Make Me An Offer I Can't Refuse!

"Rooster" 8 x 10 acrylic painting by
Mark Phillips

I had so many plans last week. I was going to spend some time in my studio and finish some work for the upcoming exhibition at the Caribbean Gallery of Art as well as put some finishing touches on some pieces for the Little Gem Show at the Barbados Arts Council Gallery.

I am only about half way there! Oh for the day when I can spend all day, every day in my studio!

I had a conversation with an accountant this week with regards to another of my business ventures and the conversation got around to my Art and the "unscientific" way that I arrived at my pricing.

Now, before I go on let me tell you what I think about accountants and running a small business. 

They shouldn't!

In the early nineties, I incorporated my first business, an alarm company, with a friend of mine from high school. I was the alarm technician, had trained with Ademco in New York and had completed a number of other technical courses across the USA. Tony was a Certified Public Accountant and the Financial Controller at a well recognised financial institution in Barbados. I was good at what I did and he was good with the numbers but it was not long before I realised that being good with numbers is absolutely useless if the only major numbers that you are generating is debt! I was aware that I knew next to nothing about running a business but I had wrongfully assumed that an accountant would!

Fast forward 15 years. I was approached by, you guessed it, an accountant and another entrepreneur to form yet another security company. To make a not so long story short, this company was incorporated in 2010 with what I thought should have been adequate funding, but within 2 years it was bankrupt. Again, despite my better judgement, I left financial decisions to the accountant. In 2012, I salvaged what customers remained, formed a new company, (alone), and for the last 6 years, the business is growing, has no debt and is making a profit.

In my opinion, if a business is not grossing over 7 figures a year it does not need the regular input of an accountant. A decent accounts clerk and reputable software will get the job done.

So you can see the reason that I was sceptical when an accountant sought to give me advice on running a small business.

However, there was some merit to what he said. He pointed out that my prices should reflect the time and the skill that was used in producing the piece. I had explained to him that this piece of Leacock's Variety in Speightown has taken over 60hrs work already and yet it was not completely finished. I also told him that I would sell it for around $900.00.

His argument was that I was charging $15.00 per hour for my work. About the same as an inexperienced tradesman on a construction site. The skills required to transform a flat 2-dimensional canvas into a scene that creates the illusion of solidity and depth to the extent that the viewer feels that they are standing in person across the street looking up the road must be worth more than $15.00 per hour.

I, of course, argued that there is no way that the market in Barbados would be able to support art prices that reflect the true value of an artist's skill. However, as I was saying it I realised that I was not truly believing what I was saying. I charge $80.00 an hour as a security technician and no one complains. As a locksmith, I once charged what equated to over $1000.00 an hour to open a safe with a damaged combination for a business and they thanked me for it. Why should the skill and experience of an artist be so devalued?

So, I am going to carry out a little experiment. The painting of the rooster above is a unique piece of original art. It is painted in acrylic paint on an 8 x 10 stretched canvas. The materials used cost about $20.00 and it took me about 12 hours to complete.

What do you think I should charge for it?

No, I think the better question is...

What would you offer me for it? And why do you think it is worth that amount?

The person, in my opinion, with the most compelling reason for the offered price, will be allowed to purchase the piece at that price. You may make your offer in the comments section below or on my facebook page. 

I really look forward to hearing your opinions.

As always, thank you for reading. I appreciate the comments and the kind words of encouragement. Until next time when I will share some more of my work and a little about what makes me tick, please leave a comment. And, I will really appreciate if you share this post with your friends. To make sure that you don't miss any future posts, Please enter your email address in the subscribe by email box on the right.


Mark Phillips

Artist
Email:- mark@phillipsbajanart.com
Website:-www.phillipsbajanart.com

The Street that Never Sleeps.

"The street that never sleeps" A 16 x 20 acrylic painting by
Mark Phillips

The Street that Never Sleeps

It has been 7 days since my last post.

Where has the time gone? 

I have been extremely busy and this painting is partially the reason why. I am preparing some pieces for an exhibition to be held at a local gallery later this year and this will most likely be one of the pieces. The theme of the exhibit is "Barbados", and I wanted to do something other than my usual sea and sun pieces.

In my opinion, you can't get more Barbados than this. I no longer frequent Baxter's Road like I did in the old days but it is still one of my favourite places for authentic Bajan food. I have been buying fish from Ann for over 20 years. Perfectly seasoned, and fried to order in a cast iron skillet over a traditional coalpot. 

Many years ago Dereck, an acquaintance of mine, was visiting from the U.S.A.  I took him done to Baxter's Road on a Friday night for some fish. He was protesting that he did not eat fish because it was bland and tasteless. Only after much coaxing and the promise to buy him all the beer he could drink if he didn't like it, did he consent to try it. We waited as Ann chose 2 lovely dolphin steaks and proceeded to work her magic with the coalpot. In less than 10 minutes, the fish was ready. Lightly dotted with ketchup, more liberally covered with Bajan pepper sauce and served with fried breadfruit and coleslaw. Needless to say, he loved it. He even bought another one to take home so that he could show his wife how fish should taste! Every time he returned to Barbados he always wanted to go and get some of that "Night Fish".

I remember when Baxter's Road was the place to eat no matter what time it was. Many a trip to the After Dark Nightclub in Christ Church ended with a trip to Baxter's Road at about 4 a.m. In the early 1980's, (before there was an Oistins Fish Fry), many a 4 a.m Sunday morning found me in "Colins Restaurant" eating a 1/4 chicken with rice and a portion of macoroni pie, or in "Pink Star" eating a fried chicken leg and chips.

You gentlemen out there will relate to this next story. The year 1990, my girlfriend was pregnant with my first daughter. She decided that she really, really wanted a "One Fifty". This was a small lightly sweetened loaf cut in half and stuffed full of cooked liver. This gem was sold only at Pink Star in Baxter's road for the princely sum of $1.50, hence the name. Now, I grew up hearing that when a pregnant woman is craving anything to eat they must have it or the child will be affected in some way. So, being the good partner and father to be, I drove the 10 miles or so from St. Philip where we were living to Baxter's Road. I got there, made a few circles to find a park just in front of the restaurant so that I could leave her safe in the car. I went inside. The place was packed. It took me about an hour. When I returned to the car, she gave me that look that I had learned to mean, "Mark, don't get mad." I turned to her and asked her, "What?" She gave me her cutest smile and said, "I don't want it anymore".

The powers that be need to take a serious look at returning Baxter Road to its former glory. No one that had experienced a Baxter's Road Mall of the early eighties would ever forget the experience.  It was designed around the street fairs that were popular in many districts at the time and was easily the most popular fete of the Crop Over season. It was held every weekend during Crop Over, with the last one on the night of Kadooment. Stacks of speakers 12 feet high blaring out the latest reggae and calypso songs lined both sides of the road from Tudor Street to the Texaco Station that stood at the stop lights opposite the church in the painting. It took over 3 hours to manoeuvre from beginning to end through the tens of thousands of people the packed into the road.

The last one I remembered was 1983. I had just finished school and was enjoying my last bit of freedom before entering the Barbados Defence Force.  Gabby's "Boots" and Grynner's (Mr. T) would forever be engraved onto my brain. 35 years later I can still sing every word to both songs! This was the only time of the year that the first bus at 6 a.m from the Fairchild Street bus stand, (not bus terminal, that came later) to Bayfield and I assume many other places, were packed to capacity. I am proud to say that I have seen many a sunrise over Baxter's Road.

I wish I could share all the memories of the night in Baxter's Road after Kadooment Day 1983.  I was tempted to tell you the story about how I ditched my girlfriend at the stadium that Kadooment morning in order to spend the day with another girl only to caught by my girlfriend in the arms of the said girl leaning up by Johno's Shop in Baxter's Road that night. However, as both ladies in question probably read this blog, I will not share the details of the resulting altercation. What I will share is one fact that I learnt from that incident that had stood me in good stead over the years...
An angry woman is surprisingly strong! Enough said.

I just realized that I could probably continue this reminiscing for a while. However, I am not sure of the statue of limitations relating to some of the incidents that I can share that occurred on Baxter's Road back in the day.  After over 30 years I will not impugn the integrity of some persons that are considered Barbados's most upstanding citizens today!

"Nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days."  Doug Larson

Soon, I will share with you the other pieces that I am working on for the Exhibition. I may even ask you to help me choose the final 3 pieces when I had identified the most likely 6.

As always, thank you for reading. I appreciate the comments and the kind words of encouragement. Until next time when I will share some more of my work and a little about what makes me tick, please leave a comment.  And, I will really appreciate if you share this post with your friends. To make sure that you don't miss any future posts, Please enter your email address in the subscribe by email box on the right.

Mark Phillips

Artist
Email:- mark@phillipsbajanart.com
Website:-www.phillipsbajanart.com

Country Church

"Country Church" An 11 x 14 Original Acrylic Painting by
Mark Phillips

This is where I am with this piece so far. Sorry about the quality of the photo. It was taken with a really cheap cell phone.

This is St. Martin's Anglican Church in the parish of St. Philip. Unfortunately, this church has been in the news lately.

The very day after I started this painting, I heard the news that Police was investigating what they suspected was a case of arson at St Martin’s Church. 

Apparently, someone set fire to the altar, two kneeling stools and a prayer book, leaving them extensively burnt. 

Burnt Prayer Book

St. Martin's Church was built in 1859 and sits on the site of the previous chapel school for the area. The chapel school was actually built in 1837.  The damaged altar, made from mahogany and interlaced with metal, was part of the church from the very beginning. I will not try to rationalize where a person's mind needs to be at to commit an act of sacrilege but this type of incident is happening way too often in a society that once boasted of being a Christian nation. 

Burnt Stool

Anyone that knows me, will attest that I am not a member of any church. Yet I can appreciate the value that churches provide in maintaining an orderly society. When I was still in High School, a church leader, in fact, a former Bishop of Barbados, told me, "Churches were there to control the ignorant". At the time, I was slightly offended by the condescending nature of this man of the cloth but as I have gotten older, I think that I understand what a 16-year-old me could not. As the influence of the Church wanes in Barbados, ignorance is running rampant in this country. 

Burnt Alter

Many years ago, I worked as a building contractor and I subcontracted a lot of carpentry work to an elderly Guyanese gentleman named Mr Carter. Being a more than decent woodworker myself, many times we would end up, just the two of us,  working on some particularly tricky or difficult job that we could not get finished to the perfection that we both sought. We would be 1/4 of an inch off-specification or a 90-degree angle would read 91and we would spend hours trying to correct a flaw that only the two of us would ever know was there. Eventually, Carter would turn to me and say, "Boss, let we done with this. It ain't no Church." That was our signal to call it quits. In his mind, the only structure that needed to be perfect was a Church! Where has that mentality gone? How did we get to a point where we live in a society where churches need alarm systems, burglar bars and security cameras?

To the technocrat, St. Martin's church is not considered a beautiful church. Many architectural "experts" consider the proportions of this church to be way off what is considered normal. Apparently, the roof is too steeply pitched and the bell tower is disproportionate to the structure. Even the windows in the structure seem to lack any uniformity in shape and size while the buttresses appear to be too small to accomplish the job for which they were built. However, despite the many architectural flaws, it is still one of my favourite Churches. I look at this building and it stands out as an important fixture of the landscape that has dominated its surroundings for almost 160 years. In my humble opinion, its imperfections make it special.

Many, many years ago, when I was still at school I think, I did a watercolour painting of this church. I have no idea where it is today. Most likely, my mother or one of my former girlfriends give it to someone as a gift. A few of my early works found homes that way! This is the only church that I have ever painted twice so I am going to wait until I am in the perfect frame of mind to finish it. This may be one of the works that I will keep in my personal collection, to be sold only after my death. We will see.

"I enjoy art, architecture, museums, churches and temples; anything that gives me insight into the history and soul of the place I'm in. I can also be a beach bum - I like to laze in the shade of a palm tree with a good book or float in a warm sea at sundown. " - Cherie Lunghi

As always, thank you for reading. I appreciate the comments and the kind words of encouragement. Until next time when I will share some more of my work and a little about what makes me tick, please leave a comment with what you think the title of the painting should be.  And, I will really appreciate if you share this post with your friends. To make sure that you don't miss any future posts, Please enter your email address in the subscribe by email box on the right.

Mark Phillips

Artist
Email:- mark@phillipsbajanart.com
Website:-www.phillipsbajanart.com

The College - Don't let your past dictate your future.

"The College". A 16 x 20 acrylic painting by Mark Phillips

I painted this piece from a photo I took in January this year when visiting the College on other business.

There is a darkness to Codrington College that appears to be part of its very foundation. Built by slaves on lands that were probably acquired by murder. No amount of good intentions could remove the shadow from this place.

I am a product of The Lodge School, which along with Codrington College came about as a direct result of the actions of Christopher Codrington. Sitting in history class at Lodge School with Mr. F.A Hoyos, (later Sir Alexander Hoyos), I  learnt of the benevolence of Mr. Codrington. Only years later as an adult did I learn the full story of the Codrington family’s role in the history of Barbados and the West Indies. I do not blame Mr. Hoyos for his omission. I attended Lodge School in 1974 when it was still a Boarding School and both the student body and the staff were still 40-50% Caucasian. Subjects like slavery barely merited a mention.

Bear with me while I give you a more comprehensive story.

Christopher Codrington was born in Barbados in 1668. His father, Colonel Christopher Codrington, was captain-general of the Leeward Islands. As a young man, Codrington was sent to England to be educated. From 1685 he attended Christ Church, Oxford, as a gentleman commoner. In 1694, having fought with distinction at Huy and Namur, he was made a captain of the 1st regiment of foot guards in 1695. After his father’s death in 1698, King William gave him the succession to his father's office of captain-general and commander-in-chief of the Leeward Islands.

He died on 7 April 1710, and his body was sent to England and buried in All Souls Chapel. By his will dated 1702 he left £10,000, and £6,000 worth of books to the college, a legacy that sufficed to erect, furnish, and endow a magnificent library, in the middle of which stands his statue done by Sir Henry Cheere.

His two plantations in Barbados, now known as the Society and the College, together with part of the island of Barbuda, he left "to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts for the foundation of a college in Barbados," in which a convenient number of professors and scholars were to be maintained, "all of them to be under the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience," and "obliged to study and practice physick and chirurgery, as well as divinity, that by the apparent usefulness of the former to all mankind they may both endear themselves to the people, and have the better opportunity of doing good to men's souls, while they are taking care of their bodies."

The strict rules that Christopher left were never followed but Codrington College was built between 1714-42 and still stands today.   The painting shows one of the original buildings. To his credit, Codrington directed that a portion of his charitable bequest be used to educate the enslaved population of Barbados, but this was a gesture effectively blocked by the objections of fellow planters.

The plantations were run by managers on behalf of the SPG, and their operational oversight was nominally supervised by a Board of trustees of the Society headed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and a committee of Church of England, (Anglican), bishops. The plantations were reliant on the regular supply of new slaves from West Africa.  Due to ill-health, smallpox, dysentery and mistreatment, 4 out of every 10 slaves bought by the plantation in 1740 were reported to have died within three years.

Initially, slaves were branded with the word "Society" on their chests with a hot iron. Historian Milton Meltzer explains that the branding practice throughout the sugar plantations was that “Already branded once by the trader, the slaves were branded a second time with their new owner's initials." On branding at Codrington, historical documents state, “For nearly a decade, Codrington officials tried to reduce escapes by branding all slaves on their chests. In the end, though, the chief deterrent was the lash, plus, at times, an iron collar and a straitjacket.”

Woodville Marshall, emeritus professor of history at the University of the West Indies, said the Church's sins over Codrington were those of omission more than commission. "They had professional planters to run the place," he said. "The Church didn't play an active role, because they were more interested in the receipts." After the plantation was left to the SPG, its slaves were branded on the chest with the word "society", to remind everyone that these were slaves of the Lord. In 1740, 30 years after the Church took over, four out of every 10 slaves bought by the plantation died within three years. "Most people in Barbados are not too troubled by these issues," Prof Marshall said. "It was not so much the SPG that the Church should be apologising for as the activities of the individual parsons who kept plantations and slaves for sheer profit."

The elder Codrington deserves a mention here if we are to understand where the Codrington family wealth was derived from.

Colonel Christopher Codrington (c. 1640 – 1698) was an English plantation owner and colonial administrator who made a great fortune in the West Indies. Born about 1640 on Barbados, Codrington was the son of another Christopher Codrington. His father was a royalist who had arrived in Barbados around 1640, married a sister of James Drax, a leading plantation owner, and acquired an estate in the parish of Saint John. He made a small fortune there, most of which he left to his son when he died in 1656.

In 1663, Codrington and other men of Barbados bought the island of Saint Lucia from native chiefs there. While still in his twenties, he was appointed to the council of Barbados, and then as deputy governor, entrusted with the day-to-day administration in the absence of the Governor. In that capacity, he set about building schools and hospitals, suppressing smuggling, and controlling excessive drinking. Codrington was married to a woman named Gertrude.  His elder son, another Christopher, was born in Barbados in 1668, and then a younger son called John, who was an "imbecile."

In 1669, the elder Codrington was accused of murdering Henry Willoughby, a son of the Governor, Lord Willoughby, during a dispute about Codrington's acquisition of a desirable estate on Barbados called Consetts. (the site of the present College). Willoughby died suddenly with a "violent burning of the stomach", a few hours after eating a meal with Codrington, and although no wrongdoing was ever proved, Codrington never entirely recovered his good name on the island.  He began to trade outside the law and to move his investments away from Barbados.

In 1672, while Willoughby was away on a campaign, Codrington received a report of a rich silver mine on the island of Dominica, which was still in the possession of the Island Caribs and summoned the council of Barbados to ask it to agree that he should seize Dominica "before any other nation should possess the same". He then sent men to negotiate the purchase of the island, and a party to take possession. However, the French Governor General, the Marquis de Baas, promptly had the Englishmen removed from the island and protested that they had broken a treaty with the French of 1660. When Willoughby returned to Barbados Codrington was dismissed from his position and was also removed as commanding officer of a militia regiment.

After leaving the council, between 1674 and 1682 Codrington was elected several times to the Assembly of Barbados and was its Speaker in 1674, 1675, and 1678.

Codrington went on to build up the largest land holdings in Antigua and secured a lease of the whole island of Barbuda from the Crown.  He was appointed as captain-general of the English Leeward Islands, and in 1683 moved his base of operations to Antigua, where he was an important plantation-owner and was influential in reforms to make the island more like Barbados. By 1685, he had founded the settlement of Codrington on Barbuda and went on to build a stronghold there. During the Nine Years' War of 1688 to 1697, he led a series of armed conflicts with the French. As a captain general, Codrington found many ways to line his own pockets and was the target of allegations of corruption when he died in 1698, not long after the Peace of Ryswick.

All his ill-gotten gains were inherited by his elder son, our Christopher Codrington.

To rid ourselves of our shadows -- who we are -- we must step into either total light or total darkness. Goodness and evil. Jeremy P. Johnson

As always, thank you for reading. I appreciate the comments and the kind words of encouragement. Until next time when I will share some more of my work and a little about what makes me tick, please leave a comment.  And, I will really appreciate if you share this post with your friends. To make sure that you don't miss any future posts, Please enter your email address in the subscribe by email box on the right.

Mark Phillips

Artist
Email:- mark@phillipsbajanart.com
Website:-www.phillipsbajanart.com
Online Store:- PhillipsArtStore

The Quietness that the Stillness of Nature Inspires

Harrismith. A 16 x 20 Acrylic painting of Harrismith Beach,
Barbados by Mark Phillips

 "The poor long for riches, the rich long for heaven, but the wise long for a state of tranquillity." –Swami Rama

The peace and quiet that is highlighted in these St. Philip beach scenes is what the word, paradise means to me. 

This is the latest in my collection of St. Philip Beaches. I have already painted Peat Bay, Skeete's Bay and Bottom Bay.

This was painted from a photograph that I took n December 2017. I was standing on the cliff overlooking Bottom Bay trying to get an unusual shot of the beach when I happened to look the other direction and saw this perfect shot of Harrismith.

Harrismith Beach is located between Sam Lord's Castle and Bottom Bay in the parish of St. Philip. The name Harrismith originates from a town in South Africa founded in 1849 and named after British Governor Sir Harry Smith. It is my understanding that the buildings seen on the cliff were once the site of the Harrismith Hotel. As a child, I always knew the ruins as the Harrismith Great House. 

A 16 x 20 Acrylic painting of Bottom Bay, Barbados by
Mark Phillips

Harrismith Beach was never a regular haunt of mine as a child. Most of my time was spent at Peat Bay, Bottom Bay and even Kitridge Bay even further east. Swimming was not recommended at any of these beaches because of the strong currents offshore and our swimming areas were either Skeete's Bay further North or Crane Beach or Foul Bay to the South.

Like Bottom Bay and Peat Bay,  Harrismith Beach is perfect for relaxation and inward reflection. For someone like me who enjoys their own company more than most, growing up in this part of Barbados was paradise. 

It is my opinion that the way to enjoy Barbados

A 16 x 20 Acrylic painting of Peat Bay, Barbados by
Mark Phillips

is to experience the tranquillity of our more serene beaches. Too much emphasis is placed on the overcrowded beaches of the South and West coasts. It is somewhat of a paradox for me. On one hand, I know that these beaches offer the best of Barbados and I would love to see them shared with the world but on the other hand, I would hate to see them become overcrowded and commercialised. 

The original painting of Bottom Bay has been sold, I am pleased to say, to a local collector. I am always glad when my art ends up in Barbadian homes to be enjoyed by generations of Bajans. Too often our best artwork is bought by visitors who take them away from the island and away from the eyes of Barbadians. Personally, I find this rather sad. That is why I would sell me art to residents of Barbados for far less than I could get for them just for the satisfaction of knowing that they will remain at home. 

“If you have time to chatter, Read books.
If you have time to read, Walk into mountain, desert and ocean.
If you have time to walk, Sing songs and dance.
If you have time to dance, Sit quietly, you happy, lucky idiot.”
― Nanao Sakaki 

As always, thank you for reading. I appreciate the comments and the kind words of encouragement. Until next time when I will share some more of my work and a little about what makes me tick, please leave a comment.  And, I will really appreciate if you share this post with your friends. To make sure that you don't miss any future posts, Please enter your email address in the subscribe by email box on the right.

Mark Phillips

Artist
Email:- mark@phillipsbajanart.com
Website:-www.phillipsbajanart.com
Online Store:- PhillipsArtStore

"Tranquillity" Do you recognise this beach?

"Tranquillity" A 16 x 20 Acrylic painting on stretched canvas
 by Mark Phillips

I am 95% finished with the piece. I started with a clean white canvas at 10 am and finished at 11 pm. A marathon session that saw me stopping only for the occasional bathroom break.

This is one of my favourite childhood haunts. I have spent many hours alone on this beach. In fact, I studied for a few of my GCE O'Levels sitting under the coconut trees that you see in the painting. I said a few. The truth is that I only studied for 2 O'levels, Biology and Geography and those were the only 2 "A" grades that I received. The other 6 that I passed were a combination of a decent memory and extraordinary luck.

I asked if anyone recognised this beach. The reason that I am pretty sure that not many people will. Despite my efforts to reproduce it as accurately as possible, it is simply because it is not a very well known beach. There are no signs, no access roads that do not require a 4 x 4 vehicle in good condition, nor is the water particularly safe. Many, many years ago, an artificial barrier of rocks was placed across the entrance to the beach and as small children, we were warned about the dangerous tides that existed beyond this barrier. Even the most adventurous of us did not venture there.

As children we used the beach mainly for body surfing, using whatever pieces of plywood that we could salvage to use as body boards. However, the main attraction of this beach was the coconut trees. A rite of passage into our "gang" and the status that you maintained in the group was always determined by how well the individual performed a number of tasks known as "trials". If this is sounding all too familiar, remember that we grew up reading Enid Blyton books. The Famous Five, The Secret Seven along with the Hardy Boys adventure books were a major part of our life.

These trials were always difficult. Designed to test your courage and your physical strength. Anyone could design a trial and present it to the group. He just had to be the first one to do it. One such trial was to climb every coconut tree on this particular beach. Carrying a rope and a knife you were required to cut a bunch of coconuts and lower them to the ground. This particular challenge was designed by me and I had done it alone long before I presented it to the boys. I spent many days alone on the beach and I regularly climbed every tree. Sometimes spending up to an hour perched in the treetop enjoying the breeze and the gentle and sometimes not so gentle sway of the tree. If you have never drunk a coconut while relaxing in the top of a 30ft coconut tree on a beautiful tropical beach, you have not lived!

As an adult looking back on those solo trips into the treetops with no one around, I realised that this was possibly one of the more stupid things that I had done in my lifetime. (And believe me, I had done a few stupid things!). Had I fallen and was injured, no one would have found me for a long time. I never told anyone where I was going.

I visited this beach only last week and very little has changed. It is still one of the most secluded an peaceful spots in Barbados. The occasional plastic bag and pep bottle is evidence that someone visits occasionally but until the access road is fixed, this will not be a tourist attraction any time soon.

If you know this beach please leave a comment below.

"When anxious, uneasy and bad thoughts come, I go to the sea, and the sea drowns them out with its great wide sounds, cleanses me with its noise, and imposes a rhythm upon everything in me that is bewildered and confused." - Rainer Maria Rilke

As always, thank you for reading. I appreciate the comments and the kind words of encouragement. Until next time when I will share some more of my work and a little about what makes me tick, please leave a comment.  And, I will really appreciate if you share this post with your friends. To make sure that you don't miss any future posts, Please enter your email address in the subscribe by email box on the right.

Mark Phillips

Artist
Email:- mark@phillipsbajanart.com
Website:-www.phillipsbajanart.com
Online Store:- PhillipsArtStore

Country Home

"Country Home". An 11 x 14 Acrylic Painting by Mark Phillips

As with most of my paintings, I was driving through St. John, just pass the entrance to Bath Beach and the old Cable and Wireless earth Station site, when I saw this house looking at home, nestled at the edge of this tropical forest.

This became the latest in my Chattel House Collection. It was done earlier this year and when I first painted it I was not very happy with the results so I packed it away on a shelf in the studio with the intention of changing it some day.

However, I was looking through some older paintings to fulfil an order for a client who purchased a license to use some of my original pieces in their company promotions, and I came upon this piece again.

Surprisingly, I loved it! I could find nothing that I wanted to change about it. If I was being purely academic, I must admit that it broke some composition rules that artists are taught to follow but looking at this piece I felt a sense of calm and relaxation. This was a piece of the real Barbados. A traditional home perfectly engineered to take advantage of the cooling St. John breezes blowing in off the Atlantic Ocean. I truly green space surrounded by the indigenous vegetation the covered this island before the exploitation by its European colonisers.

The steep gable roof, constructed of corrugated iron, perfectly adapted to suit a climate where heavy rains and high winds were the norm each year. The angle of the roof deflects the wind rather than providing a platform for it to lift off. The jalousie windows, with three sets of hinges - two vertical and one horizontal - allow maximum flexibility against the wind and sun. The interior of the house is kept cool while providing security and privacy.

I will like the share this poem that I found on Barbados.org. Unfortunately, they did not share the author's name. I believe that artists should be recognised for there work, so if anyone reading this knows of the author please tell us in the comments below.

"Little Houses"

Little houses built of wood, 

Sash window and the jalousies

Fretwork filters dim the light light 

To set the shade and cool breeze free

Little houses falling down 

Rumble tumble to the ground

Patchwork, nailed and hammered fast 

Loved and cherished to the last

Skilled and crafted

in precise scale

of detail like the villa grand

with pride upon the blocks you stand

Home where Grandma Settle lived

And where all 8 brothers grew,

living in a room or two

I grew up in St. Philip but I was born in St. John. As my mother loves to remind me, "my navel string bury there". The little village of Glenburnie situated about 2 miles from this house is where I came kicking and screaming into this world. No doctors or hospitals, just my mother and the village midwife with the ever-present sound of the Atlantic Ocean providing a perfect complement to our cries. 

This piece now hangs in my studio where I can see it every day. A reminder that we sometimes need to take a step back and look at something again before we can fully appreciate it.

“There are some people who see a great deal and some who see very little in the same things.” ― Thomas Henry Huxley

As always, thank you for reading. I appreciate the comments and the kind words of encouragement. Until next time when I will share some more of my work and a little about what makes me tick, please leave a comment.  And, I will really appreciate if you share this post with your friends. To make sure that you don't miss any future posts, Please enter your email address in the subscribe by email box on the right.

Mark Phillips

Artist
Email:- mark@phillipsbajanart.com
Website:-www.phillipsbajanart.com
Online Store:- PhillipsArtStore

Rest In Peace "Brig Lew".

An 11 x 14 Acrylic Painting of  Harrison Point Lighthouse
 by Mark Phillips

Firstly, let me apologise for not posting over the last week. I was off the island on business and time just did not allow it.

This is an 11 x 14 acrylic painting of the lighthouse at Harrison Point, St. Lucy. When I started this piece I intended only to capture a beautiful St. Lucy sunset to complement the sunrise at River Bay that I did before.

However, from the time I started working, a sense of sadness came over me as I started to reminisce about the time I spent stationed at Harrison Point in 1984 & later in 1986/87.

I did my recruit training at the old U.S. Naval Base at Harrison Point which by this time was controlled by the Barbados Defence Force and renamed the National Youth Service Training Centre, (N.Y.S.T.C.) Despite the gruelling and sometimes sadistic nature of the training, I can still say that the experience at Harrison Point had made me the man, the father, the husband, that I am today.

When I left school, I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I knew that I didn't want to spend the next 4 or 5  years of my life at University training to work for someone else. I had the required GCE O & A levels but I had no intention of being stuck in a classroom. I had spent 8 years at the Lodge School and enough was enough.

I was a rebel at school, constantly getting into trouble for flaunting any rule that was in my opinion, silly. I wore suede shoes for 3 years because I argued that the rules required that brown leather shoes be worn and opinioned that my suede shoes were indeed leather. This lead to many confrontations with the then headmaster, one Cecil Everton Aurelius Smith or "Joe", as he was known to us students. Joe was constantly on my case about my shoes and no matter how I was punished, I persisted in defiance of this silly rule. The thing that made it more frustrating for Joe was the fact that I was best friends with his nephew Michael and very good friends with another nephew Craig and his son Roger. This brought us into contact more than either Joe or myself would have liked. 

One evening, when I was in my final year of Upper 6th form, l was walking across the courtyard around  5 pm. after cricket practice and Joe stopped me. He told me not to come to him for a testimonial as he would not perjure himself for me. I was really taken aback by this. I did not even intend to ask him for one but I was still pissed. It would be many years later before I consciously made the effort to forgive him for that slight. That was when I learned of his prolonged illness around the same time as hearing about the murder of his wife.

However, I digress. Joining the Barbados Defence Force channelled me in the right direction when I could have easily wandered done the wrong path.

This painting conjures up feelings of sadness, not because of my recruiting experience but because of what happened a few years later. It was in either 1986 or 1987 that I, a young Second Lieutenant just back from the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst, was posted as Officer-in-Charge of the base at Harrison Point. By this time, the camp was no longer a training camp. It was a guard post. The explosives used for excavation by the nearby cement plant was stored in the old US army armoury which was situated in the T-Building in the area close to the lighthouse. The soldiers guarded the building and provided armed escort services for the explosives.

It is customary for the Officer-in-Charge to have a Sergeant as his Second-in-Command (2IC). However, I was posted there for about 3 months with a Corporal as my 2IC. And, what a corporal! Corporal Murphy was the most unreliable, untrustworthy, conniving son of a bitch that you would ever have the misfortune to meet and on top of that he was an alcoholic that would drink himself into a stupor on occasions. Not the type of person that you would like to leave in charge! The result was that for my entire tour of duty at Harrison Point, I did not go home. I spent every night in camp even when I was officially off!

Unfortunately, I was not the only one spending unusually long hours in camp. We were understaffed and most of the men were working 3 or 4 times harder than their counterparts at Headquarters, (HQ), or even at the new Paragon Base. Moral was at an all-time low and tempers were beginning to flare. There was only one telephone available to make outside calls and for obvious reasons, I had forbidden its use for personal calls. This meant that soldiers were out of contact with their wives and girlfriends and the teasing of the other soldiers about who was doing what with them was beginning to take its toll.

I made a report to HQ highlighting the status of moral of the men and stating my concerns about me alone supervising 30 unhappy testosterone-fuelled soldiers walking around with rifles and live ammunition.  I was accused of being melodramatic. Fortunately, I was reassigned a few weeks later. It was very soon after that Private Roderick Lewis, (aka Brig Lew), was shot and killed at Harrison Point by another soldier as they were on guard duty one night.

This incident hit me hard! I was devastated! Not only was Brig Lew a friend of mine, we had recruited together at Harrison Point. Not only had I lost a friend but I am sure that the situation these young men were placed into at Harrison Point was in some way responsible for this incident.  I will say no more before I say too much. Continue to Rest In Peace "Brig Lew".

"Your lost friends are not dead, but gone before, advanced a stage or two upon that road which you must travel in the steps they trod." Aristophanes

For your information, some months after I had left Harrison Point, Corporal Murphy was driving drunk one night and was involved in a fatal hit and run which resulted in him going AWOL and leaving the island to avoid prosecution.

My art is inspired by my life's experiences. Every painting has a story and, although when I started this painting, I had no intention of telling this story, I am glad that I did.

As always, thank you for reading, I appreciate the comments and the kind words of encouragement. Until next time when I will share some more of my work with you, please leave a comment.  And, I will really appreciate if you share this post with your friends. To make sure that you don't miss any future posts, Please enter your email address in the subscribe by email box on the right.

Mark Phillips

Artist
Email:- mark@phillipsbajanart.com
Website:-www.phillipsbajanart.com
Online Store:- PhillipsArtStore

Window to the Sea

"Window to the Sea" A 16 x 20 Acrylic Painting
by Mark Phillips

This piece was done from a photograph I took one day driving from St. Lucy's Parish Church to Speightstown. As I came around the bend at the bottom of Colleton Hill, I came upon this perfect scene.

This was painted in acrylics with a limited palette. That is to say, I used only red, yellow, blue, black & white. There was no preliminary sketch. At about 9 a.m. I started working on a blank white canvas with my #2 Filbert white bristle brush. It was one of those rare days that I could dedicate all my time to painting and by 11 pm that night I did my symbolic, (and actual), "dropping of the brush", to indicate to myself and the universe that I was finished.

I sat back looking at the painting and I realised immediately where this painting belonged. It was the perfect complement to another 16 x 20 of mine done of Bottom Bay in St. Philip and bought by a collector a few weeks before. I contacted her the next day and told her that I had a piece to show her. I took it a few days later and she wrote me the cheque on the spot! The two pieces belonged together. 

My daughter came into my studio the very next day and asked me where it had gone. She was very annoyed with me when I told her that it was sold. She wanted it for her room! I even offered to purchase a framed print of it, larger than the original, from my online store but she refused with a, "Daddy please! I only hang originals!" I have raised a snob!

Over the next few days, I will be sharing some of my older work. Many of these would have been sold and the photographs of some of them may not be of the best quality.  The main reason that I will not be showing any new work for at least a week is that I will be travelling to Miami for a few days on business and will be away from my studio. 

It is not that I have not been working. Currently, I have three (3) paintings working on simultaneously and none will be finished before I go.  They are all commisions. My facebook page has been keeping me busy but I refuse more than I accept. I am determined not to let my art turn into another "job". I work on what I enjoy and on subjects that I believe I can do justice to. At my age, this is the only way to work.  Don't just take my word for it. 

Here is what he has to say...

“There comes a time when you ought to start doing what you want. Take a job that you love. You will jump out of bed in the morning. I think you are out of your mind if you keep taking jobs that you don’t like because you think it will look good on your resume. Isn’t that a little like saving up sex for your old age?”  Warren Buffet

Warren Buffett is worth over 66 billion dollars. He is the third wealthiest person in the world. He’s the owner and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and he has pledged to give away 99 percent of his wealth to charity upon death.

As always, thank you for reading, I appreciate the comments and the kind words of encouragement. Until next time when I will share some more of my work with you, please leave a comment.  And, I will really appreciate if you share this post with your friends. To make sure that you don't miss any future posts, Please enter your email address in the subscribe by email box on the right.

Mark Phillips

Artist
Email:- mark@phillipsbajanart.com
Website:-www.phillipsbajanart.com
Online Store:- PhillipsArtStore