Progress Report

Work on my december show is going at super snail's pace . I'm researching a couple ideas for my themes.

Hope to do a couple thumb nails soon.

Double Take

As promised, here 's my review of With An Open Mind after my second visit to the Fine Art gallery. I must say that I feel very proud to have been a part of this exhibition, put on by my friends of Canvas Caribbean because the standards of technique and creativity of most of the participants, were very high. My favourites were Carol Lewis, Raymond Alexander, Leona Fabien and Shalini Singh.

Carol evidently gave a lot of consideration toher compositions especially those that were composites of something greater. She gave real meaning to the phrase 'the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts." Carol also added depth and creativity to her work with her tactile textures and collages. Among my favourites was The Beholder's Eye, a colourful piece consisting of half of a human face juxtaposed against abstract shapes.

Raymond Alexander's work is quite representational, at times almost to the point of photo realism but his creativity can be seen in the design of his compositions . Also, he manages to convey a strong sense of mood that makes a connection with the viewer. My favourite pieces are Come Walk With Me and Bird On A Wire.

Leona is known for her abstractions and her clean ,harmonious palette and her submissions for this show were no exception. In particular, I liked Architectural - Moody Spaces.

Shalini, true to form, created inticate pieces, albeit on a large scale. Her work was also conceptual so one really focused on the design elements of her work such as the palette, and on her technical skill. I was mesmirized by Real.. Not A Dream because of the depth that she captures in parts of the painting. However I felt that this effect should have been applied throughout the entire piece.

It was truly a treat to have been able to review these pieces and I look forward to working with Canvas Caribbean again.

" Private Viewing?......A Contradiction

The "private viewing" of "With An Open Mind" an exhibition by the group ,Canvas Caribbean, opened at the Fine Art Gallery in Woodbrook, Trinidad.

As anticipated, the opening night was abuzz with excitement as artists and patrons hobnobbed with each other and nudged their way among the guests that crowded the gallery.

I love opening nights. It's a great opportunity to unobstrusively observe the viewers' response to one's work. It's also scary.......the prospect of negative reviews.......but then , how else does one grow?

Another great thing is that one is able to see how a particular work looks in the midst of others, done by disparate artists.

The disadvantage though is that one's capacity to truly gaze at a given piece is limited because a "private viewing"is just too public. Any art lover will tell you that a certain degree of privacy and solitude is necessary in order to "communicate" with the work on show. A subsequent visit is therefore necessary in order to truly analyze one's response to the exhibit.

I must therefore reserve my comments until I have had the opportunity to pay a second visit to the gallery.

more fun with prints

I truly enjoyed printing these. Usually my figures tend to be very detailed but I felt liberated by the simplification of the shapes. There is a naivity in this type of print making that puts me at ease. Ialso love the textural effects of "sweetness".

These were done with acrylic paints and eva foam on cold pressed watercolour paper.

Blue.......a Colour of Passion

The passion, warmth and excitement of Trinidad Carnival inspired this piece. Indeed, Iam always fired by the steel drums of Carnival, as they make their way onstage for the Semi-Finals of Panorama, a national competition. The dust, the noise, sweet profusion of sound pulsating through the air ........and the people, in frenzied rapture......the music coursing through their veins. This was rendered in acrylic on stretched canvas.