When I painted “Gun Point” many years ago, I was well aware of its long history. Eleuthera, meaning “freedom”, in Greek was populated in 1648 by a group of Puritans seeking religious freedom. They made the island the first permanent settlement in the Bahama Islands.

One of the great joys of being an artist is that you are taught to truly observe your surroundings. No longer does a quick glance suffice. My training taught me to observe, analyze and remember what I was seeing. It opened a world to me which has enriched my entire life.

Being an island boy, I’ve always had a love for boats of all kinds. The boat in this painting is unique. It was brought to Green Turtle Cay from England and its double keel made it quite unusual for the Bahamas. In the background of the painting are a number of houses, including my own family home which is next to one of the island grocery stores.

One of the great joys of being an artist is that you are taught to truly observe your surroundings. No longer does a quick glance suffice. My training taught me to observe, analyze and remember what I was seeing. It opened a world to me which has enriched my entire life.

It seems strange that today virtually all of these sailing boats are gone. When I was a boy, dozens of these boats could be seen at the wharf in downtown Nassau. All the major Bahamian islands built these boats which carried everything including baskets of salt from Ragged Island, benne seeds, cassava, sugarcane, tamarinds, hog plums, papaya, sweet potatoes, corned fish, Old Sour sauce, and many other items. These boats also often carried the mail between Nassau and the Out Islands.

In this painting, two young Bahamian girls are at Gillam Bay on Green Turtle Cay. They have walked over from the village of New Plymouth in search of whelks and curbs. The whelks were stewed and the curbs were used in salads. Both were (and still are) much enjoyed by local families.

When I was a young boy, one of the most exciting days of the year was New Year's Day because it meant Junkanoo! To this day it spells excitement, the noise of drums and horns and the clank of cowbells.

This painting of Oreo, a potcake (mixed-breed) dog, was extraordinarily popular. There is a bond between humans and dogs which is unique and Oreo was no exception. Rescued as a puppy from the Treasure Cay dump, Oreo became an “ambassador of goodwill” on Green Turtle Cay for guests staying at the Linton Cottages. With each change of guests, he could be seen riding around in a golf cart appearing to be showing off the island to the new group. Missing one leg, Oreo was still full of restless energy and loved greeting new visitors.

I have always loved sunflowers. Following the sun as it moved from east to west during the day, it seemed to me as a boy that they were somehow alive. We grew them from seed. The seeds came in large bags of chickenfeed mixed in with many other kinds of seeds. My job as a boy, was to find the sunflower seeds and give them to my father who was well known in the village for growing the biggest sunflowers. In fact, one he grew was so big the entire village came to look at it.

This painting holds so many memories for me. Let me tell you the story. The sailboat was made by my father for me when I was five. I played with it for several years in the sea in front of my house on Green Turtle Cay. The small conch shell was a gift from my niece when she was a little girl just before I went to New York to art school, I still have it. The flag, of course, marks me as a Bahamian. The block is made of ironwood and iron from the “Priscilla“, a sailing ship built at…

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!