Kadene Donna-Marie Gray

My name is Kadene Donna-Marie Gray; I’m a 25 year old Jamaican who aspires to be an artist, educator and philanthropist. I consider myself a very reserved yet adventurous person who believes there is absolutely no limit to what one can do, once it’s conceived and believed, it can be achieved.

My love for art was noticed at a very tender age, when I would always doodle in my notebooks which eventually led to entering art competitions from I was nine years old at the Whitehall Preparatory School in Negril, Westmoreland.

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I moved on to the Westwood High for Girls in Trelawny, Jamaica where my artistic abilities were groomed into what they are today – when I found that I was able to express myself on paper. I found my own little therapy with each piece I did. My only problem was that I was scared to pull out everything that I am able to do on paper; I was scared to think outside of the box and allow my art to soar. Mrs. Wilson, my Art teacher from grades 10 to 11 was able to show me what I needed to do to make my pieces stand out from the others, and I was able to obtain a credit in the CSEC examination.
The most exciting part of my high school years were that my parents were behind me supporting and encouraging me full fold, my mother got me the best painting tools for Art class, and when my teacher requested us to be at school during our final Christmas holiday, my father journeyed with me from Lucea, Hanover to Stewart Town, Trelawny every morning and picked me up every evening. They believed in me, so I had no reason not to believe in myself. I cannot thank them enough.

After I left Westwood, I gave up Art with the hopes of having a career in Psychology, I did what I needed to do to get there, and even made the Dean’s List at the University of the West Indies. The hope was to continue straight into my Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology. After completing my first degree, I decided to take a break from school and earn some working experience. I started in the call centre and felt confined to a chair and cubicle. I started to sink into depression and decided to try the hotel industry instead but within eight months, the same thing started to happen and I knew I had to leave.

It was during my final months at the hotel that Mrs. Andrene Coates, a coworker, saw one of my paintings on Facebook and decided she wanted three of them for her office, I started one and wasn’t able to finish because I was cramped for time but the orders kept piling on and I was overwhelmed not being able to complete the first order. It was after much prayer, a good talk from my mother, loads of encouragement from my sister and peers; I decided to quit my day job and start painting full time. It has really only been a month and I’ve been getting so much encouragement and support, I am overwhelmed and excited to see where the love of my life will take me.

“Dream…There are no limits to what we can dream, no boundaries to what we can achieve”