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Duende
A spiritual drawing of contrasts portraying the graceful femininity of the marble statue set amidst the powerful masculinity of the 12th century Augustinian Cloister. This exquisite treasure of medieval architecture imported from France to The Bahamas was painstakingly reassembled in 1962 on the world famous tourist destination of Paradise Island..

 



Villa Doyle
A rare example of palladian architecture in The Bahamas built during the 1860s by Sir Walter William Doyle, once the Chief Justice of The Bahamas and the first Bahamian to receive knighthood. The original four-room home was purchased in 1924 by Sir William K. Moore and was enlarged to include a ballroom, office, library, and colonnaded double verandahs. This palatial mansion is being restored as the home of The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas.



Centreville
This grand colonial style residence of the late merchant Ralph G. Collins, built in 1931 as the most hurricane proof structure of the time, is unquestionably one of the most impressive structures to be found in Nassau, The Bahamas. Following the death of Mr. Collins, "Centreville" became the home of the prestigious private school, St. Andrew's School, between 1950 and 1971.


A note from the artist . . . .

“After exploring other art mediums for a short period of time, graphite pencil has become my most favourite medium since 1977. I have had a long standing passion for historical architecture and by using graphite pencil I have been able to create images with detailed accuracy, historical authenticity, and a sense of timelessness.

Each historic building that I have drawn, provided the building is still in existence, has been meticulously researched and photographed. If a historic building is not available to me or is not in its original condition, I utilize a number of sources to complete my research.

At times I have been able to interview a descendent of the original owner to obtain information or images about the structure such as the colour of the exterior walls which guides me in how light or dark the grey tones of graphite should be in order to represent the building's original colour.

Because of my attention to detail, many people who view my work say that they can see colour in my graphite drawings. Comments such as this give me great satisfaction knowing that I was able to suggest colour with a black and white medium.

Interviewing descendants of original owners also provides me with other visual information such as the location and identity of other structures on the site. This form of research was particularly valuable when I was completing my graphite drawing of "Villa Doyle", a colonial mansion that the Bahamian Government is restoring for use as the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas.

One of my most useful tools is an eraser. I use an eraser for more than rubbing out lines that I do not want to appear on the finished drawing. Often I slice and sharpen the eraser like a knife so that I am able to remove graphite in certain areas, thus creating special effects like ripples and reflections found in water, as well as glittering effects found in the marble columns at "The Cloisters", an oasis of tranquility in the centre of the world famous tourist destination Paradise Island.

Once in a while I will even try to draw while looking through a magnifying glass since I strive for complete accuracy in my drawings. For example, if a roof has 14 rows of Mediterranean roofing tiles, each one being convex, it is absolutely necessary that I draw the roofing tiles while looking through the magnifying glass, curving each one so as to appear realistic.

Since graphite is a mineral that is applied to paper, graphite drawings will not fad like many paintings tend to do as a result of ultraviolet exposure. Graphite drawings have been known to exist for more than 150 years while still maintaining the graphite's original lustre. This is evident in two extraordinary graphite drawings that I have in my private collection created by my Great-Great Grandfather in 1812 and 1839. For this reason of longevity, graphite drawings are collected by serious art collectors for their investment potential.”