Jamaica RPCV David MacIntyre discovers artistic talent
Local man discovers artistic talent
Englewood has become an artist's haven, and recently, another painter emerged when, for the first time six months ago, he set up an easel, picked up a paint brush and let the natural talent he had not known he had fall onto the canvas.
"As a young man, I always had a minor interest in the lifestyle of Paul Gauguin," said David MacIntyre, "Ernest Hemingway, too. Both men were rogues, and even though they were both very talented, their lifestyle was not very admirable, especially Gauguin's. And their works were intriguing."
MacIntyre's interest in Gauguin and Hemingway was packed in a suitcase, however, as he began his journey through life.
"One summer while I was in college, I hitch-hiked all over the country," said MacIntyre. "I also went to Mexico and Canada, with only a sleeping bag, a jungle hammock, a change of clothes and a huge sign for the road, which said, 'Have nothing, will travel.' A couple of papers did stories on me. This was back in the late 1950s."
"After I graduated from the Detroit Institute of Technology," added MacIntyre, "I went into teaching. I was a teacher in Jamaica from 1961 to 1964. In 1963, I was asked by the American government to represent the Peace Corps through the Ministry of Education in Ja-maica. I basically worked for both governments."
In 1964, MacIntyre moved on to Hawaii, where he was a vice principal for a high school. This is where his journey took a turn.
"I loved teaching, but the pay scale was not enough," said MacIntyre. "I was in Hawaii for three years and decided to go back to school. So, I went to graduate school at the American Graduate School of International Management, also called Thun-derbird, in Arizona."
MacIntyre's first job was with 7-Up, in world-wide marketing and advertising.
"My territory was the world," said MacIntyre. "I went to more than 75 countries. In the 10 years I was with 7-Up, I visited Europe, Africa, Asia, the West Indies and more. Basically, I saw the world on a corporate expense account."
MacIntyre then began working for J. Walter Thompson, the largest ad agency in the world at the time, according to Mac-Intyre.
"After three years with J. Walter Thompson," said MacIntyre, "I found myself in commercial real estate in Miami. I managed and leased shopping centers and office buildings, until I retired 10 months ago. After all, I was just 65 and approaching middle age."
Once again, David MacIntyre was about to take a trip across the state of Florida.
"I moved to Venice to take care of my mother," said MacIntyre. "This is where Lois came into my life. I had been married before and had put a personals ad in a local paper to find a friend. But, she became much more than a friend. I fell head over heals in love with her."
"My husband had passed away," said Lois MacIntyre, "I had ne-ver an-swered a personals ad before, and at first I would just scan them. Then I answered one, then another. The third one was the charm. We are a perfect match."
Another side of David Mac-Intyre is his competitive edge in swimming competitions.
"I compete in national and world championship meets in the World Masters Swimming Championships for 25-year-olds and up," said MacIntyre. "In Christ Church, New Zealand, I took third place in the backstroke. There were 5,000 people from 75 countries.
MacIntyre was the winner of the 2001 National Masters Championship and will be competing in mid-August in the 2002 in Cleveland.
David MacIntyre is also a music man.
"When I was in college," he said, "I played the bass at a few night clubs. I played with Julius LaRosa and Bob Eberle."
As David MacIntyre settled into retirement with Lois by his side, his interest in Paul Gauguin was once again piqued. Especially when he learned about his son being buried in Englewood's Lemon Bay Cemetery.
"Although I had traveled extensively throughout my life," said MacIntyre. "I had never been to the South Pacific. Lois and I took a month-long trip, where we first stopped in Fiji and then Rarotonga, the principle island of the Cook Islands, where we had a marriage ceremony. It was on the beach with all its tropical splendor. From there, we went to Tahiti where Paul Gauguin spent his last 10 years, fathering three illegitimate children."
"Tahiti was so romantic and beautiful," said Lois. "We then visited Moorea, which is 10 miles from Tahiti and part of the French Polynesian Islands."
Visiting Tahiti brought David's interest in Paul Gauguin back into focus. Even though Gauguin had died some 99 years ago, his artwork and lifestyle was still evident throughout the island.
"Paul Gauguin had five legitimate and four illegitimate children, three of which were born in Tahiti," said MacIntyre. "He never saw the children or supported them. Ironically, the name of his legitimate son Emile, who is buried in Englewood, is also the name of his last son, born out of wedlock in Tahiti. I wonder if any of his children's children or grandchildren are alive."
One of the themes running through MacIntyre's artwork is the Tahitian idol, "Tangaroa."
"This erotic idol is everywhere in Raratonga," said MacIntyre. "It's even on the currency, with all 'his glory.' The erotic theme seems to run through all the South Pacific Islands."
As for David and Lois, they plan to keep on traveling. They were legally married in the United States on July 5, on the tropical lanai of their home in Boca Royale. David paints two to three hours a day and swims and works out every other day. He has completed about six oils and has done some watercolors in the six month he has been stroking the canvas.
And David's mother, the reason he came to the Venice-Englewood area in the first place, is doing well in an assisted living facility and is planning a cross-country bus trip. It seems everyone loves to travel.
