2016, 40x 60in, Acrylic and cardboard on canvas

2016, 48x 48in, acrylic on canvas

2016, acrylic on canvas

2016, 48x 48in, acrylic on canvas

2016, 48x 48in, acrylic, cardboard, and pastel sticks on canvas

2016, Acrylic on canvas, 60x 144in

2017,  Acrylic on canvas, 48x 48in

2017, acrylic on canvas

2018, acrylic on canvas, 48x 48in

Acrylic on canvas, 60x 192in

2016, acrylic on canvas, 48x 192in

acrylic on canvas, 60x 48

Acrylic on canvas

2020, Acrylic on canvas, 54x 72in

2020, Acrylic on canvas, 66x 72in

2020, Acrylic on canvas, 54x 96in

2020, Acrylic on canvas, 54x 96 in

Acrylic on canvas, 54x 96in

2021, Acrylic on canvas, 66x 72 in

2021, Acrylic on Canvas, 66x 72 in

2021, Acrylic and pastel sticks on canvas, 66x 72 in

2021, Acrylic on canvas, 66x 72 in

2021, Acrylic on canvas, 66x 72in

2021, Acrylic on canvas, 66x 72 in

Crisis (2021), is a painting in three parts with bright reds and vivid blues that balance each other and tell a story across the triptych-like canvas. From left to right the viewer forms a narrative that ends with a figure, head bowed and almost defeated. This painting uses my Raktism method to separate the canvas into three parts with hard vertical lines, but since they aren’t complete they allow for the flow of color and narrative across the scenes. It shows how all stories are linked and how our decisions affect other people and other stories: “I mean, some people think life is a dream / So they making matters worse.” The dark reds of the left panel, hinting at a few faces and a figure, show those who are “killing the people, oo-yoo, (having fun) having their fun / They just want to be the leader / In the house of the rising sun.” This violence and need to control, a clear reference to imperialism and the brutality of colonialism, literally bleeds into the cool blue center of this painting, “killing, killing the people.” Watered down into a pink-ish grey it flows into the third scene and the defeated looking figure. But, Bob Marley reminds us that “No matter what the crisis is / Do it / Live it up, live it up, live it up, live it up (give Jah all the thanks and praises).” Immediately below the bowed, red figure –almost within it –is the basic form of another figure, outlined in blue and moving in a fluid way. This is the soul carrying on and continuing to live it up in spite of the crisis and we can see that while the top of this third panel is that pink-ish grey color that bled across the lines, the bottom has regained the original cool blue of the center.

Coming In From The Cold III (2021) is a colorful painting taking the viewer through time, through different eras, from the antebellum period, through the 1920s, and up to present day. In this song, Bob Marley is an optimistic life coach reminding us that, “When one door is closed, another one opens.” This is my third painting entitled Coming In From The Cold. It is a theme that I have re-visited over the years because the song reflects something I believe in to my core; if something goes bad, there will always be another option. If you see someone at a higher point in life, they were once where you were; “The biggest man you’re ever going to see, was once a baby.” It is a simple yet powerful philosophy.

Burning and Looting (2021), a chaotic yet soothing abstract painting, is a meditation on the 2020 protests against police brutality. In Jamaica, we use the term “burning and looting” for any kind of protest. It does not necessarily represent the literal meaning as we think of it in the US. When I was a kid, there were always protests in the streets. People protested everything from bad working conditions to price increases on daily goods. I would walk through these protests to get to school. As I grew older, I remember feeling the complexity of the song, how it addresses the issue of inequality and mistreatment of people by the state. As a writer the layers of the lyrics struck me. When I painted this work in 2021, the US was boiling over with Black Lives Matter protests against police brutality. It was easy for me to access my memories and feelings connected to this song because of the current situation. The bright colors, with a profusion of reds and pinks, take over the canvas as wet paint actively drips down across the separating lines. This work visualizes the feelings elicited from experiencing or witnessing state violence: confusion, hate, fear, anger, catharsis. At the same time, the pastel gray, green, and yellow tones touch on the calm and tranquility that must necessarily follow chaos, even if for a moment.

Emmett Floyd/Johnny Was 2021Emmett Floyd / Johnny Was (2021) is a striking work referencing critical events in US history. I painted this work on mother’s day in 2021, approaching the canvas with the intention of translating the song Johnny Was. But the one year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder was on my mind and I saw a connection between the two. Consider the lyrics, “Woman hold her head and cry, cause her son had been shot down in the street and die... just because of the system.” I was in college when I realized the deep sadness in this song. It makes me think of a funeral procession, which is different from other Bob Marley songs. It feels personal. I wanted to capture that feeling on canvas; the sadness and the personal nature. I am also struck by the empathy in the lyrics. A stranger comes along and comforts the woman; then in the next verse the stranger is actually the singer, Bob Marley himself, who walks by and stopsto comfort the mother. During George Floyd’s murder, many people were there, they stopped and protested what was happening, they had a similar empathy. The title calls out two of the most historic moments of brutality against Black people in the post-segregated US: the lynching of Emmett Till and the police murder of George Floyd. There are three distinct figures within this painting, evocative of both Michelangelo's Pietà and Picasso's The Death of Casagemas, the position of their bodies denoting the universal image of a mother mourning the loss of her son. A mother sits, just off center, holding the lifeless body of her son sprawled across her lap. Laying on top of and hugging the son, above the mother's lap, is a baby. This painting represents those leftbehind, emotionally and spiritually killed alongside fallen Black men: the mothers, partners, children, and family. Those who must carry on in the wake of tragedy.

The title of Mellow Mood (2021) is a reference to Bob Marley's sweet and melodious love songof the same name. While I consistently paint with music in the background, allowing it to guide my mood and rhythm as I build abstract and figurative canvases, this painting is a more direct reference to the influence of music and words on my practice. The cool blues, glowing reds, and surprising yellow tones reverberate the mood of the song, one of comfortable and loving sensuality. You can feel a dancing movement as the colors flow alongside each other. And, the visual representation of mood and memory is clear in the distinction between restful swathes of color and more active moments where the lines guide the eye.

Zimbabwe (2021), was inspired by Bob Marley’s song of the same name, which he wrote and performed at the independence celebration in Zimbabwe. Unlike most of the works in this series, this painted translation has Raktist elements with strong figures centered on the canvas. The images look like superheroes, with mask-like features, while the raktist style evokes a sense of movement as their world was shifting from a colonial to an independent state. There is a sense that one has to be a superhero to fight offtheir colonizer. Consider the lyrics, “Every man has a right to decide his own destiny and in this judgment there is no partiality.” I grew up around a lot of Rastas and they talked about world politics and about pan-Africanism constantly. I didn’t understand everything, but I was absorbing the ideas earlier in life than many people. As Garveyites, Rastas are deeply connected to Black consciousness and they wanted to go back to Africa. It was 1980 and I remember as a kid hearing on RJR, Radio Jamaica, about the war in Rhodesia (later called Zimbabwe). The war and subsequent independence of Zimbabwe was monumental for Rastas, including Bob Marley.

Rat Race (2021) is a remarkable connector between my early and later abstract painting styles. The soft blending of grays andgreens evoke a sense of peace and familiarity, while the defining black lines and deep shadows create movement and urgency; the latter forming the nucleus of my string theory method exemplified in the Immigration series (2022). After I completed this painting, I showed it to a friend who was determined that the green hues represented the color of money. He thought immediately of the “rat race” in America. It may have been subconscious, but for me the green simply reflected the mood I received from the song. This is a classic Bob Marley song, with powerful messaging, that should be discussed in any compilation of his music.

Misty Morning (2021) reflects the philosophical nature of this song by Bob Marley. The free flowing movement, reminiscent of colorful clouds, demonstrates the feeling of “good vibes” that this song evokes. The colors are relaxing, and the acrylic paint almost looks like watercolor as the watered down colors blend and blur, disappearing and re-appearing from behind the cloudy whites. It visually evokes what Bob Marley is singing about, both the physical veiling of a misty morning –“Misty mornin' / Don't see no sun / I know you're out there somewhere / Having fun” –and the spiritual veiling of a philosophical question –“There is one mystery (yeah) / I just can't express / To give your more / To receive your less.” Like Bob Marley with his lyrics, my painting blurs metaphors and can be read both as the light, airy quality of a misty morning and the heavy, floating world of the sea. It flows and obscures, hiding mysteries that we’re exploring without feeling sinister or malicious. It’s curious and true, so much of life is about learning and questioning; finding answers for ourselves, but also learning with others. Even when life isn’t clear, I know that you are out there, having fun, and that you can help me “Straighten out my tomorrow.”

Lively Up Yourself (2021), is an abstract painting with hints of figures in a vine-like pattern. The colors are restful, while also hinting of movement or activity. I remember the song “Lively Up Yourself” as a feel good number that made everyone smile and sway when it came on. The first line of the song sums it up perfectly: “You’re gonna lively up yourself and don’t be no drag.” It’s a song about choosing to step away from the stress and disappointments of life and celebrate instead; dancing and dipping instead of sulking. Dark pools of shadow are spread across the canvas and take the general shape of faces or create outlines of shoulders. They bring to mind the heaviness of life’s burdens while the bright white, blues, pinks, reds, and yellows covering most of the canvas are the salve of music, dancing, and company. This painting shows that while there is darkness is life, it’s surrounded by light and, like Bob Marley says, “be alive today.

2022, Acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 72x66 in

2022, Acrylic on canvas, 62x60 in

2022, Acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 62x60 in

2022, Acrylic on canvas, 72x66 in

2022, Acrylic on canvas

2022, acrylic on canvas, 74x192 in

2022, Acrylic on canvas, 62x264 in

2021, Acrylic on canvas, 66x72 in

2022, Acrylic on canvas, 62x66 in

2022, Acrylic on canvas, 72x66 in

2021, Acrylic on canvas, 66x 72in

2022, Acrylic on canvas, 66x62 in

2022, Acrylic on canvas, 72x66 in

2022, Acrylic on canvas, 97x67 in