Clinton Duncan’s career as a theatrical makeup artist started just after high school. Since then he has been involved in making up the faces of some members of the Guyanese contingents for Carifesta: 2008 in Georgetown and 2012 in Paramaribo, Suriname; inter-Guiana festivals, Suriname Fashion Week, and Guyana Fashion Week.
Clinton served as the official makeup artist for the 2014 National Drama Festival. He estimates that approximately 90 actors sat in his chair over the days of the festival. He had the casts for 18 of the 24 plays staged, while the other productions used him for consultancy and he was not hesitant to help.
“In Guyana much like elsewhere if you want to do anything artistic, do it because you love it. But after a while love doesn’t pay the bills. You have to try and capitalise it,” Clinton says.
Beauty makeup differs vastly from stage makeup and the latter is where Clinton’s strength lies. “I have to study a character to match the play; match the set and whatever it fits into,” he says. “In theatre… [the] face is like a blank canvas where you can turn it into whatever you imagine, as long as it applies to the play. I love that creativity.”
He says both have their own sense and craft and both take years to master. His years were spent mostly on theatrical makeup. He says he respects acclaimed artist Renee Chester-Thompson for her impressive work in beauty makeup artistry. Clinton notes that is something he cannot do right now on that level.
What attracts him to any production is a fantasy character and he says he would do such work for free. He admires the work of Tim Burton and all the elements of Dr Seuss illustrations.
He is also a fan of famed director Wes Craven, for his work in A Nightmare on Elm Street. “I love the old horror moves when they use makeup, ropes and powder. Creativity is essential.”
For his work he uses brands such as Chanel, Dior and Maybelline as he wants his standards to be recognised internationally. “I want people to respect my work and the brands I use,” he says.
But make-up has also launched his other career as a model attached to Traits Model Management. Clinton is vain. He says he has an undying love for himself and this is evident in the amount of pictures he has of himself.
It all started in Suriname at a competition in various fashion disciplines: makeup, hair, modelling and photography. He signed up as a competing makeup artist but a director recommended that he also sign up for modelling. Other Guyanese competitors, notably model and dancer Isaiah Luther encouraged Clinton to try it and so he did. While he did not win either of the two disciplines he entered, the experience gained was tremendous.
He returned to Guyana just before a casting call by Traits Model Management and in April 2014 he auditioned. He received a call back and attended a screening interview. He was successful and was soon signed onto an annual contract.
Clinton has watched every season of America’s Next Top Model, he is obsessed with Face-Off and Project Runway – he has been in the fashion industry passively for years according to him.
He enjoys himself at Traits. He speaks of the versatility and maturity Traits offers and the professionalism, but says it’s the social environment that keeps him.
“The business regulations are good and it’s really great that you know you’re turning up to an advertisement set and you have a portfolio; you have business cards, there is even a lawyer attached to the company for legal affairs and fair deals,” he says. “It’s more of a family than an agency.
“Which other model agency in Guyana can attach a Guyanese model on the international scene like the New York Mercedes Benz Fashion Week?”
Clinton, who will be 22 in a matter of weeks, is Georgetown born and BV bred, though he often spent holidays with his father at his home in Paradise. Although both villages are rural, they possessed different environments for young Clinton. In BV, he would occasionally be outdoors with the guys from his neighbourhood, riding bikes and running – typical childhood, except that this bored him a bit.
He would retreat to books or the television. “It’s not that I do not like being outdoors, it’s just that I was a ‘picky’ child,” he says. “It wasn’t boring really. It just did not have that outdoor excitement but it came as fun on its own.”
Visiting Paradise also brought its own challenges, what was he to do in a strange neighbourhood? Fortunately his dad had a lot of art supplies around and Clinton made use of the materials to sketch and draw. It was something he resorted to for fun and as he progressed in school he found he had a knack for art that laid the foundation for his career.
At the Annandale Secondary he pursued the Science stream; at that point the idea was to do medicine. He also did Visual Arts at the CSEC level.
He was a stern competitor on the school’s Debate Team and a well versed impromptu speaker. After he passed his exams, he gained placement at Queen’s College to pursue CAPE studies.
“At that level I couldn’t see myself pursuing a career in the arts because people always said it’s a hobby and not a money-making thing,” he says.
Nevertheless, at QC, he took his love for the arts to a higher level and subsequently passed in the areas of textile, imaginative composition and graphics. He was one of the first students to write art at the CAPE level in Guyana and he passed along with Randy Madray and Sharda Eligon, who are both fashion designers now.
Two years of CAPE saw a shift in his career ambitions. In his first year he pursued Science but was unsuccessful at Mathematics. In his second year, Clinton decided to do Law and Sociology, since he did not like numbers, plus he always had a strong opinion on almost everything and he knew how to make an argument; years of debating trained him well. He is expected to graduate from the University of Guyana next year with his law degree.
Although he had artistic interests he really did not venture to makeup artistry until he was confident he could do so. When he was in Third Form his mother was taking a course in makeup arts and Clinton would draw sketches she imagined and listen to her as she talked. He was secretly making notes in his own mind and adding his own interests. By the time he began attending workshops at the Theatre Guild, he saw a way of applying his talents and interests on a level that could be both a hobby and as a professional.
Pageant director and coach Pamela Dillon was his first official makeup teacher and is still his present day mentor in the field.
While Clinton is excited about his future in this art he sadly notes that makeup artistry is not recognised professionally in Guyanese theatre and this robs the artist of accreditation. “We should really assess what we put emphasis on in theatre for awards and recognition,” he says.
Clinton is currently single, committed he says to his love for law, makeup artistry, and modelling which takes up most of his time.
He hopes modelling takes a positive turn in his future and says he will always have law and as for makeup – that is one talent he will never let die.
“Even when I’m retired from law I will be involved in the industry especially where it concerns theatre,” he says.
