GRENADA ART by Eric M Johnn ...


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Despite its natural beauty, Grenada has experienced turbulent political upheavals in the past. Since the coming of Europeans, the Indians who lived there was forced into war to defend their island. It took the Europeans many years before they finally eliminated the Caribs and Arawaks from Grenada.

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Canute Caliste
pencil on paper...11x14
2006.

A man who wore many hats...(in the drawing he is wearing only one...well, it's actually a cap...just kidding....not really..yes he is, really.....I'm hypothesizing).

Canute was carpenter, boatbuilder, farmer, fisherman, musician, artist and much more. He left an indelible mark upon the cultural and social fabrics of his beloved, Carriacou. In spite of his numerous talents and attributes, it was his painting that brought him international fame. Much poems, songs, essays and other acolades have been showered upon him for his contribution to Carriacou and ofcourse, Grenada on a whole.

His inspiration to become an artist, said to have came from the advice he got in a dream from a mythical character, a mermaid, and many of his paintings depicted mermaids.

He died in 2005 at age 92.

(Available in original and print..priceless)

French and British colonialists fought for ownership until the British conquered and won in the end. The travails of the island did not end there. Thousands of Africans were shipped to work on tobacco, sugarcane and coffee plantations for European merchants. The island prospered, but very little of the wealth stayed in Grenada. The island went through dozens of social and political unrest since and during slavery up until 1983 when thousands of US-military troops intervened to squash a military junta that assassinated several ministers in the ruling government at the time. These days, Grenada is enjoying stability and with the tourism industry booming and nutmeg price at a comfortable rate, there's no reason why the Spice Isle of the West cannot even be spicier than ever.