This article is part of a series presented by the Jamaica Observer highlighting the 10 murals which form an installation of public art on Water Lane in downtown Kingston. The initiative forms part of the ‘Paint the City’ project being curated by non-profit arts organisation Kingston Creative.

Richard Smith’s mural titled Freedom and Happiness is an extension of who he is.

The artist described himself as pleasant, easy-going and spiritual, and credited his upbringing in rural Jamaica for his personality and outlook on life. It is that spirit of hope and faith, inculcated by his mother and grandmother, which he hoped to convey with his contribution to the public art on Water Lane.

“I wanted to use that feminine energy to showcase what is possible. Freedom and Happiness is all about conveying the feeling you get from being happy. So as a portrait artist and illustrator I wanted to use a face to showcase that and highlight that no matter what you are going through, no matter the struggles there is always a brighter day, a better tomorrow. This is important for everyone, but especially for the persons in inner city and rural communities, particularly youth…I wanted this mural to serve as some kind of motivation for them,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

A strong believer in the concepts of giving back and paying forward, Smith was immediately drawn to the work of Kingston Creative in its bid to inject life into sections of downtown Kingston. So, it was a no-brainer to become involved once he heard of the plans for the Water Lane murals.

“I am part of a WhatsApp group and when it was announced I immediately decided to go for it. My first sketch centred around the inequality of women in society and the ways in which they overcome these barriers, but it just wasn’t coming together the way I wanted it to. By nature, once I have a challenge facing me I never get flustered; it makes no sense to worry. My next move is to find a solution so when my original plan was not gelling I just sat and thought about it and the word freedom came to me, and immediately it all came together… Freedom and Happiness,” said Smith

He decided that the female face which is at the centre of the mural had to have a warm, inviting and reassuring smile, a smile which he said would brighten the day of those feeling down and give a sense of hope for a better tomorrow. He then chose what he called warm colours to radiate from and encircle the portrait aimed at creating that feeling of security.

“Growing up, my grandmother always said if you can put a smile on someone’s face, then do it. I saw she and my mother do that so many times. People would come to our house and out of whatever we had they would bring some kind of happiness to these lives as they always left with something in their hand. That is what I want the mural to do…put a smile on a face through that personal interaction with art.”

Smith is a graduate of Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts where he majored in illustration and graphic design, and he currently works as an illustrator. For this project he was ably assisted by Aneika Marshall as well as a member of the community he only knows as Patrick. However, there was an additional assistant who had a remarkable impact on him.

“One day I was there painting and this little girl, who lives directly across the street from the mural, came up to me and whispered in my ear. ‘Can I help you paint?’ I was so touched. I immediately gave her a brush and shared what I wanted her to do. We were doing the face at the time and she helped with the shading and the contours. Arianna, that’s her name, she brought out exactly what I wanted the mural to do… and it wasn’t even finished yet. She was so inspired by the work of art that she offered to share in the process to bring Freedom and Happiness to life,” said Smith.