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He???s the creator of the Caribbean???s first comic-book super-hero. His supernatural comic book-turned-play was staged at Carifesta X. He???s an artist and writer bursting with ideas, but yet, after decades of laboring in the creative trenches, Barrington Braithwaite is still struggling to make a more than modest living from his talents.Barrington BraithwaitePut that down,wholesale jerseys, in part, to being in an environment that is increasingly giving creativity small shrift.Braithwaite spent his formative years on the East Coast of Demerara with his god-parents and also in West Ruimveldt with a great-aunt. He considers the time he stayed on the East Coast of Demerara as playing a major role in introducing him to books and art.He was aware of his artistic talents at an early age. This was fuelled by the fact that his god-parents??? house had numerous books,wholesale jerseys china, like the Nelson Reader series, which Barrington recalled, contained ???a lot of work of prominent artists, and great illustrations.??????I remember two illustrations in particular: The death of Hector, and the destruction of Port Royal.???Back then, too, like many boys, he was engrossed in comic books.???I was always the school artist. I was doing (creating) 12-page comic books. We were exchanging comic books, we were gripped by the comic book industry. People followed Garth (a comic strip in the local papers). When you went to the waterfront, where I once worked, everyone had a novel in his back pocket.???Around 1979, his collection of poetry ???Voyage??? Book of Verse,??? was published by the Ministry of Education???s special programme that encouraged the publication of local work.???Contrary to what the Minister of Culture (Dr. Anthony) told me, that the Caribbean Press doesn???t pay writers, I was paid $1,700 (back then), which was a lot of money.??? He used part of this sum to purchase equipment for his artwork.Around 1981, the Guyana Chronicle published Braithwaite???s supernatural comic strip ???The Shrouded Legacy???. It was gleaned from legends his father???s Bartica-based relatives had told him.???The Chronicle (back then) led the way in encouraging artistic talent.???An illustration from the Silk Cotton TreeBasically a self-taught artist, he confesses that back then, his illustrations for the project were not up to professional standards.???The artwork was lousy. I realised that I needed to master basic anatomy, basic techniques. I dedicated myself to mastering these techniques,Authentic NFL Jerseys Wholesale, using friends as models. They were reluctant models, since they had to sit for long periods and allow me to correct mistakes.???BIRTH OF THE ???JAGUAR??? SERIESKey to his development as an artist and writer was a stint as a scientific illustrator with renowned Guyanese archeologist, artist and writer Dr. Denis Williams, now deceased. It was during that time that his super-hero ???The Jaguar??? was born.???The Jaguar came into being when I was at an archeological site in the North West. These two kids came from Barima and they told a strange story about their grandfather, who would turn into a jaguar and go hunting. I was smiling, and then I realised that I was the only person smiling; the citizens were taking it seriously. Then Dr. Denis Williams told me about the ???leopard men??? of Sierra Leone (who allegedly dressed in leopard skins) and the idea (about the Jaguar) started to develop.???Incidentally, at the time I was working on something else called ???The Spear of Redemption??? (based on legends and events of World War Two), but Dr. Williams said ???you have about 20 years more before you can write this. I was going at something that I had no idea about.???Denis Williams taught me to protect myself as an artist. He taught me about copyright, of which I had no idea. Without the knowledge about copyright, an artist can live a very uncomfortable life, because there are unscrupulous people out there.??????The hero of the ???Jaguar??? is an ex-soldier who becomes a (non smoking) Rastafarian. While working in the interior, drug dealers shoot him, throw him into a river and abduct his woman.However, he???s resurrected by inhabitants of the fabled city of El Dorado, and is reborn with extraordinary powers.The Jaguar trilogy was printed by the Guyana National Printers Limited. Braithwaite recalled that while many enjoyed the series, ???some people did not like the idea that he was a Rastafarian.??????The people who made a real profit (from the series) were the traders, who were buying the Jaguar (comic books) for twelve (Guyana) dollars and selling them back (overseas) for $14 Bds.???Braithwaite???s super-hero: The JaguarThe Jaguar was also made into a play by renowned UK-based Guyanese actor Norman Beaton (now deceased),http://www.footlockershop.us.com/Kalalau/, and was staged at the National Cultural Culture Centre. Braithwaite believes that Beaton???s sudden death prevented The Jaguar from reaching the screen, like his super-hero counterparts overseas.But another major creative venture yielded success as well as bitter lessons.That venture was the publishing ???The Silk Cotton Tree???,NFL Jerseys Outlet From China, a supernatural story in comic book form. ???There have been several things that have happened to people near to silk cotton trees. The silk cotton tree is sacred to the Amerindians, Africans and the Mayans. I used a silk cotton tree (recently cut down) near St. Phillips as a model.???For this venture, Braithwaite opted to have his books printed in Trinidad. It was only after the publishers had printed the first series that the Guyanese artist realised that the printing cost was in US currency and not Trinidad currency as he had assumed.The project was such a huge financial loss that the entire series was never printed. That put me out of business for a couple of years.???But, encouraged by Dr. Paloma Mohamed, he managed to complete the series as a play, and The Legend of the Silk Cotton Tree was staged at Carifesta X.Braithwaite has found the local business sector to be far from receptive when it comes to investing in creative writers, even when these businesses can afford it. According to him, he has approached major firms and the banking sector for assistance,http://www.footlockershop.us.com/Nike-roshe-one-br/, only to be turned down. ???They are not interested; they are more interested if you have a barbeque.???Sadly, he also says that the present Government is equally indifferent to its creative people.???In other countries artists get grants. I almost got a grant in the US but I was not a citizen.???One major sore point is Government???s apparent lax attitude to copyright.???People???s music is being played on television and the guys are not receiving royalties for it. I have had to send letters to people for lifting my artwork and using it.???You have people and sports persons who are sleeping at Parade Ground. There is one former popular singer who lives in a rest house. There is no net to catch you when you fall through the social cracks, and musicians and artists suffer the most.???For Braithwaite, who is fully self-employed (he has a small advertising service) and has a family to upkeep, it???s an uphill struggle.But shelving his creative dreams has never been an option.At present, he is working on a play entitled Eighteen Twenty-Three, while also keeping his advertising business going.???I have never felt like giving up. Creativity propels you; you don???t propel it. Regardless of what the tribe thought, artists were painting in the caves, they didn???t stop.??? |
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