One Language Is Not Enough

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Art

Sunday, 22 August 2010 06:55

By D Francis

A local artist is stressing the importance of those in his field becoming multi-lingual to market their work on a larger scale. Luis Jarvis, who operates Taino’s Art Gallery, noted that the people who usually purchase art come from abroad.

"Although I have customers from America and Canada and so on, quite a number of my clients are Russians, Germans etc, and when you communicate in their language, you will better be able to explain and convince them to buy your paintings," he said.

He added, “I personally try to lift my standards where this is concerned, and it is so much better when they come and can hardly speak English and they are eager to know more about a particular piece, and you are able to speak about it. Sometimes you can see that they are pleasantly surprised. Apart from English, I can speak Italian, French, Spanish, and German, and at present I am trying to learn Russian.”

Jarvis has been running his gallery for 20 years, and apart from his own creations, showcases the work of other local artists to provide a wide cross-section.

“I mostly love to paint pieces about the beach, because we are a tourist country, and the tourists who visit my gallery would like to take home something significant about their vacation," he said. "You know most if not all of them love the beach, so a piece about the beach would make a good representation of where they spent their vacation.”

Jarvis loves his landscapes in blues and turquoise, vivid purples, or pinks. His favoured materials include acrylic and oils on canvas.

Foreign language skills are particularly helpful since the gallery is located in the commercial centre of Jolly Harbour, which is frequented by tourists from all parts of the globe.

As you take a sharp turn around a bend, his art pieces cannot be missed. The attractive paintings of varying sizes and themes beckon passersby to take a closer look. He also features work still in progress.

Asked about his most significant piece, Jarvis said, "That was since back in 1990. I did a piece surrounding the history of the Caribbean people, which depicted life at the market, the beach, steel band music, and other significant factors which speak to life in the Caribbean.”

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