Community
Mr Ed. - still at work, andfinding himself
The indefatigable 'Mr Ed' Oliver
"I'm supposed to be retired [but] I'mstill finding me... and still doing things," declared 'MrEd' two Fridays ago, an impish twinkle to his pewter-grey eyes.
Had anyone else his age made such a profound statement, otherthan this feisty octogenarian, who at one time made his living,and still does, as a commercial artist, one might have been sorelytempted to double over with incredulous mirth.
But this is 'Mr Ed' we're talking about; a man who declares inthe 'preface' of his latest collection of works, 'Mr Ed'z PencilKeeps Moooving...': "Some people can, but many cannot talkwithout a pencil in hand to enhance; to complete their discussions.How else are we to describe the sea's beautiful conch shell!"
He goes on to say: "Try to describe a poinciana tree, orthe structure of the human body. It's got to be drawn; the bubblywaves lapping on a sandy beach..."
"I was born an artist; it's in the stars," the 83-year-oldTaurean said. And while he doesn't deny that he may have inheritedhis artistic trait from his father, he was at pains to point outthat though the old man did dabble a bit with art,"... hedidn't push it enough to get anywhere with it."
Hailed from New England, in the USA, 'Mr Ed' came here to settleback in 1969, "to get away from the pollution," bothmental and physical. He brought with him his wife, Barbara, andtwo of the couple's six children. Together they settled in BoddenTown, some 12 to 15 miles outside of Grand Cayman's capital, GeorgeTown.
Back then, he recalled, the big thing in Cayman was mosquitoes.The situation had gotten so out of hand, that at times one wouldcome across dead cows in the pasture because dozens of mosquitoeswould fly into their noses and suffocate them.
Then there were the endless potholes between the capital and BoddenTown, so much so that it took all of an hour and a half to getfrom one place to the other.
The good news, however, was that there was electricity, from 5o'clock in the afternoon until 11 at night. "Because of that,"'Mr Ed' said, "most people had kerosene fridges and stovesand white gas for lamps. There wasn't enough electricity to goaround, but we got used to that."
His first job here in Cayman, 'Mr Ed' recalled, was with the nowdefunct 'Cayman Weekly', which was housed in the building in which'Island Companies' now is, on North Sound Road, across from theCourt-house and Scotia Bank.
"I got a job there doing advertising and handling the phonebook at the time," 'Mr Ed' said, recalling that he earnedthe sobriquet right here in Cayman. He also designed brochuresand signboards for local companies "up and down the beach,"meaning the Seven-Mile-Beach area along West Bay Road.
As time went by, he said, he and his wife, who is, herself, intointerior decorating, opened a shop and gallery (Cayman ARTventures)right on the corner of Shedden Road and the Waterfront.
Subsequent moves took them to the 'Pink House' "up near theLobster Pot" restaurant on North Church Street, then to ElizabethanSquare. When that business folded, he got into other things likepostcards, but gave that up some four to five years ago.
Asked about the state of Cayman art back then, 'Mr Ed' said: "Itwas needed. That's why I got into teaching right away". Therewas also a dire need for art supplies, such as canvases, easels,paints and paint brushes, which is a void he has been fillingunto this day.
One of his favourite maxims, which has been the driving forcebehind the myriad art classes he has conducted in his 30-odd yearsin Cayman, it has been said, is that "..art is not merelyan idle pastime, but a totally encompassing way of life.. whichMan must ultimately pass on to he next generation."
These days, he said, art in Cayman has seen a vast improvement."There are a lot of people in it now; many of them are joininggroups and hoping to get somewhere. There's a lot of cream inthere, but there's still a lot of people that are struggling toget somewhere," 'Mr Ed' said.
Asked about the possibility of there being any potential Picasso'sor van Goghs out there, 'Mr Ed' said: "There are a lot ofartists now in the island but very few local people. We had alot of young people in Cayman (back in the days when he ran athriving art talent competition). But then, they became intimidatedbecause they saw a lot of foreign artists coming in and displayingtheir talents and schooling, and that was sort of intimidatingto the local people; they sort of backed down into the bush again."
On the other hand, he said, art and photographic exhibitions seemto have begun to proliferate, particularly in the last year orso, at the National Gallery, though, regrettably, the majorityof exhibitors are from overseas.
On the bright side, however, is the fact that this developmentis a "..sort of an indication that the people are being exposedto what is acceptable in art."
A local group 'Mr Ed' singles out as one which has places to gois the group called 'Native Sons', which has been having a goodseason recently at the Cayman Islands National Museum. He alsosingled out another six to seven locals, though their names eludehim, as having the potential to hold their own internationally.
His favourite medium, 'Mr Ed' says, is charcoal and pencil. "Everycountry I go to I take my pencil with me to make drawings of thecountry and bring it back and show people..." But he alsodoes work in acrylic paints, and is a calligrapher by profession.
His preferences? "Charcoal I can carry with me; I don't haveto carry brushes and paints," 'Mr Ed' said. And, whereasa painting might take three to four days of two-hour sessions,"with charcoal, I can turn that out in maybe anywhere fromtwo, three to four hours, depending upon how complicated the sceneis," as was done in most of the images in his latest book.
Speaking of which, 'Mr Ed' said that more than half the workstherein are about Cayman - from buildings, to people, to scenery,to artifacts. The remainder of the book is dedicated to pieceshe did during his four-year tenure in the US Air Force duringWorld War II, which took him on active duty to China and Indiaamongst other countries.
Published in May, 'Mr Ed' says the 178-pager is doing rather wellon the market, Of the 3,500 copies that were printed, close to500 or more have already been sold at CI$28 per copy.