Often, you read stories of Caribbean artists who have lived and studied abroad, and are in North America or Europe developing their craft, exhibiting and lecturing in celebrated art galleries and universities. Alcina Nolley, meanwhile, was born in 1940 in Buffalo, New York, to a father of St Lucian heritage and a mother with St Kitts ancestry — then made her way back to beautiful St Lucia, where she lives and paints in what she calls paradise.
Nolley earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1964 from the State University of New York at Buffalo, studying everything from sculpture, to crafts, jewellery-making and music, but did not take a single painting class. After graduating, though, she felt she had a passion for painting — and read every book on painting she could find, while applying the design principles she had learnt and teaching herself to paint.
She took classes with other artists, and some adult art classes at a university, and began to paint with oils. Unfortunately, she found herself allergic to turpentine so switched to acrylics before a paint manufacturer developed walnut-based oil paints and solvents, allowing her to return to her oils and easel. Soon after, with the introduction of the Apple computer, Nolley learned to paint digitally too, producing digital files that could be printed.
Ironically, Nolley did not actually visit her father’s island, St Lucia, until 1983. Yet this is where she found inspiration — and she knew this because every painting she created after that and each subsequent visit sold like hot cakes wherever she exhibited. So, she moved to St Lucia permanently in 1992 with her family.
Since blossoming in “The Helen of the West Indies”, Nolley — who now has over 20 honours and awards to her name — has participated in a few CARIFESTAs (Caribbean Festival of Arts); juried over 30 exhibitions around the world; and done two individual exhibitions in Jamaica and California (USA), and two group exhibitions in Barbados.
After retiring from teaching (she also taught high school art at CXC level for three years in St Lucia), oil on canvas was her primary form of expression. But at the classes she tutored, she exposed her students to acrylics as well.
She has a passion for painting on location or from photos she takes all over St Lucia, and she was instrumental in getting artists in St Lucia to appreciate plein air painting (the practice of creating artwork outdoors directly from nature). She prefers realism, relying on simplified compositions.
“I was lucky to be able to design and build my home,” she says, “so of course I have a patio with a 180-degree view facing directly west, offering the most spectacular sunsets, and a large studio — fully equipped for painting!”
It also allows for printing and crafting, and is equipped with a jewellery bench, kilns, and the like, to accommodate her many talents — making jewellery, Christmas decorations, and painted bottles in which she sells vanilla. Her sculpting training allows her to add sculpture to some of her jewellery and crafts.
This year, Nolley will celebrate 65 years of marriage to her husband (who doubles as her frame maker), with whom she has a son and a daughter. She also takes pride in the successes her students have made in life. She has sage advice for young creatives as well.
“Keep working at your skill, keep seeking advice and knowledge about painting anywhere you can get it — from books, YouTube, TV, seasoned artists,” she says. “Go to art shows, to museums, seminars, classes. Education and skill-building should be continuous — you never know when someone will mention something that is the answer to your needs.”
Nolley notes that St Lucia does not have much fine art for sale in the tourist shops, and there is only one art gallery (which does not have exhibitions anymore). She hopes that things change in the future. But in the meantime, she exhibits and sells her work at various venues on the island.
As she talks about her days painting while stroking her dog Zumi, she says, “Painting from life, rather than photos, and outdoors is the ultimate way of transferring the emotion and character of the objects, the place, and of the moment. The real sun, wind, shadows, smells and textures are conveyed when I paint from life.”
When asked whether she always reflects St Lucia in her art, she responds, “I must say, my art would not be without St Lucia! I marvel daily at the waving branches of the banana trees, the towering coconut palms, the beautiful green mountains in the distance from our house. It’s a lush island. Nature is good to us, so why not capture it?”
She proclaims that she will continue to paint as long as her hands will allow it. May that be for a long time to come.
For more on Alcina and her work, visit www.alcinanolley.com