“Nature Blooms,” a new exhibition featuring the art of Sandra LaRocque and Aelisha Garnett-Williams, is currently being hosted at Castellani House, the National Gallery of Art in Georgetown.
LaRocque, who was born on a mountain top on the island of Dominica, and Garnett-Williams, who is Guyanese, both have a passion for painting and a love for nature.
According to LaRocque, despite their many differences, they share a love for art and nature, which is what has led to the exhibition. In addition to two sculptures, LaRocque has 47 paintings on display, while Garnett-Williams has eight paintings on display, all of which are on sale. The paintings are all nature themed.
LaRocque said they met at the University of Guyana while studying painting and drawing and they became fast friends. Upon graduating from the University of Guyana, LaRocque said, they promised each other they would never give up on doing what they loved best: painting.
Growing upon the mountaintop, LaRocque says, taught her to appreciate and love nature and for as long as she can remember, she has always enjoyed coloring and drawing the things that interest her.
According to her notes in the exhibition catalogue, LaRocque began her formal education in art at the old Mill Cultural Center in Dominica and was assured that she had the potential to become a great artist based on the paintings that she created during her studies.
In 2012, she moved to Guyana with her family and later enrolled full time at the E.R Burrowes School of Art while her children attended school. Although she was skeptical at first about enrolling at the school, she said, her studying had inspired her children to take their education seriously. “If mommy can do it, so can we,” her children reportedly told her.
After completing her studies at Burrowes, she enrolled at the University of Guyana to further her studies. Throughout her studies, she said, she gained experience in sculpting ceramics and making jewellery. However, it is painting that she continues to spend time exploring. Her work, she said, is inspired by Claude Monet’s impressionistic style, John Constable’s landscapes, Georgia O’Keeffe’s representation of flowers, and Jan Vermeer’s use of light. LaRocque said that she has visited many countries and the painting she creates are based on the sceneries she sees during her visits.
Garnett-Williams, who has been an art teacher from 2004 to present, graduated from the Cyril Potter College of Education in 2010 and later attended E.R Burrowes School of Art in 2011, after which she enrolled at the University of Guyana and graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts in 2017 and a Post-Graduate Degree in Administration this year.
According to the catalogue, she was introduced to the world of art when she was a child as she watched her two uncles combining various art techniques in a natural way, which she said, “is a gift from god.”
At age 10, she realised that she had an interest in creating things artistically. Garnett-Williams said that she uses a lot of flower in her work because they soothe the mind and create a feeling of beauty, which she feels represents women.
The exhibition, which opened on Thursday, will continue until November 2nd. Admission is free.
