Andrea Downer, Gleaner Writer 
Cameron
MARK CAMERON has a love for Jamaica that not even 27 years of living in the United States could change.
The mocha-coloured teenage boy, who left Jamaica to settle with his parents in the U.S. in 1979, carried memories of the island with him.
While he juggled subway
schedules, chameleon weather, and mastered the feat of walking on treacherous snow-covered pavements, he would ever so often, find respite in the nuggets tucked within, where only he could reach.
Golden nuggets of various facets of Jamaican life. For a quarter of a century that Cameron lived in the United States, his mind kept churning out snapshots of scenes from an island where miniature breadfruit trees, mini palm trees and red-tongued ginger lilies grew in abundance in riverbeds.
RECREATED PAINTINGS
To satisfy this hunger for home, Cameron recreated Jamaica, one painting at a time.
Whether the scene framed by his window reflected the ripe richness of autumn, the bare, unfriendly façade of winter, or the freshness and promise of spring, Cameron's brush danced across the canvass to a distinctive island rhythm. However, he does not want his work labelled.
"It is hard to categorise what I do. I paint based on how I feel and my paintings reflect me as a person. Most of my paintings were done from my imagination, my memory. I was very homesick and the paintings are of places that I had visited in Jamaica," he declared.
Cameron returned home a year-and-a half ago and is staging his first exhibition at Red Bones, The Blues Café. The exhibition opened last Friday and will run for the next two weeks.
"About 20 pieces will be on show, but only a few will be up for sale. The art show will be an introduction of myself to Jamaica," he stated. "It is very hard to sell my paintings. I put a lot into (creating) them. I never paint with a sale in mind," he disclosed.
Cameron started drawing with pencils in his exercise book as a student at Mona Primary School. He was fascinated with aeroplanes and those would be what he drew most. But at Jamaica College, his paintings took on a maturity that made it easy for his father to sell his work.
INSPIRED BY NATURE
After leaving JC, he enrolled at the School of Visual Arts, in New York, and after he graduated, he went to California and started his own graphics design company. Owning his business and being in charge of his time gave him freedom to pursue his art.
Nature in its unspoiled state inspires Mark to paint and he is an advocate for the harmonious co-existence of man and nature. "There has to be a happy medium between development and nature."
But, Mark is not just a purist; he exudes an emotional intensity that is compelling. His interpretation of the relationship between man and woman and his reproduction of the female form reflects a deep sensuality that is also evident in his appreciation of music.
"The most important thing to a man is a good woman, everything a man does is for a woman." he declared."
Cameron said his painting of a nude female reclining with her fingers curled sensuously around the stem of wine glass captures the essence of a beautiful woman.
LOVER OF MUSIC
A lover of music, Cameron has an impressive collection of old records. His romance with music is reflected in his art, which also depicts an emotional connection between musicians and their instruments.
He intends to donate part proceeds of the exhibition at the Red Bones Blues Café to the Jamaica College Old Boys' Association.
Art is not the only aspect of creativity that was showcased at the opening of Cameron's exhibition.
The former restaurant owner, (he owned the Caribbean Grill Restaurant, in California) seeped his signature jerk spice flavour, which he created, into a special item on the menu.
Cameron's two-week exhibition offers an opportunity for others to see how he views the world.
