Best known for creating large-scale murals covering walls, ceilings and entire rooms, Tansy Maki adds joy and colour to the Cayman Islands and far beyond.
The children at Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ambassadors of the Environment at The Ritz-Carlton, a programme that teaches children about marine conservation, gaze at a brown-and-white striped Nassau grouper painted on the floor-to-ceiling mural in their classroom. They are amazed at how much bigger the grouper is than the four-eyed butterfly fish. They reach out and touch the grouper; one child takes a red marker and draws over it.
The naturalist/teacher notices the child drawing but doesn’t mind. The mural is covered in plexiglass, which allows it to be used as an interactive teaching tool to engage the children. Instead, she points to red and green parrotfish, explaining that this species is important to the Caymanian marine environment.
The massive mural makes one feel as if one is standing on the floor of the ocean. It depicts mangroves, corals, sponges, barracuda, upside-down jellyfish, angelfish, stingrays and a range of other marine life in vivid detail and colouring.
At another location, the artist, Tansy Maki, is evaluating a wall for an upcoming proposed mural. When approved, this mural will feature Caymanian geography and wildlife. The sketch she is creating features caves, tidal pools, turtle nests, boobies and a pelican diving into the sea. A blue iguana, an endangered species only found in the Cayman Islands, also makes a notable appearance in this sketch.
Susan Olde, a local philanthropist, commissioned Tansy for paintings on the outside of her home, in her children’s rooms and in other personal areas. Olde really appreciated Tansy’s approach with her children, where she encouraged them to describe their ideas and then translating those ideas onto the walls. “If you could paint, what would you want it to look like?” asks Olde. “That dream that so many of us have, but cannot create, Tansy makes that happen.”
A Creative Start
Born and raised in Vancouver, Canada, Tansy’s father was an architect and her mother was a librarian. When she was a child, her father would draw large-scale sketches and have Tansy and her sister colour them in. This ignited her imagination and fuelled the creative drive she pursued throughout her childhood.
She entered several art competitions and often won. In school, she was so devoted to her artwork that oftentimes a teacher would have to kick her out of the art room. For her birthday she only wanted art supplies. She remembers her first wooden easel with its cups of paint. She made papier-mâché sculptures in the basement and sketched costume designs. Outside of school she took art classes, including charcoal, pottery, papier mâché, sculpture, abstract and live model sketching.
At 17, she started working in the film industry, which involved creating set designs and décor. She sculpted 15-foot totem poles, built trees, created giant floral arrangements, decorated movie sets and painted backdrops for television commercials. “There is so much pressure in the film industry to get things done quickly,” says Tansy. “It is not uncommon to work 15 hours a day. This is where I learned how to get things done in a limited time frame.”
Today, there are times when a client will need an entire room painted while they’re out on a two-week vacation, so Tansy will work 15 hours or more a day until it is done. If she’s working in a restaurant that’s in operation, she has no problem starting at 10 o’clock at night and working through the night so the room is available during the day.
“When I am on a project it is all-consuming. I dream about the designs. When I close my eyes I see it. I will sing while I paint. I am not aware of anything around me.”
Bringing Colour to the Islands
When she was 19, Tansy met an airbrush artist who taught her how to airbrush. Since she already had years of artistic training in a range of mediums, she embraced airbrushing because it was such a versatile tool. She would join him on a mural project in the Cayman Islands that included Greek and pirate themes for connecting restaurants. When the three-month project was finished, the Cayman Islands had become home.
Seven years ago, she started MindsEye Art Ltd., a specialty art company, with a Caymanian partner and branched out on her own. One of her early commissions as a solo muralist was the underwater scene at the Jean-Michel Cousteau program. She couldn’t be more delighted to see the children huddled beneath it. But this project was just the start of a fresh wave of creativity as more clients commissioned her for their homes and vacation getaways, not only in the Cayman Islands, but also in Costa Rica, St. Maarten/St. Martin, Jamaica, Canada and the U.S.
An interior decorator with IDG Cayman, Katie Adams, hired Tansy to create special faux finishes for her clients’ private homes. Tansy transformed sterile walls into something with warmth and depth. She created brick with torn away plaster and marble finishes so convincingly realistic that the observer has no idea it is an illusion created by the artist’s hand.
She adds a sense of whimsy to a room with a trompe l’oeil, which is a painting made to look like a 3-D window. The mural of a catboat floating on the crystal-blue waters of the sea features a conch shell on the window ledge that looks so realistic you would think you could pick it up. “All my clients love the quality and the realistic detail of her work,” says Adams, whose many clients have vacation homes all over the world.
Even a skyscape of clouds on the ceiling is done with a thoughtful approach. By using a range of metallic paint that reflects shades of light on the edge of the clouds, there is a subtle change in colour as the day turns into evening that is compelling to the eye.
Artistic Versatility
There seems to be no end to Tansy’s talents. She is able to capture an old-world French landscape, the exotic beauty of a Japanese geisha, the playfulness of a 1940s pinup girl, and the vivid colours of parrots and wildlife with equal creativity, which demonstrate the years spent mastering her art. Even the delicate brushwork she uses on furniture can transform an everyday piece into a vintage French country-style accent piece.
MTM owner, Vicki Wheaton, has hired Tansy to create sculptures for corporate events and provide artistic entertainment at large functions and parties, which are always a big hit. At these events, Tansy airbrushes tattoos on the guests or body paints them.
“She has such a unique style,” says Wheaton. “You can recognise her work from a mile off. She works best when she is given carte blanche… and always seems to incorporate the shades and moods of the Caribbean.”
Another area where Tansy’s talent really shines is in nurseries and children’s rooms. She uses her realistic style of painting rather than the cartoonish approach other artists use. Andrea Williams recently commissioned Tansy to paint an underwater scene for her toddler’s playroom. The mother is amazed at how her son and his friends have become so engaged with the murals. “They will reach out to the marine life, name them and have animated discussions as to whether [the animals] are happy or sad,” says Andrea.
Then there are the buildings that she has yet to paint. Every building she walks by seems like a blank canvas of possibilities. She envisions pillars covered in creeping vines and a top floor painted in feathery clouds. A seawall in the harbour is another chance to paint a mural of sea life found here in the Cayman Islands. And she dreams of the chance of painting them all. Because even in her dreams, Tansy is painting on the walls.
See Tansy’s creations at these public locations:
Café Del Sol at Camana Bay
Five paintings featuring ladies and angels against the tranquil surroundings of the water.
LUCA Restaurant
Men’s restroom features 1940s pin up girls and the ladies’ restroom features faux texture of palm fronds.
Ritz-Carlton Resort
Ambassadors of the Environment underwater scene.
Casanova Restaurant
Main dining room ceiling features an Italian renaissance theme.
FINDING INSPIRATION
After three decades of painting and creating art in a variety of mediums, Tansy is constantly pushing herself to grow as an artist, trying new techniques and methods. As many of her works can attest, Tansy draws much of her inspiration from nature: The sea, the wildlife and even a simple water droplet on a leaf can spark a wealth of creative ideas. For more information, visit tansymaki.com or e-mail Tansy at tansymaki@gmail.com.
Source: caymanairwaysmagazine.com