Venus Flytrap on parade

About Alan

My name is Alan Boisvert and I am a Realtor/Broker for Discover NC Homes in Southport, North Carolina.

I began my career as a chef, attending the Culinary Institute of America, graduating in 1984.

Upon graduation I was offered a position with the hotel Bayerischer Hof, a 4-star hotel in Munich, Germany.

As my career progressed, I held chef positions at other 4-star properties including The Crescent Court in Dallas and the Peabody hotel in Memphis. I was also part of the opening team at the Peabody hotel in Orlando, known for their cuisine and daily duck parade.

With that experience under my belt, I opened The Pasta Shack in Methuen, Massachusetts.

A fresh pasta retail/ catering facility. Years later I opened “Keon’s 105 Bistro” in Haverhill Massachusetts where we won the “RAMAES” award for the state’s best restaurant in 2007.

This prompted me to write a cookbook “Keon’s Kitchen”, a cookbook with recipes featuring many of our guests’ favorite dishes.

Next was Keon’s at the Black Swan, a restaurant/function facility located at the Black Swan Country Club in Georgetown, Massachusetts. 

This was pure madness. We opened a 175-seat restaurant and 3 function rooms with seating capacity of 600 on a 4th of July Weekend! And of course, we had a wedding booked for our first Saturday night.

Anyone that knows me will tell you I do not stop. My wife, Lynn, calls me the energizer bunny on steroids. While managing these restaurants and writing the cookbook I was also consulting for 2 national brands of Mediterranean foods. Cedar’s Mediterranean and Hannah foods where 

I developed many of their recipes. They are producers of flavored hummus, tabouleh and an assortment of cold middle eastern salads. Their products can be found in Costco, Sam’s Club and Trader Joe’s in various regions.

My parents, restaurant owners themselves, always instilled in myself and my siblings the importance of giving back to the community. With that in mind, I joined the board of directors for the Greater Haverhill Chamber of commerce. I was also on the executive committee and vice chair of the a couple committees. I was an active Kiwanian and exchange club member donating time, food and resources to many important causes. I helped fund the greater Haverhill mural project. A 2500 square foot mural depicting the city’s best-known pioneers.

After many successful years in the restaurant business, my wife, Lynn, a schoolteacher for 26 years, and I decided it was time to slow down. Lynn gets the credit for finding St James. She did all the research, and I am thrilled she found this little piece of heaven.

I am an avid golfer and outdoorsman. I l enjoy bicycling, hiking, and pickleball. When relaxing, I love to read. I enjoy woodworking and home improvement projects.

In January of 2022 I found art. I was rehabbing from shoulder surgery and golf and pickleball were on the shelf for the time being. To pass the time, I decided to try drawing. I am a natural lefty, and the shoulder surgery was on my right shoulder. I quickly fell in love with the experience of creating something that brought a smile to people’s faces. Much like cooking. After a few months of drawing, I tried a few acrylic paintings and was pleased with my efforts.

I found the website of Susan Nuttall and took a Wednesday morning class with her to see if I could improve my skills. Under her tutelage, I have enhanced my abilities and found a passion for painting I never dreamed of. She encouraged me to try oil painting saying, “It’s like painting with butter”, so true.

I have become a prolific painter and love every minute of it.

Artist Statement

I chose to use a combination of 2D and 3D mediums. The base of the

statue is adorned with sand, sea shells, starfish

and coral giving the illusion of the seabed. Various

Coral species climb the bottom third of the statue

fading into the water where painted fish and a sea

Turtles are seen. 

My intention was to give the viewer a feeling of what a scuba diver would see when swimming by this stand of coral. The views from front to back are different as it would be if you were in the water and coming up for air. What you see from one side would be behind you when viewed from the other side.

Front view: Underwater coral scene with sunset on the horizon

Side view: I have created a smooth transition to the back view.

Back view: Similar underwater scene with the view facing the shoreline.

Located at Hurricane Alley's

Sponsored  by Michelle Alberda, Hurricane Alley's