript building at the San Sebastian Marina.

Crossing the threshold of the Maria Reyes Jones Gallery, one leaves behind the gray exterior and steps into an explosion of color. With bright forms and textures, most — though certainly not all — of the works depict stylized flowers on canvasses that range in size from modest to enormous.

The gallery has only been open a short time, but the work is that of an artist who has developed her craft over decades.

During this month’s First Friday Art Walk, Reyes Jones and local author Eileen Ballman teamed up to greet visitors and introduce them to creations from their respective disciplines.

Reyes Jones discovered her talent at a young age and probably by necessity.

“I grew up in a military family, so we moved all over,” she said. “And I was really a shy kid, so I had trouble making friends. So, what I would do is I would draw. And I was just really good at it.”

Her family encouraged her. Still, she didn’t decide to pursue a career in art until she attended college. In 1987 she earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and two years later a master’s degree, both from Florida State University. After graduation, she taught art at the elementary-school level for five years and worked as an adjunct instructor at Flagler College.

She went on to win numerous awards and exhibit her work around the country. Her art has sold to several notable personalities, including Dick Smothers of the “The Smothers Brothers,” author Barbara Walker, former Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers player Horace Grant, political consultant Mary Matalin and golfing great Nick Faldo.

Over the past 25 years, Reyes Jones has taken her work on the road, selling her paintings at art festivals. In fact, she has participated in several St. Augustine Art Festivals. She has also had her own galleries in Orlando.

But it was a desire to be near family that prompted her to settle in the area and open her newest gallery here.

“I love St. Augustine; I feel like it’s got a little bit of magic,” she said. “There’s no other place in Florida like St. Augustine.”

Reyes Jones is an early riser, having discovered that she can get more work done if she starts painting before dawn, what she called “the golden hours.” It’s also a time of day when inspiration strikes, though she always keeps pen and paper handy to make a sketch or note should an idea occur when she cannot get to it right away.

She will work on as many as 50 paintings at a time in all different sizes. While some might be 5 by 8 inches, others can be as large as 5 by 6 feet.

“All of my subjects are things that I love,” she said. “I love animals. I love nature. I love flowers. And I love color. I love design. I love texture.”

She said that, over the years, her art has gone through a lot of phases. Though she started out using a more realistic style, her work has evolved.

“I’m always trying something new,” she said. “My mind is always coming up with these ideas of things I want to try.”

The subject of many recent works has been flowers, though she likes to incorporate other elements, such as children or animals.

Originally an oil painter, she now works in acrylics. But there is more than paint on many of her canvasses. She sometimes mixes other things in to vary the texture. Some paintings feature a rough surface of sand. Others contain drops of gold mica flake and glitter.

In fact, many of her flowers are outlined in bright gold.

“I think it just gives it kind of like a cloisonne feel,” she said. “I like a little bit of sparkle.”

At this time, the gallery does not have regular hours. Reyes Jones turns on her “open” sign when it is open, but interested members of the public can also visit by appointment. Call her or send a text to 407-619-1338, or email her at maria@mariareyesjones.com. The website is MariaReyesJones.com.

Ballman’s first book, the product of a lifetime of experiences, was published in September.

“Fragments of an Everywoman's Life” is what Ballman calls a “hybrid.” Part memoir, part journal, part self-help manual, the book draws on her experiences with childhood, education, career, marriage, parenthood and more to explore the many ways women deal with life’s milestones.

Its 20 chapters examine such topics as “How Far Will You Go,” “Loss of Innocence,” “Bouncing Back” and “Defining Moments.”

One chapter is devoted to the idea of success and was inspired in part by a visit to France.

“I was on this lovely trip in Paris, and it was not because I’m rich and famous, but because we had worked hard, saved our money,” she said. “And I got to be in Paris, walking down the street, and I thought, ‘I’m a success, because I’ve made it to Paris!’”

That stroll inspired her to set her ideas down as quickly as possible for a chapter that she now calls one of her favorites.

One chapter that has generated a lot of response from readers examines an aspect of youth.

“It’s about the fact that some of us develop and some of us don’t, and then, what do we do about that?” Ballman said. “How does it affect us as young girls growing into women, and to express that has been lots of fun. The feedback has been terrific.”

Ballman was raised in Connecticut and has lived in Washington, Oregon and North Carolina, finally settling with her husband in St. Augustine. In addition to raising a family of her own, she has had a diverse work history. At first, she was employed in sales and then opened her own interior design business. In her late 40s, she earned a bachelor’s degree in English and became a high school English teacher.

“When I feel moved to do something, I do it,” she said. “And I just embrace it.”

Through it all, she amassed the experiences that would one day form the basis for her book, though she waited until after retirement to do the actual writing. Over a period of three years, she composed “Fragments of an Everywoman's Life,” always writing in cursive on legal pads and transferring it to her computer only after she was happy with the results.

The book is unusual in its structure, and Ballman alerts readers that it is important to read her preface so that they know how to use it.

Each chapter has two anecdotal stories. At the end of the chapter, there are pages for the reader to record her own thoughts.

“I haven’t really come on to anything like it yet, though it might be out there,” Ballman said. “The response that I’m getting is terrific, and it is for that very reason.”

She traces her interest in writing back to her days as a high school student and a teacher who taught her to see the world in a new way.

“She said, ‘Walk out your front door and walk to the bus, but before you step down the steps, stop and look around at what you see,’ and then we had to record that,” Ballman recalled. “And then you realize how you walk through life with these little blinders on, because you’re just walking to the bus stop. If you opened your eyes — what was out there! Whether it was colors or leaves or your neighbor’s house.”

She said the exercise changed her life.

“I stopped just going along with blinders on, and I started always looking at everything closely,” she said.

Still, she wasn’t one to keep a diary or anything like that. All the writing she did was in “long, lovely letters.”

And perhaps that is the reason Reyes Jones said she found Ballman’s book to be “very conversational.”

Once the book was finished, Ballman said, getting it published was “very difficult.”

“When you’re an unknown, you try to get an agent because that gives you a leg up, you would hope and believe,” she said. “But really, agents want you after you’ve published.”

Still, she tried getting an agent, but when that didn’t work out, she simply began to submit her manuscript herself. After receiving her share of rejections, she found a small publisher that would get her book into print, Austin Macauley.

The book is available at the Barnes & Noble store in St. Augustine, as well as barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com.

In teaming up with Reyes Jones for First Friday, Ballman saw an opportunity for two creative women to help one another.

“I just think that, however we can, it is very important that we all find a way to support each other,” she said.

The Maria Reyes Jones Gallery is at 134 Riberia St., Unit 103, just south of the St. Augustine Distillery.