This is the sixth in a 10-part series by the Jamaica Observer highlighting the murals which form an installation of public art along Water Lane in downtown Kingston. The initiative is part of the ‘Paint the City’ project being curated by local arts advocacy group Kingston Creative.

Visual artist Rebecca Levy is not ashamed to say she is a college dropout. For the former student of the Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver, Canada, even in the most dire circumstances there are positive lessons to be found. That was the mindset for her contribution to the Water Lane mural project.

The work, which she simply titled 2020, was created to bring about a sense of hope amidst the drudgery and dispair being experienced due to the current pandemic.

“I love to paint people and share positive messages. This was especially important given COVID and what we are going through. Lately I have been interested in flowers and bouquets, which is quite different from the abstract, minimalist way that I have previously been expressing myself through my work. So when I thought of a mural I saw it as a great way to combine these elements. Plus, I was inspired by the other murals of the first phase of the downtown mural project. I was pleased with how the artists were challenging themselves with more realistic interpretations. So with my mural I just wanted to show that there can be growth despite the challenges, and by the way, wear your mask,” she shared in an interview with the Jamaica Observer.

Levy has always followed the work of Kingston Creative. She considers herself as part of the creative community and so she supported the arts lobby from the earliest iterations of their popular Artwalk.

It was, therefore, perfect timing with she heard of the second phase of the mural project and made her intentions known. Once confirmed, Levy set about doing the preliminary work.

“The first thing I did was source material for my sketch. I began with flowers. I chose flowers from my mom’s garden and pictures of tropical flowers. The next thing was the face. I wanted a certain kind of imagery so I narrowed it down to the images of two women which suited the facial profile that I was looking for and fused them. These were all sketched digitally, then a collage of the flowers [was] added and then scaled against the surface which would become my canvas on Water Lane.”

Transferring the image from her head to the wall came with its fair share of challenges. Levy explained that she had to do a bit of correction and changes to her blueprint for it to fit onto the space.

“I loved the physicality of the project, it made the work fun and intense. I started with the neckline and worked to position to face between the windows. We worked with chalk first and then paint. Some areas were spray-painted in order to produce texture, gradient, highlights and transition.”

“When we were doing the hair that was most interesting. Most of the layers were black and blonde, but then we added purple, cream and orange. After about an hour of painting, my assistant, Jason is from the community and was provided by Kingston Creative, and I, we came down to look at what we had done. We stepped back about 40 feet to observe and that’s when it came to me that the painting had made a turn. Paintings have an ugly phase before the intention of the artist emerges. The work we did on the hair really made the work transition. That’s when I said to myself… ‘We can do this.’ “

Having viewed her work, Levy hopes the public will leave with a sense of place and revitalisation.

“The great thing about art is the effect it can have on the individual and every one can have a different experience having viewed the same piece. So 2020 could be that interruption in time. Can you imagine two people who just happen to meet while viewing and start a conversation and then leave with a positive outlook. That would be great,” said Levy.