Newness

These ladies are from a series I'd like to do (have done, am currently finishing) called Postcards. They're 4*6 watercolours. I did the first set of these in July.

A new year is beginning and I'm as excited as a person who likes stability can be; smiling anxiety. But it's good and I look forward to new experiences and journeys as I always do; having faith that it'll be alright though it surely isn't always alright.

I'm headed to Palo Seco for the weekend and will be ringing in the new year quietly, in rural Trinidad, on the beach, with the people I care about. I'm very excited. I'm a homebody, I have few close friends and I enjoy spending time with them and spending time with my family is important to me. I promised pictures last time and didn't deliver but I will this time!

A few things brought newness this year; new nephew, new job, new opportunities, new joys, new sorrows and a newness to the way I choose to love.

I'm digging this today; in remembrance of those (in many years past) I let go, those I chose to keep, the things I dragged out of unscathed, the things that left scars and the things that I can't yet forgive:

“Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls; the most massive characters are seared with scars.” - Khalil Gibran

Keep good and happy new year,

Experiments in Acrylic

I'm blogging from Belmont today.

Usually, I work in watercolour because I love its fluidity, graphite because of its starkness. My style is quite different in acrylic paint than it is in those media.

I dig it though and I'm pleased with these ladies. Meet Moremi, Anansa and Ella.


Season's Greetings and Keep good...

Listening to Ella Andall's Osun Bamise

Really?

Many thanks to Abena for this feature. Abena blogs at Girl, It's Not Just You which is a great blog.
Exams are over and I'll be posting what I've been working on recently later tonight.

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities have crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day. You shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit to be encumbered with your old nonsense. - Emmerson

Be good.

Real Beauty

Name: Brianna McCarthy

Your girls (your art) are always so enchanting. It's interesting that they're also natural. How important do you think natural hair is to a black woman's identity?

Thank you! I think natural hair is about understanding, acceptance and self-love. That’s not to say that women who don’t have natural hair lack these things, it’s that so often we don’t appreciate our hair because it doesn’t ascribe to a particular ideal of beauty – we want to be like something else because we’ve been taught that what we have is not good enough and that needs to change. It’s not a simple matter of any woman of any race saying “I wish my feet were smaller”, it’s a pervasive mindset that we need to be different, less Black, more non-black – we struggle with our hair texture and skin colour and there is a whole plethora of stereotypes that go along with those things. All this to say, I love blackness, ethnicity, “mixedness” that’s celebrated, loved and appreciated. I hope that there’ll come a time when it won’t be necessary to even discuss this. It’s my hope that my ladies illustrate women who simply are – ethnic pride, ethnic understanding, acceptance of the diversity of humanity and strength.

Name an obstacle(s) that black women are presented with and how you think they can overcome that obstacle.

I think our biggest obstacle is how much we struggle with self esteem. Of course that can't apply to everyone but it's the biggest problem I see. Overcoming it, I believe, takes stepping into yourself, not strictly as a Black woman but as a person, an entity who has much to offer. I also think it takes a certain level of dismissing the he-say and she-say, the extra opinions that have us constantly trying to prove something. Just be your very best and love who you are.

What keeps you strong and motivated?...What keeps you going each day?

Faith. Knowing that I haven’t learnt even a quarter of what I need to learn. I tend to be an untrusting person; almost to a fault so I’d like to see how that progresses as well. I enjoy finding out new things – even when they come as hard lessons. Knowing myself,cultivating sincerity and empathy in myself and seeking excellence in what I decide to do. Fascinating, strong and extra-ordinary people are also motivators. Day to day though, my strongest motivator has to be that innate need to know, to find out, to have discourse about what happens; I’m a talker, I talk about what bothers me, even if it’s difficult because I’ve seen that there’s merit in honesty.

Update: At Alice Yard Tomorrow

This coming Saturday, we will launch the Alice Yard Shop, a new intervention in Trinidad's commercial art market. Rather than a permanent retail outlet, the Shop is an exhibition and sale of artists' limited editions and multiples, design objects, and some original artworks, reasonably priced and intended to be affordable to beginning collectors. Every few months the Alice Yard Shop will exhibit a new selection of works and objects, which will also be available for purchase online.

The first Shop exhibition and sale opens at 6.00 pm on Saturday 19 December, 2009. It will feature objects by a range of artists who have been involved in Alice Yard's activities over the past year, including Akuzuru, Christopher Cozier, Marlon Darbeau, Michelle Isava, Jaime Lee Loy, Brianna McCarthy, Nikolai Noel, Suzanne Nunez, Richard Rawlins, Seon Thompson, Rodell Warner, Adam Williams, and Robert Young.

All are invited.

For more information, contact helloaliceyard@gmail.com

Pucker Up

I was asked to do an interview by Craig over at Kiss My Black Ads. This is it; I'm actually quite happy with it. Do enjoy!

12/16/09 Interview: Brianna McCarthy

How did you discover artistic ability?

Accidentally. I’m not even sure. I’ve always, for as long as I’ve known myself, been attracted to creating things. I come from a resourceful family; a low income background has a tendency to provoke that! So, I knew that it was possible to alter most things, do without some things and make completely new things. Art was and escape for me too – I daydreamed too much as a child, drew too much, wrote too much – gave me the opportunity to be somewhere else constantly.

How is your ethnicity a source of inspiration or strength in your work? Or is it just sort of a default setting that has little bearing.

It's both. I just am what I am, the product of many things and that's both mundane and exciting. I’m certainly influenced by my ethnic make-up or cultural influences as I want to know them intimately – it’s all very beautiful. Someone asked me once why all my paintings were of Black women. I had to think about it. I knew the answer, but what was it? I happen to be Black, female and West Indian; it’s what I identify with and influences how I see myself – therefore, it comes out in my expression.

Is being a woman artist different from being a man designer, do you find it liberating or challenging?

Liberating. I love being female and I love that men are different. I think male designers are quite different from female artists. My partner is a male designer and the differences between us, which I can attribute to creative differences, are fascinating. I make things I think are gorgeous to look at and that bring positivity because of that; he seeks to solve a problem through design. It’s quite interesting.

Is that question irrelevant?
Haha! I think it's relevant if you're into that dynamic.

What aspect of your art do you really love?

The reactions my work provokes. When someone really enjoys what I’ve made, it’s a good feeling. When I’m done and I know, from the piece, that it’s done and I’m happy with it, it’s a good feeling.

What's the most challenging part of what you do?

Figuring out exactly what it is that I do! My call card says “Brianna McCarthy – Makes Things”. Seriously though, being self taught is awesome I think but I wonder what I missed out on sometimes. I went with my other loves (Literature, French) for university. I didn’t ever consider studying art. I might change that at some point though.

What's your dream job?

Finding a way to create for a living outside of working at an agency or design company. I actually enjoy, if that's the right word, working in the corporate field -- it provides me a little balance.

Can you discuss any specifics about the process of creating a few of the pieces you sent.

The portraits of the 5 girls were done on a four day family vacation on the south coast of Trinidad. It was beautiful – the weather, the sea, the people – a great vibe. But I was pretty pensive that weekend – these girls were done during and after that time – a period of clarity. They’re honestly some of my favourites.

Any advice for neophytes?

Being a neophyte myself, I’d have to say – keep learning, stay focused, be smart about who you take advice from and trust yourself a little. Risk is good most times, even though I don’t often take my own advice in that regard. Most of all, be honest with yourself about yourself.

Lauren Hinds, Cloth, Frocks and a Little Boy Named Ari

I'm excited about a few things today.

One of my favourite people finally started her blog. Lauren Hinds is an illustrator, designer, bookbinder (I have a handmade journal from her; it's absolutely gorgeous) and a friend of mine. She's currently based in the US where she's studying.

My family has grown a bit with the addition of my fourth nephew earlier today. Ari's a perfect little boy, with a full head of black hair, trying to suck his hands last I heard. I'm very excited -- I love those boys to bits.

I was asked to model for a regional design company called The Cloth. Great experience, exhausting but awesome. The photographer is Arnaldo James who can pull mood and texture out of anywhere.

Coming out of that experience, was an opportunity which I will post about at a later point. I'm thrilled about it though.

I'm studying and whatnot so forgive my lapses. Exams are next week so I should be back on stream after that.

Also, I was featured on two very cool blogs: Parapluies at Soleil (Khristian is an illustrator and a generally fly person) and Dolls of Colour. Thank you ladies!

Keep good and blessings!