From Grenada, An Artist Paints the Caribbean

I had the good fortune during this trip to Grenada to spend some quality time exploring and developing my artistic side under the tutelage of Rebecca Thompson, a professional artist and British expat who, with her German-expat husband Uli Kühn, has called Grenada home for the last 20 years or so. Rebecca and Uli (with their two kids) own the Maca Bana Villas, where I've been kicking back for three sun-soaked days, and, right on magnificent Magazine Beach, The Aquarium Restaurant. Both properties are brimming with Rebecca's paintings — many of which were created using a papier mâché relief technique, giving the canvas a startling three-dimensional quality. Her subjects, almost without exception, are the Caribbean and its people.

Right now, she's working on a pair of paintings inspired by a recent trip to Carnival in Trinidad. "I went with a group of lady friends from Grenada," she tells me, "some Grenadian, some Trinidadian, but all living in Grenada. And I came back completely inspired. I wanted to make sure I enjoyed the experience to the full, but then had enough photographic material to go with my imagination. I pulled all the photos from all my friends, too."

When the paintings are complete, they'll adorn the restaurant's walls. "I'm going to invite all the ladies over," she says with a smile, "and we're going to have nice little reminisce."

Rebecca Thompson offers her art-instruction program to guests at Maca Bana. For more information, check out the Web site. I'll be writing about my Grenadian art experience for an upcoming issue of CT+L.

From Grenada, An Artist Paints the Caribbean