Most of the artists we feature here on 7NEWS are talents at the height of their art world celebrity and most are already household names. Tonight we'll introduce you to an artist who is in the nascence of his career. For the next three days the works of Ernest Garcia will be on display at the House of Culture. But this is more than an art exhibition, this is a funding drive to help pursue a dream of studying in art in Canada. Keith Swift has his story.
Keith Swift Reporting,
When 19-year-old Ernest Garcia sits down to put paint on a canvas, the self-taught artist says his main inspiration is the ocean. True to form, over the past 5 years dozens of brilliantly colored and intricately detailed pieces on life near or under water have sprung from the palette of this Placencia native.
Ernest Garcia, Art Student
"Most of my stuff is underwater stuff, marine stuff, seascape, and that
is a big part of Belize. I bring it out in my color and stuff like that. Most of the things you do, or want to do, in life you got to go all out at it. I really wanted to learn to paint and draw so I went all out at it on my own so that's how I got to be this way. Art is very important to me because most of the things we don't see in life and the things that people want to express they can't do it by words so you got to find other ways of bringing it out. In painting there is a lot of meaning and that is one way people can express inner feelings they cannot speak or show in other ways."
In March Ernest got accepted to a respected Canadian art school which put this sometime semi-pro football player and sometime tour guide within reach of his dream of becoming a full-time artist.
Ernest Garcia,
"It was a big dream of mine to go to an art school because during my years
of high school and primary school they never taught art so I was always drawing and painting and stuff like that so I always wanted to go to an art school. I met a good friend of mine who was an art teacher back in Toronto, Canada and he hooked me up with the school and I went there for the interview and I got accepted to the school."
Acceptance was one thing but Ernest needs $38,000 for his first year at the Ontario College of Art and Design. He has been literally painting his way to get to college but he needs your help. Ernest says you will be helping more than just him.
Ernest Garcia,
"Besides my biggest dream of going to an art school, I want to go there and make the best of it: learn as much as I can, get my degree if possible, and come and teach it here in Belize. This is a very important to me so if you want to help out, make a donation or whatever, it would be very well appreciated. When I go to Canada and do my studies I will come back to Belize and make Belize proud and also teach the students as much as I can."
Again Ernest needs $39,000 to attend his first year at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto, Canada. You can make donations in the name of the Ernest Garcia Scholarship Fund at Placencia Branch of ScotiaBank. You can also reach him online at Ernest-Belize@yahoo.com and you see more of his work at ErnestGarcia.
