Masterstroke

Celando Matchevelli’s artistic talent is a gift bestowed on him and most members of his immediate family.

But the 16-year-old said he chose to actively nurture this talent, teaching himself the intricacies of using charcoal and graphite to bring his drawings to life and finding inspiration in his daily experiences.

His dedication has been rewarded.

The former Manchester High School student recently copped the award for the most outstanding performance in visual arts 3D for the May-June 2023 sitting of Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.

“I don’t think of myself as being over anyone else. I think it’s just my art skills that were able to put me up,” the modest youngster told The Gleaner last Friday, shortly after arriving home in Goshen, St Elizabeth, from Guyana, where he went to collect the award.

A beaming Matchevelli said that was his first time travelling outside of Jamaica.

He shared that he has been doing art for quite a while – “as long as I can remember” – but it was the teachers in the art department at Manchester High School who saw his passion and helped him to hone his skill.

“My art teacher, Mr Johnson, I’d like to big him up … . He saw that I could draw, and not only draw, but that I could paint as well,” he said. “He taught me a lot of things. He was the one that taught me how to blend the coloured pencils, ‘cause I already had experience with charcoal and graphite and greyscale,” he said.

Matchevelli also ensured he joined art clubs, entered various competitions, and made himself available to assist others whenever his art skills were needed.

SUBMISSIONS

For his CSEC examination, Matchevelli said he created six pieces – three each for his chosen art forms of drawing and painting.

Using graphite and charcoal, he created portraits of his younger brothers engaged in ordinary activities.

His paintings drew on biblical references, including a piece that highlighted the story of Adam and Eve as a counteraction to racism. For that particular painting, Matchevelli said he wanted to showcase that despite the differences in skin colour, everyone had the same beginning, one he said was rooted in love.

Growing up in a single-parent household and his Christian upbringing are the main motifs in his work, while he takes style inspiration from famed artist Leonardo da Vinci.

“If you look at my art, you will probably see [some] resemblance with mine. It’s not that I copied; it’s just [that] his art style inspires me,” the youngster said, adding that he even did an imitation of Da Vinci’s famous ‘Mona Lisa’ painting.

But nothing tops the reaction he gets from people whose portraits he has drawn.

“I know that art is something that people get excited over … . I started out doing portraits for people for free. I literally decided that I was gonna draw people for free and give it to them because God blessed me with this talent, so I said I wanted to bless people,” he said.

He still does a lot of portraits now, but on advice, decided to start charging commission fees of up to $5,000. His goal is to make art accessible to anyone who wants to collect it.

This attitude and his ultimate achievement are what his art teacher Dahron Johnson is very proud of.

PASSION FOR ART

“I’ve noticed his passion for the craft from as early as grade seven, when he started Manchester High. He always demonstrated great enthusiasm in classes. It was a joy to watch his skill grow over the years and it’s really an awesome feeling to see that this is the result,” Johnson told The Gleaner.

He said that Matchevelli has always been confident, persistent, and helpful.

In 2008, a student from Manchester High School also received top honours for visual arts 3D in the Caribbean, and Johnson believes it is an indication of the quality of the school’s art programme.

“We offer the subject from first from right up to the CAPE (Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination) level. And we’ve been quite successful in the passes over the years,” he said.

“Apart from just teaching it as a subject, we try to develop students’ skills through a very active art club, where students get a chance to learn while expressing themselves. We also seize opportunities to be involved in community projects and art competitions, both locally and internationally. Subject integration is also an experience in our art programme,” the teacher added.

But while art is Matchevelli’s first love, he also has an interest in the sciences and scored grade ones in chemistry, physics, and mathematics in the CSEC examinations.

Currently on a yearlong break from school, he intends to start the journey to becoming a chemical engineer next year. But he is confident art will always be a part of his life.

“I would love to do a portrait for Usain Bolt, and I would like to do portraits of Romain Virgo, Simone Clarke Cooper and Neville Bell,” he said.

sashana.small@gleanerjm.com