If, like SO, the 72′ x 6′ mural — yes, the one with scenes and cameos of Jamaican life — in the arrivals corridor of the Sangster International Airport has caused a pause and the mural at Starbucks depicting the cultural and sporting achievements of the people of Jamaica left you as perked up as the coffee, then your interest might be in finding out the creative force responsible for the work. Allow us to introduce trained artist Fiona Godfrey, a native of Ireland who has called Jamaica home for almost three decades. In fact, her plan in 1989 was to spend a year teaching art and literacy — that was, however, before the beauty of Jamaica and the vitality of her people seduced her.

Godfrey, who has explored many mediums and styles over the years, from illustration to mosaic to painting large-scale murals, has been teaching art to both children and adults for over 30 years and has staged many successful exhibitions of their work. For the last five years her students’ work has been featured in the annual Young at Art calendars, raising funds for Food for the Poor’s many projects around the island.

Her personal artwork is in watercolour and oil, and she derives much of her inspiration from nature. Always interested in capturing the light, it is her intention that each piece will emit a feeling of quiet, harmony and serenity, of the perfection that is all around us in the natural world, of peace.