Gerron Farquharson; Mr Sip and Paint – Turning the mundane into something beautiful!

BY SIMONE J. SMITH

It was a Wednesday afternoon on the sunny island of Antigua & Barbuda, and I was on my way to Green Castle Ranch to participate in a ‘Sip and Paint’ Dinner with our host, and local artist Gerron Farquharson. I was actually really excited for this because I have a creative mind, and I was looking forward to unwinding with a glass of wine and my favourite activity; art.

My experience with Gerron reminded me of one thing; by and large we live collective lives, but artists see life a bit; well different than others. The artist is, in a sense, a neuroscientist, exploring the potentials and capacities of the brain, though with tools of their choice whether it be a pencil or a paintbrush. The job of an artist is to take mundane forms of reality—whether a facial expression or a bowl of fruit—and make those forms irresistible to the human brain. That night Gerron had a much more challenging job; he had to take a group of amateur’s and turn them into artists, and what a tremendous job he did.

Gerron Farquharson was born in Jamaica, but was raised Antiguan.

“My grandmother passed away when I was six, and my mom needed a change, so she made the decision to come to Antigua to visit a friend and loved it.

Antigua is all I knew, because I was so young when I came here. What I do remember was that growing up was great.” 

“When did you become aware of your artistic ability,” I asked. I had finally had a chance to sit down with Gerron, and I wanted to explore the mind of this creative genius. I had so many questions.

“I have always loved art, at least that was what my mom told me. She encouraged my creativity and allowed me to doodle. From the time I could colour she provided me with the tools to do what I loved. It is something that I appreciate to this day.”

Gerron grew up in Old Road Village, so he tells me that he was always on the beach. He shares fond memories of his childhood.

“I attended Old Road Primary School, and I would say I lived a typical Caribbean boy life. My mom was strict when it came to my education, so I would have to finish my work before I could play. Education was always first place in my life. I passed in the top 60 students on the island, and I went to the prestigious Antigua Grammar School.”

Like in the case of most great talents, there is someone who sees their shining start, and will nurture the talent until it reaches its greatness. For Gerron, this happened in high school.

“I had a great art teacher in high school; his name was Mr Nathan. He saw my abilities and noted that I was good with technical drawing. I got a distinction for art and technical drawing, and I was told that I use both sides of my brain.”

After high school, Gerron attended Antigua State College, and majored in: Accounting, Caribbean Studies and Art.

“After that I was tired of schooling, so I got a job as an accounting clerk. One of my friends told me to apply for a government job, so I took their advice and decided to get into teaching. I went to an interview, and during the interview they suggested that I teach math, but I wanted to teach art. They were like, ‘Alright we’ll call you back,’ and in October 2003 they called me back to teach. I have been teaching for 19 years.”

From 2007 – 2009, Gerron went to teachers training at the UWI, in the Department of Teacher Education. He now has an Associate Degree in Math that he tells me he has never used.

“It is interesting how that works,” Gerron said laughing. “With all that going on I juggled the hospitality and teaching for a long time. I worked at the top hotel in Antigua. I taught from 8:00 am – 1:30 pm, and from 3:00 pm – 11:00 pm, I worked at the front desk.”

Gerron’s life continued like this up until March 2020 when COVID-19 closed down the world and things changed drastically. This was when he began to truly understand his role as an artist; to leverage whatever life threw at him.

“We usually Fete every weekend,” Gerron tells me, “But that was not possible, so brunches became popular. I was watching Undercover Boss and saw a show with the originators of Sip and Paint. I thought that this would be a nice idea for the women who went to brunch.

Art can come from both positive or negative life experiences, and the pandemic was definitely not a positive experience for many. I thought to myself, how can I turn what is mundane into something beautiful? One way to do it is to look at the situation from a different perspective.”

What Gerron was very aware of was that art and drawing are known to be great methods to help reduce stress. In fact, there is an entire field called Art Therapy for this very reason. Adults don’t often think of practicing art or drawing to relieve stress, but it can do wonders for most people. It definitely did for me that night.

“As things began to relax, people began to book me privately. They like the concept: food, mimosas, and relaxing art. It took off from there. I originally did it from a rooftop restaurant that overlooked St. John’s. It was such a beautiful setting a people loved it.”

“What is your advice to young people out there who will be reading this,” I asked?

“Find the job that you love, and you never have to work another day in your life.  My work takes the least amount of effort, and it brings the most joy. When you add art into your life, you give your mind a chance to relax and focus its creative powers on something. It is a great way to clear your mind so that you can attack the problems with a fresh perspective. Art is one of the best gifts that you can give yourself.”