𝘈𝘴 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘴𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥. 𝘐𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘢 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘨𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘢𝘩𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘚𝘢𝘯 𝘚𝘢𝘭𝘷𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘢 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝟧𝟢𝟢𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘰𝘭𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵, 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘴𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘢𝘴 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘺𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦. 𝘈𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧…

A collection of objects, known as a still life, often arouses a curiosity from the onlooker. Why did the painter choose these particular objects? How do they relate to each other? What, if any, is their meaning? Are they simply interesting objects which have caught the painter’s eye?

In this painting, which I called “Gifts From the Sea”, the conch shell holds center stage. Years ago conch was so plentiful that it easily provided a full meal in the many ways it could be prepared. As any Bahamian knows, conch fritters are a favorite as well as conch salad, conch chowder, cracked conch and scorched conch.

To one side of the shell is a double candlestick supported by a sea creature. On the other side is a seagull and in the foreground are cockle shells. I balanced these gifts from the sea with a lovely sea blue double vase, a gift from friends in Gatlinburg when I left our summer gallery for art study in New York City.

Each of these objects have meaning for me. Sadly, they have all been lost in a recent hurricane. Still, their beauty remains captured in this painting. - Alton

One of the oldest houses in Dunmore Town, the boarding house was usually filled with people coming for a short stay to visit the island. Dunmore Town itself was named after Lord Dunmore, who was governor from 1786–1797. Many Green Turtle Cay families, like the Lowes, Currys, and Saunders, originally came from Harbour Island.

Dunmore Town is one of the oldest settlements in the Bahamas. It was known by its 3 mile long, pink sand beach, but…

One of the oldest houses in Dunmore Town, the boarding house was usually filled with people coming for a short stay to visit the island. Dunmore Town itself was named after Lord Dunmore, who was governor from 1786–1797. Many Green Turtle Cay families, like the Lowes, Currys, and Saunders, originally came from Harbour Island.

Dunmore Town is one of the oldest settlements in the Bahamas. It was known by its 3 mile long, pink sand beach, but…

One of my treasured memories as a boy was the day I put a tiny seagull in my hand for the first time. My daddy brought “Gully“ back from a nearby island as a surprise gift for me. I was five and Gully was newborn. We grew up together. Several of my friends had gullies, too. We would feed them with small pieces of bread and tiny fish caught from the sea in homemade croaker sacks. After Gully was fully grown, he flew away, but for many years…

There are few men alive today, who remember the old ways of making a living from the sea. In the Out Islands, survival depended largely on how skilled a man was in maintaining his boat and his fishing nets. In this painting, a local fisherman is mending his cotton net. In his hand is a homemade netting shuttle with a cotton string, ready to fill in the tears of the net. The cotton string came in big balls from England or the United States. After a fishing trip, the nets were spread out on picket fences or net racks in the village to dry. These men knew how to fish, and where to fish. They caught grunts, porgies, snapper, and assorted fish that could be sold or eaten locally by their families. In New Plymouth there is still today one man who (using nylon netting instead of cotton) continues this tradition. - Alton

I have spent many pleasant hours over the years painting the grand old homes of Nassau. Early on, I realized many of them would disappear forever – as they have. This painting shows one of the few still remaining. It speaks quietly of a more leisurely and gracious time when the pace of life was slow enough that an afternoon spent on the porch was considered time well spent. If only that time could be recaptured.

This is one of my favorite paintings. It shows my father, Albert Lowe, on the creek shore in the village of New Plymouth on Green Turtle Cay. In the background is the shark house. It was used for storing shark skins, shark teeth, and shark livers which were made into vitamins in the United States. Here daddy is completing one of his model boats, and telling stories to some local children. He always said “if you want to remain young, surround yourself with young people.“ Finally, one of the children has made his own boat out of half shell of a coconut with a seagrape leaf for a sail. The magic of summer when time seems to stand still.

As a boy, my world was peopled with some of the most interesting characters I would ever meet in life. Auntie Getta was one of them. What a storyteller she was. She loved to set us children laughing with her stories. Stern looking, with a pipe in her mouth, she was the soul of kindness and good humor. We loved her and she loved us. Those were wonderful days – too soon gone.

My Uncle Herbert Lowe built this dinghy. It had an ingenious well opened to the sea, which kept the fish alive until the boat arrived at New Plymouth, the boat had a Briggs and Stratton engine. A full-size dinghy made by Uncle Herbert is in the nautical room of the Albert Lowe Museum. Sadly, the days of boats built on the Cay are gone forever.

Many years ago now, I painted this scene with the intent to show the incredible natural beauty of Gillam Bay. There was a time when we took this jewel of The Bahamas for granted. It was there and would always be there for us. The bird sanctuary, the bonefish flats, and the stunning beach around the bay have been loved, and enjoyed by generations of Bahamians. One senses a tranquility provided by a kind Mother Nature. It has long been a spiritual place where tired and troubled individuals have come to find peace. Others have enjoyed the beautiful water, shallow enough to be a safe place for children to play and swim. This beach is within walking distance from the village of New Plymouth. Let’s protect it for now and for future generations of Bahamians, as well as expatriates and visitors.

“Fascination” painting by Alton R. Lowe

Missy, a calico cat, was in my life for 18 delightful years. She would jump up on my bed each morning, and pat my face with her paws until I woke up. After she ate, we would go for a walk. The painting shows Missy in a bed of pansies, fascinated by a butterfly. She sat quite still until the butterfly flew away. Like most cats, she was a joy, and loved by all the family. But dogs are nice, too!

This is our ‘ting’. Throughout The Bahamas, Junkanoo is a time of excitement and joy. A major part of the Christmas Season, Junkanoo is uniquely Bahamian. Hundreds of people come together to create beautiful costumes from cardboard and crepe paper. On Boxing Day and New Year’s Day huge parades take place in Nassau and smaller ones in the Family Islands. Everyone has a part in the excitement-dancing, playing drums and cowbells, and horns. Nothing like it anywhere else. It’s our ‘ting’!

"Market Mornin’” by Alton R. Lowe

There was a time not so long ago, not just in the Out Islands, but in Nassau, the Bahamian capital itself, that the pace of life for everyone was leisurely and gracious. The smile of the people and the “Good Mornings” were a daily occurrence throughout the islands. The smallest home ‘over-the-hill’ had little pots of flowers on the porches. Even the formality of government square with its statue of Queen Victoria moved at a slower pace. Times change, but the goodness and kindness of the people still remains. - Alton

“Sacred Ground" The majority of Bahamians, from the earliest days, have been deeply religious. Even the smallest settlement has its church. When times have been difficult, people have turned to God for hope and support. I tried to capture this as a symbol of the deep reliance which many of us place in the Almighty.