Trinidad and Tobago artist Brittany Davis living her dream in NY

BRITTANY "Brigitte" Davis knows all too well what it's like for people say her dreams aren't achievable.

But now as the 25-year-old TT artist basks in her international successes, she is urging young people not to be discouraged by the words of others.

She was raised in the southern village of Los Bajos and attended the Siparia Union Presbyterian Primary School, then Holy Faith Convent, Penal until form four.

She told Sunday Newsday she was always interested in both art and fashion.

"Everybody else (my classmates) wanted to be teachers or lawyers, but I kept saying I couldn't see myself doing anything else (but art)."

She recalled teachers even complained to her father, Brian Davis, that she was "always drawing in class.

"I just couldn't stop," she said, laughing.

She is now also able to do sculpting, 2D designs, printmaking and paintings.

She said her art style focuses on fantasy, nudity and vulnerability.

"A lot of people think nudity means (something) sexual and it's not just that. It's about you being free and rebelling against the world because you're standing your ground and straying from societal norms. You're free to be you!"

She added that people often call her free-spirited, unique, different and wild, especially with her large black wings being a signature fashion statement for her.

"When you hear Brittany Davis or Brigitte, you should think of the girl who wears big, black wings."

She said she regularly used art as a way to both express her emotions and to cope with the stresses of her childhood, which she described as challenging.

While here, she was also taught by local artist Ronald Jacob for some time, whom she said was a mentor to her and "one of the first people to believe in me."

Unfortunately, she said, many in TT often told her: "You've got to pick an actual job. You can't do anything with art, you can't become anything with art."

Admittedly, she let it get to her for a bit.

But in 2014, she moved to the US to live with her mother Kathleen Trim and it was there she began to see the possibility of her dreams becoming reality.

She completed secondary-level education at the Francis Lewis High School in Queens, New York, where she lives.

Then, she got accepted into her dream college, and one of the top fashion schools in the world, the Fashion Institute of Technology.

She studied fine arts and completed both her associate's and bachelor's degrees there, graduating in 2020.

"That college was perfect – 100/100!"

Apart from constantly being complimented on her Victorian-era sense of fashion while attending there, she also got the opportunity to be an intern for renowned US sculptor and photographer Petah Coyne.

She said they are very similar, and it was actually Coyne who accidentally coined her sobriquet, Brigitte.

"She accidentally called me Brigitte, and I was like, 'What did you just say?' and she said it again, and I was like, 'That's not my name' and laughed.

"But just before that, I had actually been trying to come up with an artist name for myself and I loved it so I kept it."

She said working with Coyne was "definitely a dream come true" and they still communicate every now and then.

She fondly recalled observing Coyne talking to her sculptures and felt like she fit right in as she does the same thing with her paintings.

"She told me Brigitte is going to make it big."

So said, so done as she is now a full-time artist with many of her pieces having gone viral on social media, and she now has over 50,000 followers.

In October, a Brooklyn art gallery – The Greenpoint Gallery – had open calls for artists to submit their work for shows, as well as a competition.

She submitted five pieces and many patrons said they enjoyed viewing her work.

As she confidently expected, she won the show with the prizes being cash as well as a solo exhibition at the gallery.

Never having done the latter before, she was excited and held the exhibition on December 1 which featured 14 pieces.

"There's still more I want to achieve but I am really happy."

She added, "The way my life was and to see what I have now shows me there really is a God.

"People used to bring me down and say, 'You're not going to make it with art,' and for so many years, I believed them. But fast-forward to now and look at me!"

She said she wants to represent TT and "put it on the map" when it comes to art, adding that there are many talented artists in her home country.

She last visited TT in 2021 and is set to visit in early 2024.

"People (from home) would message me about wanting to be an artist and for advice," she said.

She said the most important thing is being in an environment that actually values art and surrounding oneself with people who support you.

She thanked her parents as well as her close friends Denice Williams, Gabriel Harewood, Kareem Ali, Daeron Debique and Jade Simmons for their continued support, as well as Jacob, her former teacher.

Jacob told Sunday Newsday Davis "always had a natural and instinctive approach to creativity" which he noticed very early in teaching her.

"I tried to have her see in herself what I had observed. She initially responded with scepticism, but eventually started to believe in herself and embrace her abilities."

However, he added that he claims no responsibility for her achievements as they are "a result of her relentless ambition, her unwavering drive and her respect for her talent."

He added, "I will forever be proud of her. I cannot wait to see what phenomenal success she will achieve."

Davis' art can be viewed online at bdavisart.bigcartel.com