I think I developed an appreciation for art at around the same time I encountered the written word as a lifelong ambition and eventual professional pursuit. It was sometime in the 1960s at Caroni Presbyterian School in the middle of a Frederick Settlement canefield.

Renowned artist, MP Alladin, in his capacity as Director of Culture in the Ministry of Education and Culture was making the rounds of schools in the district. I remember him standing over my hunched shoulder and the long wooden bench desk behind which sat two, maybe three of us. My face was near the paper and I was drawing faces, as were the others.

My grandfather, the school headmaster, told me on our way back “home” in St Augustine that Mr Alladin was pleased with what he saw at my desk. I thereafter became the first graffiti artist I knew.

Fast forward to QRC and art teachers Keith Swanston and Jackie Hinkson – two of the greatest instructors in any discipline I have ever met. Mr Swanston encouraged me to do more charcoal, pastel, and pencil art. Mr Hinkson, I recall, was more into paints – acrylics mainly.

After my Credit at O’Level Art, I continued drawing and drawing and would do the occasional painting using poster paints on sketch paper. But, all the while, I really wanted to make writing my occupation. In my final year doing A’Levels I published my first collection of poems. I have since done four more.

I eventually realised that journalism offered the best opportunity to earn a living by writing. I could continue my poetry and earn a salary as a journalist. Art was relegated to a much lower level of priority.

It wasn’t until 2022 and Hinkson’s Carnival Murals in St Ann’s. “How is your art these days?” he asked me. “Well, I have been paying more attention to my writing,” was my response. “Look. Try to get back into it,” was his response.

That very afternoon I bought a set of poster paints and a sketch pad. Since then, with close to 80 pieces in the bag, there has been no turning back. I switched to watercolours and proper paper. Jackie has been alongside me (via social media) almost every step of the way as instructor/mentor. There is absolutely no way this gift of art he has offered can be reciprocated in the vocabulary I have acquired over the years.