Alisha Smith: Rising Artist and Creative Entrepreneur with a Passion for the Arts

Alisha Smith has always had an affinity for the arts.

It was therefore no surprise when the 23-year-old former Westbury Primary, Combermere School and Harrison College student made the conscious decision to become her own boss and set out to pursue a career as a professional artist and creative.

An only child, she has the full backing of her parents, both of whom are also creatively inclined and are her biggest fans and support system.

On completion of her secondary school education, Alisha enrolled at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Cave Hill Campus where she completed her bachelor’s degree in management with a focus on entrepreneurship. But when she graduated from UWI last year, the St Michael resident and self-taught artist had already established herself as a budding artist.

Alisha’s artistic journey began when she came home one evening after primary school to a basin worth of art supplies.

“I don’t know what indicated to my mummy that I was going to be a creative, but I am grateful that she got the message loud and clear,” Alisha said, laughing.

In that basin she found everything a little artist could dream of but it was the coloured pencils she gravitated towards. This pivotal moment set the stage for the young artist’s future endeavours and from there “The Colourist” was born.

By age 14, Alisha had already participated in the National Cultural Foundation’s (NCF) National Independence Festival of Creative Arts (NIFCA), earning multiple gold awards and was even nominated for the Prime Minister’s Incentive Award for her photo-realistic drawing of National Hero, super star and businesswoman Rihanna. It was also around that time that she was approached and asked to do her first portrait commission of a newly-wed couple.

In the years that followed she branched out to produce works with mediums such as graphite pencils, acrylic paint on canvas and digital art. She went on to explore her creativity and took on various projects as a creative outlet, while pursuing studies full time. Her collaboration with the NCF saw her working with teams of other artists to paint murals at the Harrison Point Isolation Facility, St Lucy, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and West Terrace, St Michael, during Barbados’ transition to a republic.

She also successfully and tastefully illustrated the cover of one of her former university lecturer and author Zoanne Evans’ children’s book Tameisha’s Adventure and designed digital art for the United Nation Human Rights Day 2022 event, among others. That same year, she won the award for Best Painting By An Amateur Artist during the prestigious Carmichael Prize Exhibition for her landscape painting The Sleeping Giant.

Today, Alisha is now a full-time artist and creative, specialising in photo-realistic portraiture as well as landscape paintings. As far as her photo-realistic portraiture goes, most people often do a “double take” as it is sometimes difficult to tell if it is indeed a painting or a photograph.

Some of her well known pieces are that of Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, actor Morgan Freeman and a memorial portrait of rally driver and businessman Owen “Bird” Cumberbatch.

Contrasting her realistic depictions of human and pet faces, her landscapes are abstract impressionist depictions of scenes from her island adventures and are often a weave of radical colours and expressive brush work to enhance the narrative of each piece, resulting in her unique and ever-evolving art style and visual language. With an eye for composition and a knack for visual storytelling, she also strives to bring focus to elements and subjects that are often overlooked.

“I do not try to do what has already been done. I love emphasising colours to make my pieces more visually interesting,” she explained.

Her works range in different sizes and are also available as printed reproductions, customisable to the homes of many collectors whom she has worked with closely to elevate the aesthetic of their living and workspaces. Many of her works can also be viewed in person at the Gallery of Caribbean Art in Speightstown, St Peter.

Sharing how she has been able to pursue art full-time and how artists can make a living out of painting, she said, “I think with social media it is less difficult than it was before to be a successful professional artist. There is the potential to showcase your work to a larger audience and connect with potential customers by leveraging platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, for example.”

Emphasising that she also enjoys working as the content creator and digital marketer across her social media pages, when asked about the possibility of a different career path in the future, she shared: “I do not think I would ever stop being an artist. I would still do art part-time in some form or fashion.”

She revealed that she was actually an all-round creative, because she is also a fashion designer, singer, songwriter, she plays guitar, and is a self-taught pianist.

Outside of art Alisha loves going to the beach and taking care of her pets who often keep her company while she works in her home-based studio.

Alisha’s artistic journey is set to scale new heights with large-scale paintings, some reaching up to three feet tall. She is also eagerly anticipating her first solo exhibition next year.

As for her current project, she is working on an NCF-commissioned painting of Ivan Payne, to be unveiled later this year.

Looking ahead, Alisha aims to secure more commissions and exhibit her work internationally.

“Art chose me,” she said.

For Alisha, each painting is an expression of her enthusiasm, a window into the world as she perceives it, and a testament to the boundless possibilities that began with a basin worth of art supplies. (CH)