Beautiful Virgin Islands

Sunday, Jul 20, 2025

Art series back under way

Art series back under way

In the colourful drawing “A Song of World Peace,” a man with a guitar surrounded by animals sits on a platform, while animals and people from different parts of the world listen to the music on two platforms below him.

Though the elements of the drawing come from scenarios seen in the Super Mario video game franchise, the concept is one that Walden Benjamin imagined first before drawing.

“It signifies unity and peace and togetherness,” he said during an art show last Thursday at Nutmeg & Co.

It was Mr. Benjamin’s first solo show, and friends, family members and other supporters attended to admire and purchase his drawings. Many of Mr. Benjamin’s original pieces were on display during the show, and during an interview he explained his creative process.

“From very young I loved to do drawings. A lot of things inspire me,” he said. “You could say I tend to live off of comic books, video games, cartoon media, and all of the like. I tend to play around with the concepts.”

Many, if not all, of his drawings incorporate Caribbean life too. They include beaches, underwater imagery, Caribbean figures and characters, fruits, mountains and trees.

“What I appreciate is that you can tell where his inspiration comes from, but he’s able to have his own unique mark,” said friend and fellow artist Kenrico Wheatley Jr. “You just know that this is Walden.”

The reputation that Mr. Benjamin earned as an artist has been a long time coming. Nutmeg & Co. co-owner Annie McPhail said he has been drawing since he was 4 years old.

“Everybody knows him as someone who is always sketching,” she said.

The gallery and gift shop typically holds quarterly art showings, but it went “almost a year without one” during the pandemic period, she added.

Previous show


The series restarted in December, when it featured artist David Thrasher. Ms. McPhail said in order to keep the numbers low, people were asked to pre-register for the show.

Last Thursday, there was no pre-registration, but there were still safety measures in place.

“If there were too many people inside, we’d ask them to go outside and wait,” she said. “The type of shoppers and art-lovers we have, they will definitely wear a mask. We had a good crowd that was sensible.”

When Mr. Benjamin walked into the art space and saw people gathered to support him, he said it felt “overwhelmingly awesome.”

“Most times I’m just used to posting on social media, but to actually have it out here right now where all of my family and friends are watching, it’s very heartwarming,” he said.

He hopes to become a full-time artist and learn from other VI artists as he continues drawing.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
×