What a way to start the week as we welcome our guest blogger Nadja Thomas on board. She will present to our community the bi-monthly – or if we get lucky weekly – segment De Art Junket. Nadja is a writer from Dominica, her plans include pursuing and furthering her studies in Journalism, with specific focus on the arts and photojournalism. We are elated to have her on board, give her a proper welcome folks.

The Art Asylum

Some people search their entire lives for purpose. For many the search remains a bitter encumbrance, because that prized final goal remains elusive. Earl Etienne is not one of these people. Earl honed his creative gifts in the hours spent in his room as punishment for playing the drums, courtesy of his father. Though he was deterred from pursuing a career in music, it gave birth to his love for the visual arts. Just like in his boyhood years, emotions still form the basis of Earl’s current work. “I draw my inspiration from my life experiences. If something depresses or excites me it triggers something in my subconscious to create.” The result? Calypso on canvas.

Earl Etienne- Bele dancing

“I was born to be an artist.” Earl pauses for a minute. His pause may be attributed to the fact that he has come to dislike the often misused word ‘artist’. Eventually we agree on using the phrase creative person as he relates his childhood inclination to create. “I was born to create, he says, “I did not choose it. Art was offered on Fridays, a time when most boys chose to play cricket.” Earl of course chose art. Though there was not much focus on art in his school days, his talent was encouraged by drawing competitions won and by the words of a Roman Catholic Brother at his all-boys high school. Earl confirmed what he already knew. He would submerge himself professionally in the world of art. He smiles appreciatively as he recounts the Brother’s acknowledgement of his latent talent. “He said you’re wasting your father’s money,” referring to Earl’s occupancy at the school. Ironically Earl credits his father for introducing him to the world of art. “My father adorned our house with European prints that I would try to sketch, he kept our surroundings immaculately clean with flowers all around, there were a lot of artsy things in our house.”

Today, Earl’s most sought after pieces are those born out of nostalgia. Bélé series I & II, named after one of the cultural dances of Dominica, are a collection of portraits capturing the dances’ intricate movements. These pieces are testament to Earl’s artistic ability to create the illusion of motion in visibly static paintings.

Equally fascinating are the techniques that have become somewhat of a trademark for Earl. After an accident in art school, where he charred the walls and ceilings, he noticed images that surfaced on these areas. No one had to tell him that he was on to something great; “I’m fearless, I experiment”. Although this technique of painting with carbon soot was used by prehistoric Europeans, Earl has brought a Caribbean flair to it, while still ensuring that his work is not confused with the often clichéd view of Caribbean art, the familiar “Caribbean Reader’s scene”, of the chicken feeding next to the rusty galvanized roof house.

This is not to say that Earl has never indulged in creating images similar to that of the notorious Caribbean house, but he explains that there is a struggle going on with many artists including himself, as it relates to the commercial vs. solely creative works of the artists’. He is guilty of producing some clichéd art but only on commission as he explains that artists aren’t magicians. Society has forgotten that “we have children to feed, bills to pay and retirement funds to secure, a feat I think the world forgets or doesn’t recognize”. This however is the reality of being an artist in the Caribbean. It becomes a struggle for survival.

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As I walk around his studio I understand immediately what Earl is trying to explain. What is amazing is that the pieces that he has put out there for sale are so compromised by commercial appeal (though still insanely beautiful) and are nothing like those he created void of commercial pressure. The art in Earl’s personal studio is a naked reflection of his soul; every piece pure and straightforward. His commercial struggle however doesn’t prevent Earl from committing completely to his work. He has set himself apart from the ‘Sunday Artist’, a term he uses to refer to those who only dare to use their artistic skill in their free time.

The Life of the committed artist is a very fulfilling existence he notes, though some members of society believe that we are ‘madmen’. He plays on this belief by naming his studio the Art Asylum, especially since one of his favorite artist; Vincent Van Gogh was rumored to be mentally ill. Maybe society understands the risk that these creative men take in submerging themselves entirely in this arguably unstable lifestyle.

The irony is intentional and as life-like as the motion created in his paintings. This Asylum doesn’t house a madman. It is a sanctuary, safe from trivial and conformist pressures often felt by creative persons. Even as I ask of his awards won and galleries where he’s exhibited, he responds with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulder. “Switzerland, London, Austria, Jamaica and quite a few others”, he rattles this list off pacifying me with an answer, just eager to get back to more important discourse. You see, to Earl these are topics important to the outside world but prohibited from influencing works that he creates in his sanctuary.

He is instead focused on his mission to educate those still of the notion that the routine picturesque Caribbean views is as far as Caribbean art extends. Pushing his vision however has not been easy. “You have to have strength. I believed in myself even when family and friends doubted. You have to have faith, persevere and work hard. It gets easier with hard work.” By the looks of things he has been busy working hard. Raw talent and beauty, void of commercial compromise bounce off the walls the Art Asylum. Textured vibrant portraits, charcoal sketches and carbon smoke paintings. This Asylum is a refuge for creation of untainted art.