Trinity East student finds new path in art

When schools closed in March, because of the covid19 pandemic, Ethan Seuradge began to feel bored at home.

The 13-year-old needed something to do, and so decided to try something he had never done before – paint!

"I was bored at home and decided to watch YouTube videos on all the different techniques in painting," the Trinity East College student said in a recent interview. "After that, I just decided that I wanted to start this. I wanted to try painting. I wanted to do something during quarantine, so I wouldn’t be lying in bed all day. So, it was either this (painting) or drawing.”

Ethan, who is in form two, has since done more than 24 paintings and has sold two. He never thought his paintings would be good to sell.

"I never thought about an art exhibition or selling them. We (Ethan and his mother), started a Facebook group for my art, just to showcase it. If people are interested, they can send a message for a starting price. The interest has been moderate. It's called Ethan’s Art," he told Newsday Kids. The group is closed to the public but can be accessed through his mother, Jamila Draper. His family lives in Malabar, Arima.

Ethan said he's not sure how he feels about people owning his paintings. “I don't know how I feel about it. Obviously, they saw some kind of potential in it to spend money and hang it up in their house. Part of me says that they did it for support.”

His creations are a mix of paints and craft materials, such as glue, tape and beads. What he creates, in the end, is sometimes not what he had in mind.

“I like using a string of beads dipped in colours and leave it on a canvas. I like to see the finish product when it dries. Especially the taped ones. I don’t like when the colours don't blend a certain way or when it comes out looking dull. I'm envisioning something in my mind and something else comes out,” he explained.

Not only has Ethan used acrylics to bring life to his imagination but he has placed a smaller version of his art on face masks.

For $30 you can get a printed version of one of his paintings. He said, “We were looking to do more paintings on masks. But for now, that's all. We have 40 orders from 23 different people. It’s going well. After the masks, I thought about putting it on clothing, but I still don't know how I feel about that as yet. For now, when it comes to my art, I'm just living in the moment.”

How does he feel about being a part of a small business? “I feel like everything is moving too fast. The mask was a big junk of the reason. My mother handles the business of the masks. I could turn it into a profession but I haven't really reached that far as to what I want to do as a profession,” he said.

The money made from the sale of the paintings and masks will be used to buy more painting supplies.