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Home is where the Art is - Colin Garland escapes to a Jamaican retreat on the edge of the sea, where every room becomes his studio.
Sophie Munro enters the esoteric world of the artist
Photography by Sophie Munroe |
COLIN GARLAND, embraced as a native in the Jamaican art world, lives by the sea in the parish of St. Mary , Jamaica . The day I went to shoot his home, I called en route to find out exactly where his house was. He told me, “By the bottlebrush brush trees.” I replied, “I don't know what those are,” to which he retorted, “Well they're trees, dear!”
I found the row of trees (named for the shape of the fuzzy red flowers) bordering the boundary wall and I knew I was about to enter the world of Colin Garland.
Colin was born in Australia , and trained at the National School of Art in Sydney before moving to London to study at the Central School of Art and Design. While in London , he worked in the theatre industry, designing stage sets. Many of his colleagues there were West Indians, and it was through them that he was introduced to Jamaica . |
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He first came to Jamaica in 1962, arriving in Kingston and working in the theatre. He came and went and gradually spent more time in Jamaica than London . “It was less crowded then London and alongside the theatre, I could paint.”
The house by the sea was originally a nondescript two-room dwelling, which consisted of a kitchen and bedroom, when Colin bought it as a retreat from his life and work in Kingston . However, it wasn't about the house but rather the location, a one-acre plot on the edge of the Caribbean Sea with never-ending views. Over time, he has added on to those two rooms, continuing with the corrugated iron roof. From the outside, it is hard to imagine the riches hidden within. |
Colin has created an unpretentious home surrounding an inner courtyard. There is ample colour everywhere, the blues and pinks reminiscent of Mexican colours. No less could be expected. His paintings usually have bright, clear colours, influenced, of course, by Jamaica but also by his beginnings in Australia , which has abundant colour, space and light.
Enter through the front door to the hallway, where there is a cabinet full of Japanese dolls and puppets, which Colin has been collecting since childhood. Painted canvases are stacked in piles on the floor. The hallway leads to the main sitting room, serene with its white walls and black tiled floor, but enlivened by the colourful artwork and artifacts. A cane chaise longue is stacked full of cushions; a wooden bench displays two of Colin's paintings, next to a Gene Pearson sculpture. Jamaican fretwork panels fit into the tops of doorways and glass doors open onto the garden.
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A curved wooden slatted staircase leads to Colin's main studio on the first floor. This is a large bright room where canvases lie in piles and a wooden trolley bearing cans of paintbrushes and paint tubes stand next to his easel and chair. Glass doors lead on to a private terrace and an inside window allows him to spy into the room below. This room is double in height with a domed ceiling painted bright blue set against pink walls. The colour scheme echoes the blue walls and pink columns of the courtyard that is at the heart of the house. Every room on the ground floor either leads out on to the courtyard or has a view of it. In the centre of the courtyard is a water feature where ferns flutter in the breeze. Sunlight dances through the slatted wooden roof above, creating patterns on the bight blue walls below. |
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Outside, foliage drapes over the weather beaten and distressed blue exterior walls, creating shaded nooks, where visitors can sit and contemplate the unobstructed view. The swimming pool dominates the garden and seems to go on forever. The image of a solitary tree is reflected in the clear water, with the sea beyond.
Although Colin has a main studio, he will set up easel and chair in any room of the house; it all depends on the weather, the light and how he feels that day. Colin is a perfectionist and can work on a painting for months.
His favourite painting is always his next one. Colin Garland taught at Jamaica 's school of Art for 20 years. His paintings hang in important public and private collections throughout the world, as well as the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Kingston. The impressive list of his students includes Christopher Gonzalez, Gene Pearson and Lara Facey.
Colin's home on the edge of the sea provides more than a roof over his head. It's the source of his inspiration and energy. The simple beauty of his retreat flows from its genuine, unpretentious charm.
And you can't miss it. Just look for the bottlebrush trees |
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