Charles Long has been called the ‘Chronicler of Cayman.’
The son of Cayman’s first governor came to Cayman in 1969, and has been capturing the colourful side of life in our islands ever since.
“I think you call it expressive realism, Cayman expressive realism. I mostly paint just the island and the people here,” said Mr. Long.
Mr. Long told Cayman 27 he finds inspiration in the everyday scenery of his beloved Cayman Islands.
“My favorite are landscapes because that lets me have a lot of freedom about how I paint landscapes, they’re not photographic so much as a nice experiment in painting,” he said.
One feature that stands out in Mr. Long’s body of work is the people. He said each one is a unique individual.
“I like to mix up the paintings with different kinds of people. My people are very expressive,” he said.
He dabbled in painting before coming to Cayman in the late 60’s, and the island left its mark on his style.
“This is a painting which I did before I came to Cayman in 1968, and it shows the work I used to do, it’s very different than the painting Cayman because I was encouraged to paint Cayman and that’s what I did,” said Mr. Long.
His body of work is a veritable visual historical account of Cayman, and the changes he’s seen through the decades.
“This shows how it was in those days, in ’95 before they put all the apartment buildings up near the beach,” he lamented, holding up an old painting of windsurfers on Seven Mile Beach.
He told Cayman 27 he plans to keep painting as long as he finds enjoyment in the work.
“I really enjoy it that’s why I keep going,” said Mr. Long.
Mr. Long told Cayman 27 that he spends his time outside the studio volunteering with the National Museum.
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