Situated in the heart of the rainforest, the Fig Tree Studio Art Gallery is shaded by giant silk cotton trees and surrounded by tropical flowers. The artworks in the gallery are made by owner Sallie Harker but also feature a plethora of multi-disciplined works from Artists in Antigua, the Caribbean, and abroad. The gallery provides a fabulous opportunity to purchase original artworks directly from a variety of Caribbean artists. The Fig Tree Studio Art Gallery has become a must-see destination for art lovers visiting the island as well as a respected resource for interior designers and homeowners.

After studying Fine Art in the UK Sallie sailed across the Atlantic to Antigua, where she has lived for over thirty years. Grounded in a love of drawing and the ability to accurately and fluently express her ideas, her practice expands across painting, sculpture, ceramics, and printmaking.

In 2007 Sallie opened the Fig Tree Studio Art Gallery which she uses as a studio space in the summer and opens up to the public during the season in Antigua. Sallie experiments with different media and enjoys using oils, watercolour, and printmaking. Over the last few years, she has developed a technique using gold leaf and oil paints on wooden shingles. Adorning their weather-worn surfaces with gesso, oil paint, and shimmering gold leaf, she uses pattern and the layering of colours. Sallie’s subjects include elegant migratory birds, dynamic dancers, and silhouetted figures in the landscape.

She is also an accomplished portrait painter and a collection of her portraits can be seen at the Gallery. She is happy to do portrait paintings by commission.

Chloe Tickner studied Fine Art (BA) in the UK and has been regularly visiting Antigua since she was a child. She has always been inspired by the bright colourful architecture on the island and uses this as inspiration for her work. Chloe works internationally as a traditional signwriter and gilder. She enjoys combining these techniques in her artwork, capturing the essence of Antigua in her enamel paintings on wood. She enjoys a multitude of different processes but has more recently been interested in making reduction linocuts. This process involves carving a lino block, rolling ink across the surface, and pressing it onto paper. This gradually builds up layers of flat bold colours, which is a style that can be seen throughout her work.

Jacob Scott makes his unique baskets from recycled beach rope, fishing nets, and other treasures washed up by the sea. Each artwork is hand-sewn and can take months to create. The exterior surfaces are made using thick washed-up sea rope, which undulates in stripy patterns. Inside each basket are lively and often colourful scenes & figures which tell stories from his imagination and scenes from his life on the island of Bequia.

Antiguan artist Gilly Gobinet grew up in England. Rather than go to art school, her mother advised her to get a “proper” career, so, with a BSc Hons. Degree in Biological Sciences, she eventually worked as an international civil servant in France, before fulfilling her childhood dream of painting full time. She slowly developed her painting techniques, mainly in watercolour and acrylic. Her subjects reflect the beauty and charm of Antigua & the Caribbean, particularly tropical flora & fauna & marine life. She is happiest when painting and ever joyful when others take equal pleasure in her art. She runs her own Art Gallery on the premises of her secluded waterfront residence on the east coast of Antigua. Gilly also specializes in pet portraits, particularly dogs & cats, working from high res photos supplied by the owners.

Jo de Pear is a professional printmaker working with a variety of print techniques that include etching, lithography, collagraph, and silkscreen. She has in the past printed onto glass, wood, paper, and metal. Recent works have been made using the cyanotype print process, exposing sensitized paper to the strong UV light of the Caribbean sun to produce the final Prussian blue print. The love she has for Antigua is reflected in her collections of local flora and fauna that are set into her vibrant Cyanotypes.

Colin Martin is an Antiguan ceramicist who works as a technician at the local International school Island Academy. Colin is also a keen Carnival costume maker which filters into the subject matter when forming his clay sculptures. His recent work is a collection of large Antiguan Figurines, made from locally sourced clay.

Nzimbu Browne is self-taught and creates artwork using fibres that are carefully selected from banana trees. He wanders across the fertile earth of St. Vincent and the Grenadines to find his medium. He does his collages with dried banana leaves of different colours and shades in a little roadside kiosk near his home. Nzimbu’s work is full of tradition, history, and heritage. In his work, he wants to express festive patterns of life, stories of culture, and of people struggling for self-determination. His pictures of everyday life scenes of St Vincent and the Grenadines are lively and full of movement.

After graduating with honors from The Ringling School of Art, Erickson became an accomplished drawing instructor, potter, and jewelry designer. From early on, the artist’s personal focus has been the creative contemplation of the human form. This remains at the heart of her authority, while the exploration of light and bold colour always infuses her work. Ericsson’s love of figurative painting was renewed on her first visit to the West Indies in 1979. She was beguiled by the magical, unsinkable Islands. The saturated colours and swaying people inspired a new rhythm in her work. Her vision of Island society, distinguished by her ‘coup de crayon’, has quickly brought her numerous exhibitions and international collectors.

Janet Harker has been a frequent visitor to Antigua since 1989. She was trained in England at Birmingham College of Art and The Royal College of Art in London. She worked in design offices in Denmark and London until she had children and from then on as a freelance designer and textile artist. Her work can be found in private and public collections worldwide. She has always found pleasure in drawing and painting watercolours and found Antigua abundant in interesting subjects, particularly old buildings, wildlife, and beautiful flowers.

Sheila Maclean, MA Hons. Fine Art, (also known as Essy), studied in Scotland where she worked for years as an illustrator, scenic artist, and teacher. Arriving in Antigua to meet her sons who’d rowed across the Atlantic, she immediately fell in love with the island. Inspired by the light and colour, she has used her watercolour skills to capture many local scenes and continues to visit the island regularly to find inspiration for her work.

Shaheem Hughes is a young Antiguan artist who has mastered the technique of drypoint etching, his graphic use of line captures humorous and poignant truths of youth culture.