Like the limbs on his body, art is an extension of his being, local artist Travell Blackman said recently in a sit down with The Scene.
He said he often finds it difficult to explain for his reason for pursuing art. “People would normally ask me what inspired me to get into art and it has always been a tough question to answer because I can’t explain it. It’s just part of me, it is a part of my existence; I can’t imagine living without it,” he said.
With that being said, he related that his creativity and passion for art contributes to everything he does and has even influenced his perspective on everyday things and his thinking.
Having spent his younger years in the East Coast Demerara village of Golden Grove, Travell shared memories of his childhood adventures which included catching crabs, excursions in the backdam and the countless bush cooks he would have engaged in.
Apart from an obsession with the outdoors, Travell has a love for movies, with special interest in the technical aspect. “I think movies are an extension of art; it is an art form in itself. When I look at a movie I say oh that’s a really nice composition or that’s really nice lighting,” he said before adding that at one point of time he had thought about pursuing animation. Because of his previous interest, Travell pursued studies in the field of computer science, which according to him, is incorporated into his work. But before being able to acquire his credentials in computer science from the University of Guyana, Travell enjoyed a few years being one of the youngest applicants to be accepted into the E R Burrowes School of Art.
He explained that after completing his high school education at the Golden Grove Secondary School, he had plans of pursing studies at a university level, however, the acceptance age at the university at that time did not permit him to do so. As a result, his father suggested that he apply to the art school and with the presentation of an impressive portfolio, Travell became the youngest applicant to be admitted to the school in 2001. At that time, the age for admission to the school was 18 years while he was just about to celebrate his 16th birthday.
Reflecting on his experience as a student of the art school, the young artist said it was probably the best thing that ever happened to him. “I think for my tertiary education that would’ve easily been the best of that stage of my life. You were doing the things you love; you were bonding with creative people. It was more than just doing art,” he explained. It was an opportunity he remains grateful to have been afforded since he did not encounter the same climate during his university years. Travell offered the suggestion that young adults should take the opportunity to explore a bit before heading to university. “You should really find yourself and find what you’re truly interested in first, because I think at that age a lot of students are influenced by parents or friends; they’re not truly focused,” he said before acknowledging his parents for allowing him to take that opportunity.
“I had parents who encouraged me. I always had the opportunity to do things how I wanted, but it was with a leash. I had to stay within the confines of the law,” he joked.
In 2004, when Travell graduated from E R Burrowes School of Art, he walked away with the awards for Best Student in Painting and Best Graduating Student.
After graduation, Travell entered the teaching field at President’s College in the Visual Arts department where he stayed until 2006. During that time, the artist was tasked with teaching visual arts to students from first to fourth form.
Reflecting on his experience at the school, Travell said the first year was “pretty good”, but as time went by, he grew bored. “What I found, and I guess it was my personality, I couldn’t stand the constant routine, teaching the same concept month after month and year after year. So then I started to venture out trying new things I thought would have been for me,” he said.
However, he related that the upside to teaching at the school was the enthusiasm displayed by the students along with the subject being administered with the same level of importance as the core subjects.
“The experience at the school itself was pretty good. The students were encouraging, the art programme at the school was pretty good. They treated it as though it was as important as the other subjects as compared to the places where it is treated as just a recreational subject,” he said.
Nevertheless, Travell saw the need to venture out with something that would facilitate his growth as a person and by extension as an artist.
A few years later, Innovign came into being – a full service design firm that offers professional, customized design solutions that produces successful results.
According to Travell, while Innovign is bigger than just the art aspect, it is that branch of the firm that is the most successful at present as the other departments are still being developed, all of which are in the realm of art and computer science. It is under Innovign – Art that Travell’s portrait services and art classes fall. Travell’s mastery with portraiture hit social media when he began marketing his skill a little less than a year ago. Since then, the talented artist continues to be overwhelmed with countless requests for his services, which, according to him, is where his focus is right now.
“For a while I really loved doing realistic pieces but then I got bored after a while, so then I started doing surrealistic pieces. After that I started exploring with colours and textures, but I haven’t been able to do any personal exploration at this time,” he shared.
He explained that currently, all his activities are more or less commission-based which does not allow him the time to really explore other aspects. “Portraits aren’t the easiest things because you know if it doesn’t look like the person then it’s an epic fail; it takes a lot of concentration,” he explained.
On average, Travell produces about three to four pieces a month and offers the options of having the portrait done in pencil, pencil crayon, watercolour or black and white and coloured acrylic. Travell gave his prices for such pieces as being “very affordable” ranging from as low as $10,000 to $60,000 while adding that they are great gift ideas.
But apart from his talent in creating portraits, Travell also has practical knowledge in graphic design, sculpting, drawing, ceramics and textile construction among other skills.
While he would have majored in painting and minored in textile design while at art school, he is yet to decide on a specific style that he is interested in working with.
“What they teach you at the art school is just the fundamentals, what you need to do as an artist is try to find your own style… I have not yet found a specific style that I want to really continue. I haven’t found that as yet,” he explained.
According to the artist, in order for him to establish that style, he would have to explore and experiment with the different techniques, which is why he said that his work displays mixtures of style and subject matter.
As regards his art classes, Travell related that they have seen full attendance. These classes are offered on both a seasonal and continuous learning basis and cater to both adults and children. He noted that since he began teaching, he has been able to engage close to 100 persons, something he sees an accomplishment. Travell explained that countless persons would have joined his classes saying that they can’t draw and his response would always be “That is not a problem.”
He went on to explain that art is not just about being born with the skill, it is like any other field; there are elements, rules and principles that can be taught. Drawing entails, a lot of geometry and once you have an understanding of basic geometry it’s not so hard, he said.
Thus, the classes start off with basic drawing and moves forward from there. “We spend a lot of time on drawing, and once we have gotten to a stage where it is acceptable then we move on to painting,” he explained. Meanwhile, the seasonal classes for children between the ages of 4 – 12 offer activities that focus on the fundamentals of art.
“Most times in the first session when they come in with the belief that they are not creative or they can’t draw or whatnot, they are absolutely amazed at their capabilities at the end. And for me it’s amazing to see what they can do in just the first session. Seeing that people are interested in art that much to commit to it as a recreational activity is not something I complain about,” he shared.
Travell has over years managed to accumulate several awards for his work. From 2002 to present, he has participated in the national drawing and watercolour competitions. In 2002, he won the only prize in the 16—18 years’ category with his piece, ‘Active’ (pencil crayon on paper). In 2004, at the Fifth Biennial National Drawing Competition, he won the Silver Medal for his piece, ‘Holly’ (pencil crayon on paper). A short year later Travell managed to win the Gold Medal for his piece, ‘In the Midst of Life’ – that was entered in the 4th Castellani House National Watercolor Competition.
He has also received notable mentions for others works such as ‘Midday at the Market’ (watercolour), among others.
It has been a while since Travell participated in any art competitions as he decided that he should sit back and give others a chance to compete.
Looking to the future, Travell’s main focus is on expanding Innovign. In five years, he hopes to have a business that is well grounded.
“I want it to be something that I can be really proud of,” he said. “I am already proud of my accomplishment so far but it has a whole lot more potential. But it is something I can’t do alone.”
Travell expressed the hope of being able to expand to a point where he will be able have employees managing the different departments. Also on the table are plans to expand the number of classes being offered and procuring a bigger studio.
Travell can be contacted via his Facebook pages: Travell Blackman Fine Arts, Innovigngy.com or his website: www.travellblackman.com, or by telephone: 641-4032. …
