A big salute is more than in order for an enterprising 21-year-old Anguillian youth, Carmel Gumbs. He has the proud professional title of Resident Artist at Belmond Cap Juluca, one of Anguilla’s signature resorts and iconic standard bearer.
A big thank you is also due to the just-departed General Manager of the resort, Mr. Tiago Moraes Sarmento, who helped to make the Anguillian youth what he is today. Carmel has become the face of Belmond Cap Juluca when tourists call at his Maundays Gallery to admire or to purchase his diverse pieces of artwork.
On November 2, the eve of his departure to South Africa, Mr. Sarmento introduced Carmel to The Anguillian newspaper. “Carmel Gumbs is one of the finest, most creative, artists I have ever met,” he said with the utmost sincerity. “I found his work one-and-a-half-years-ago when he put his creative mind on the walls of the Dungeon Gym where I worked out regularly. As soon as I saw that, I knew I had to meet him so that he could be a Resident Artist at Cap Juluca.
“Just when COVID times hit us, I was able to reach out to him and we started crafting what would be called ‘The Maundays Gallery’. So we created an area right at the heart of Cap Juluca, in the main building; and the goal of this gallery is to promote young Anguillian talent to the world. Cap Juluca, of course, is a place that the whole world comes to visit and to taste Anguilla. It is nothing better than at the heart of Cap Juluca to voice those masterpieces. Carmel has taken on the challenge of being the first Resident Artist of Cap Juluca, and he is already having some very good sales with guests who want to take his art pieces to the United States.”
Mr. Sarmento continued: “We partnered with Frank from Savannah Gallery who is helping us in curating the gallery; and we have also started adding on other artists, like Leron, who is a Bar Tender and Mixologist here at Cap Juluca – and who is also now showcasing some of his art pieces. We would love to expand to other artists on the island who would like to be part of the story showing young talents to the world.”
Replying, Carmel told The Anguillian: “Firstly, I want to say how grateful I am to Tiago and Cap Juluca for this opportunity to have my work showcased in the resort. It is an amazing opportunity that I definitely do not take for granted every day. My aim of being represented at Cap Juluca is not just to showcase my artwork and get it out there, as an artist, but also to inspire other local Anguillians, my age or younger, to pursue their dreams even though some of them may not think that they can produce fruit and the things they really believe in. I am very excited. This past season, I received a tremendous amount of support from Cap Juluca on showcasing my works in the gallery. I started back in July when I put in my first set of works and by September I sold half of them. And so, it is a very good start; and now I am preparing for December 29.
“On that date I am planning to have a solo show. I am still finalising the event, and I am just excited about this high season and showcasing my new set of works. The name of my show is going to be entitled: ‘Let Go’. I don’t want to give away too many details about it, just yet, until I make an official release. But I entitled it ‘Let Go’ because it means releasing things that hold us from achieving our full potential in the future. It is not releasing those things that would hold us back and that really keep us from becoming the best versions of ourselves…So, as I said, I am really excited about this coming season and everything that is going to happen. Once again, I want to say thanks to Cap Juluca; and a big thank you to Tiago. Thanks as well to Frank at Savannah Art Gallery. He has definitely helped and encouraged me; pushed my work and reached out to guests.
“I am just thankful and humble for this opportunity which, as I said, I will not take for granted.”
Carmel will be 22 years old on December 27, two days before his significant art show.
Asked where he gathered his experience, he replied: “Since I was much younger, and could hold a pencil, I was interested in art. Throughout high school, after curricular activities, I attended regular art classes. My mom really had me into that and I really loved doing it. Once I completed high school, I decided to go to Ani Art Academy where I studied for four years. I mastered the craft of drawing with charcoal and painting with oil paint. When I graduated, I decided to turn my work into a business and share my vision, with the world, about my views on art and to really inspire the younger generation to pursue what they love. I want to tell them they can do anything they put their minds to accomplish.”
Asked what forms of art he likes best, Carmel replied: “I specialise in oil paint on panel – that’s oil paint on wood. It is not regular canvas. It is actually wood, but we call it panel – the artist’s term. I also specialise in abstract art, as well as realism, which is my main strong point. That’s where I am able to express myself – whether through portraiture, figure-painting, landscaping or very mystical paintings. Sometimes I like expressing myself through abstract art. It is a bit more loose in expression. On other days I feel like expressing myself through portraiture.”
Carmel is the proud son of Ms. Avenella Griffith, whose example, as a mother, he has greatly benefited from. She is a well-respected educator at the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School and recently emerged as an author – writing the first of a series of colourful story-telling books about the cultural life of Sandy Ground and some of its inhabitants, including boatmen.
