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REBECCA FOSTER is ready to bare her artistic soul with a one-day exhibition titled Mixtape: Vol 1, at 101 Art Gallery on November 15. After six years away from the local art scene, the 45-year-old Diego Martin resident will showcase more than 30 pieces, a colourful mix of new and older works, drawn from her sketchbook series, her Hard Rock Cafe portraits and other pieces she has never shown before. She said doing the exhibition was a spur of the moment decision, and she is both excited and hesitant about it, as she always wanted to do a show like this but the work to be displayed made her vulnerable. delves more into random musings and pieces that I’ve painted more for myself. So I feel like this show is probably more of a reflection of me, which is terrifying. But hey, you gotta put yourself out there sometimes.” Foster’s Mixtape exhibition brings together more than 30 pieces, sizes small to large, in watercolour and acrylic on paper and canvas. The images include landscapes, architectural works, traditional mas characters, celebrity portraits and more. Despite the range of styles and themes, her use of vivid colour ties them together. Foster told Newsday during the covid19 pandemic she had an arrangement with Hard Rock Cafe Worldwide in which she painted portraits of musicians to be posted on its social media. Since she still has the originals, she decided to share them with the people of TT. She also spent a lot of the past year travelling between Trinidad and Saudi Arabia, as her husband works in both countries, and those long flights and quiet moments between destinations have filled her sketchbooks. Even the buildings in her pieces are landmarks in her life, and she loves the culture and lore behind traditional Carnival characters. That passion for Carnival took on new life during the covid19 pandemic. Like so many artists, Foster struggled in the early months of lockdown, unable to focus on her usual work. Then she found a new outlet that connected her creativity to helping others cope during a difficult time. “It started off, when the lockdown happened, people were stressed, people were home, people had nothing to do. So I started drawing these characters and posting them to my website as free colouring pages. If people wanted to pass the time or to relieve some stress, they could just download the pages for free, and then it just morphed into a book.” That book became Colouring Carnival: Traditional Mas, published in December 2020. Go with the flow Foster’s path to a full-time creative career was never straightforward, but her passion was obvious from childhood. She recalled drawing constantly, to the point that her teachers complained about her doodling in her copybooks. She still keeps an abstract painting she did at the age of five. Her grandmother was her earliest champion, encouraging her creativity even as her parents nudged her toward business studies. Still, she persisted, taking art for both her CSEC and CAPE exams at St Joseph’s Convent, Port of Spain, in addition to her business subjects. “I had amazing teachers in secondary school. I learnt a lot of the basics from them. Yes, it’s good to know the basics and to have a foundation, but art is also subjective. Somebody would say, ‘Oh, I can’t do this. I can’t draw a person.’ But while you might not be able to draw a face, you might be able to express yourself in a different way – through colour or line or something like that.” After school, she worked at Horizons Framing and Decor, where she was surrounded by local artists and their work. That exposure inspired her to take her art more seriously. She later moved into graphic design and advertising, eventually joining Question Mark Entertainment, a creative hub where she expanded her creative network, developed new skills and eventually shifted the course of her career. In 2006, Foster married. She and her husband have a daughter, now 20, and a son, 18. Three years later, the family moved to Bahrain for about a year, and that experience proved pivotal. During that time she joined an art group and produced 15-20 pieces. She wanted to try to sell them and so had her first solo exhibition there. “It did pretty well. I sold half the show. So I thought, ‘Okay, maybe it is time to do this full time when I go back to Trinidad.’ So 2010 was when I had made that decision to dive into being a full-time visual artist. It was a bit of a struggle to balance the work and home life, but I did it.” Since then, her creativity has flowed across multiple disciplines. She began taking acting classes with Question Mark Entertainment in 2012, leading to several film roles, including in the award-winning 2017 film The Cutlass. Her next appearance will be in an upcoming movie called Danm, in which she again plays the mother of one of the main characters. Her connection with Question Mark and her willingness to explore new avenues also led her into production design. She was part of a group of local filmmakers and actors who, through Question Mark Entertainment, visited the set of the Will Smith movie Concussion. “I got to stand up in a sound stage and watch people create a whole living room and kitchen area out of nothing. I was just fascinated by it. So, when they approached me to do Zombie Island, I was like, ‘Yes! Please sign me up,’ and from there, things have just evolved.” In 2014, Foster became art director for The Zombie Island Experience at the Decibel Arts and Entertainment Festival. It was an interactive event for secondary school students, blending education and entertainment. She explained that she was responsible for hiring everyone involved and organising everything related to the event, gaining invaluable hands-on experience in production design. Those new skills led to other opportunities in the local film industry, including production and set design and special effects make-up on short and feature films. Most recently, she was the production designer for the Trinidad unit of the 2023 film Doubles. Foster has remained grateful for the chance to make a living doing what she loves, and considers herself lucky to have built a career across so many creative fields and becoming part of those communities. After Mixtape: Vol 1, she will be returning to Saudi Arabia, but she already has plans to come back in early 2026 to prepare for a local film shoot in June. When not working, she values her quiet time. She said painting is her job, not her way to unwind. Instead, she turns to video games to relax, and even that has turned into a learning opportunity. Currently, she is doing a video game design course, learning the software and design principles, as she likes coming up with video game ideas and concepts. She believes the skills she’s gaining in 3D modelling and digital design will enhance her work in set and production design. She also keeps active in more unexpected ways. A few years ago, she took up pole dancing as exercise, eventually earning a certification to teach. “I just find it’s a great way to exercise, it’s a great way to learn about how amazing our bodies are and how much we’re capable of. And for me, it’s a nice way to relieve stress.” Over the years, Foster has learned to let go of rigid expectations and embrace change, saying her life has been guided by flexibility and an openness to new experiences. “I realise there’s only so much you could plan. I’ve always pretty much gone with the flow and rolled with the punches. Life is what you make it and, to me, it’s about perspective and whether you see the glass is half full or half empty. “If you have a goal or you want something to happen, chances are it might not happen in the timeframe you want. Setting goals is important, but sometimes you need to be flexible. And by being flexible, you might achieve more.” That flexibility is what makes Mixtape: Vol 1 such a fitting title for her return to the gallery. It will be open for viewing from 11 am to 6 pm at 101 Art Gallery on November 15.
