'Junkanoo Rushing' - Original Painting

An acrylic painting of a man rushing in the annual Bahamian Junkanoo.  I painted this in May 2020, during lockdown in London, when I was reminiscing about The Bahamas. 

When I paint, I get lost in the painting so much so that I can remember the feeling of pride, passion and dedication of every rusher as I was painting this piece.  I even had Junkanoo music playing in the background to take me there. I was very emotional as I painted and was thinking constantly of all of the work that goes into making the costumes each year and the pride of the men, women and children continuing this tradition year after year.  

Each time I look at the painting, I can just hear the sound of the whistles blowing, the cowbells going click, click, click and click alongside the oil drums and trumpets playing.  The music and dancers just pull you in and your body starts to move to the beat by itself.  For me it I represents the magic of Junkanoo.  Hopefully for anyone who has experienced Junkanoo, they can feel this too just from looking at the painting.