[dropcap]L[/dropcap]ast Saturday night two innovative, local art organisations brought visitors and patrons into the realm between paintbrush and canvas that no one usually experiences. The MeCurator art gallery, owned and managed by Buki Cahane, sought to not only display local art, but to also literally showcase artists at work, with the assistance of Decanté Sip & Paint. At MeCurator on Saturday, experienced and novice painters gathered for Essence of a Woman, hosted by Decanté Sip & Paint.
A year ago, Rodesha Reid and Jean Kenny were looking for something new to do in Saint Lucia apart from the usual Rodney Bay lime. Reid said, “I participated in something like our paint and sip in Jamaica once and it was absolutely magical.” So, they started their own Decanté Sip & Paint. For every session participants secure their spots beforehand and the group arrives to the class finding tables already set up with canvas, paint, brushes, water and a glass of champagne or wine. There they meet the artist who will teach the class and the session’s inspiration is unveiled most times to a response of, “How am I painting this?”
“This is all part of the experience,” Reid assures. And it did all work out on Saturday. The selected painting was a glorious concept of mother nature depicted by a tree with the silhouette of a female quenching the night’s theme, Essence of a Woman. The directing artist for the night was Bianca Young and she led the entire group to paint their own unique versions of the selected piece. The idea is to do the activity with togetherness, so there were a lot of giggles, random bursts of “Wait for me!” and, of course, “Why does mine look like this?” In the difficult moments Young encouraged the group to take a sip from their glasses.
The painting session was an hour long but it succeeded a cocktail hour for people to browse and patronize MeCurator, which had its own pieces reflecting the “essence of a woman”. The gallery opened in June this year with the founder aiming to create an incubator for local artists to have the experience of selling their art in a formal gallery. Cahane invites Saint Lucians and others to appreciate the contribution the island has made to art and constantly relays to her clients the connection she feels with the pieces selected for MeCurator. Last Saturday’s class, which may not be the last, was yet another expression of Cahane’s passion for local art. But Reid made sure to emphasize, “We don’t call it a class though, that’s boring. Decanté Sip & Paint at MeCurator is an experience.”
