Mar 19, 2021

Patricia Brintle Takes Us Into her World With Art

Patricia Brintle is self-taught, lived in Haiti until she was 17, before immigrating to the United States in 1964. Although she lives in the United States, many of her paintings are influenced by her homeland, childhood, and religion (Catholicism). Most of her childhood was spent in the mountains, “through the lush green countryside,” admiring valleys, fruitful trees, and bodies of water below the promising blue sky.

“I was about four years old when I used coal to draw on fibrous mango seeds” she recalls, but approximately fifteen years ago, Brintle started selling her artworks. It was in January 2006, when she had a show called “Four Decades,” with artworks created during 40 years publicly exhibited and launching her career. While her artistic style is as varied as her subjects, her work is influenced by personal and social experiences using vivid colors.

Some of the exhibits she participated in include “Brooklyn College” in NY, “Art Market Hamptons 2018” in Bridgehampton, NY, “Basilica di San Lorenzo” in Florence, Italy, “The Grand Palais” in Paris, “Richard Taittinger Gallery” in New York City, “Dosey Gallery” in Brooklyn, NY, “Harlem Fine Art Show,” in New York City, “New York Art Expo” in NYC, “National Center for Civil and Human Rights” in Atlanta, GA, “MLK National Center for Civil and Human Rights” in Atlanta, GA, and “Rosa Parks Museum” in Montgomery, AL.

Many of her works address powerful subjects such as the Holocaust (several of her artworks belong to the permanent collection of the “Holocaust Center of Temple Judea” in New York), nuclear disarmament, and the Haitian earthquake. In 2015, some of her artwork were featured in movies, books, and magazines.

Many of her artwork were featured in movies, books, and magazines: “Saint Vincent,” (with Bill Murray in 2015), a Golden Globes nominee film and “Killing Jesus” (2015). “Voilers au Port a Bainet” was featured on the cover of “U.S. National Maritime Historical Society,” published by “Sea History Magazine.” Her paintings Virgo Virginum, Assumption, Regina Caeli, and Ora Pro Nobis graced the covers and pages of “Give Us This Day” by Liturgical Press.

“The First Mother” her 2006 acrylic painting on masonite made its way into the Black Madonna Exhibit, with its debut at the renown “National Museum of Catholic Art and History” in New York, then toured museums across the United States. Her captivating work “A Delicate Balance” (about nuclear disarmament) won the “Images of Peace” national competition for the 50th anniversary of Albert Schweitzer’s call for nuclear disarmament.

Patricia focuses on the expression of the eyes when she paints, where viewers may know exactly the story on the canvas. While her choice of mediums varies, she favors acrylics.

She is an inductee of the 1804 List of Haitian American Changemakers. Also, she is the president of “From Here to Haiti,” a not-for-profit charity that repairs non-governmental places of assembly in Haiti.

While Patricia creates astonishing art, her favorite artist is Laura James, because her artwork is captivating, telling a story with simplicity, color, and vibrancy. At times, she collects other artists works like Laura James, Jean Claude Legagneur, Claude Dambreville, etc.

Home’s Awaiting

Realistically, Patricia’s figurative work from “Home’s Awaiting” appears like 3-dimensional stick figures on a film set with props. It appears like it can be easily created, but she uses various contrasts between black and white with shades and uses rich hues, with fine brushstrokes. Also, you may think you’re just staring at a painting where it’s just a black face with no details until you look at the form in the face, having you see the nose and lips from the side. She has a distinct style in painting and while the parts of the third world country of Haiti is incorporated into her work, she makes the pieces show the beautiful side. It’d be rather complicated to paint a vivid color over a blob of black paint, which is what others copying the art may attempt when they notice the gold earring. Look closely and it may be thought that the woman in the picture is wearing a purple Karabela dress.

I manage to think about how much balance the lady must have to carry a bag on her head with no hands. More so, she’s multitasking by carrying other objects like towels. The tall grass she’s passing, crevices she is walking over, and pebbles she may stepping on, can all be distracting. It’s complicated for many people to wrap their mind on how others can’t lose their equilibrium while balancing a bag on their head as useful as their hands. This piece shows that some people are overworking, but maintain complete focus.

The Gleaners

Taking a look at the picture, “The Gleaners,” this piece is a clear example, proving Patricia is professionally experienced at painting. She uses geometric shapes, giving different sections light and dark shadings. The Haitians in the painting appear to be picking up leftover crops to live. It’s a piece that makes the fortunate proud to have natural resources.

Hope at Sunrise

Her painting, “Hope at Sunrise” is beautifully done, appearing like an enjoyable scenery to a serious cartoon. “Hope at Sunrise” captures the hope of freedom with the historic scenes carefully painted from the discovery of Haiti, through the Slave Trade, to the War of Independence, to the present. Something that appears like shackles with the wordings ‘Caonabo’ on one shackle and ‘Anacaona’ on the other, are names of two Taino chieftains who were brutally killed by the Spaniards. We see the shape of the African continent with indigenous people on it, reminding us of the slave trade.

We see the “boat people” braving the seas in crowded vessels with full sails in search of a better life in distant shores and there appears to be a trimmed microphone representing the lack of freedom of the press. I thought the microphone must seem like a type of plant in the painting, then an arrow points to the right, symbolic of continuing life and accomplishing goals through ways of entertainment. This painting can give viewers many perspectives and showcases Patricia’s passionate level of creating.

Christopher Columbus discovered Haiti on his way to India and as a result the island became the first location to be a part of the Transatlantic slave trade, so the historic person (who is heroically celebrated in textbooks, but committed villainous crimes) is probably him. This is a undoubtably powerful painting, but even if you don’t pay attention to the cultural value of the piece, it’s truly gorgeous to look at. If that is Columbus in the painting, the background shows what appears like flames and I think most of us can guess what that means. The fact that she has many scenes in one painting is like many paintings in one and her choice of colors captures depth.

Madonna and Child - Beloved Son

“Madonna and Child—Beloved Son” is an acrylic on wood painting where a mother is nurturing her baby. It’s a painting about motherhood and can express how she knows the child may grow up to encounter huge obstacles, but will always be the baby’s mother. In some way, even if someone is not a mother or doesn’t have a mother, they can relate, because it’s a heartwarming piece, setting a mood of peace and love.

Under The Moonlight

When I look at the painting, “Under the Moonlight,” I get vibes of Pablo Picasso’s “The Old Guitarist.” While Pablo Picasso is a prominent artist in society and touched many hearts, “Under the Moonlight” has a deep-rooted background to the story. Even if “Under the Moonlight” was inspired by Pablo Picasso’s “The Old Guitarist,” (and I’ve seen ‘The Old Guitarist’ in person), Patricia made it her own.

I can only guess that the indigenous person in “Under the Moonlight” is a penniless artiste, yet finds inspiration to continue playing his cello. If that’s actually a golden chair he’s sitting on, maybe he’s well-off, which can make it difficult to guess his social class. He does have an entire face that’s black, which could symbolize his ancestors or his past. Maybe the completely black face represents his current struggles. It may not be a realistically painted per se, but it definitely captures a deeper meaning than Picasso’s “The Old Guitarist.”

What I am fascinated the most about “Under the Moonlight” is how Patricia added the details of the sun rays into the piece, where it changes the colors of the sky and hill to different hues. The sun adds to the richness of the golden chair the indigenous person is sitting on, playing the cello. Yet, the person does not appear to have on shoes and is barefooted, which could mean he’s content with the only thing he has left, looking upward at the sun for guidance.

Amethyst

At the same time, “Amethyst,” an acrylic on canvas painting is lifelike, but looks animated. Basically, the animated look is the black flesh of the female and possibly welcoming background, but her immaculate clothes, as well as the visible, stainless jewelry (an earring, necklace, and bracelets), are cleverly detailed. The way the female in the painting is holding purple flowers increases the value.

It feels as though the moon in the background is symbolic of the lady’s mood since her face is posed on its front. The woman appears to be wealthy with vividly colored clothes and jewelry, but the money may not satisfy her. Or maybe it’s just the background of hills and an animated looking night sky.

Madonna and Child - First Steps

Looking at the piece “Madonna and Child—First Steps,” the mother appears to be holding her child’s hand while the child is on a wooden porch, taking his first steps. I’m not entirely sure what the child is standing on, but maybe Patricia’s “Madonna and Child” collection of paintings have something to do with a specific mother, namely the Virgin Mary. What’s unique about this historically religious painting is that the blue moon shines in the distant background near the mother’s face and there’s a glowing effect around the child, the same color as the son. One may imply that the mother could represent the moon and the child represents the sun, but the painting surely represents new moments and everlasting memories.

La route de Mouline

The painting “La route de Mouline” is a landscape that showcases Patricia’s well-versed style. When many people think about Haiti, normally and unfortunately, people do not think about nature. Invigorating trees and grassy terrains are the last thing that pops into people’s mind when the subject of Haiti comes up. Well, we need trees to live. Thanks to Patricia, she visually incorporates what she sees in her artwork.