"I painted these yesterday," Wayne Winter says, meticulously arranging the floral bouquets which will be the selling points for painted, potted containers.

His mechanical response belies the artistry happening before our eyes.

Vibrant blooms settle into appealing forms in pots painted by the in-store artist, and later, Malika Wint, operations manager at Vanessa's, Pablo's, in Kingston, tells Outlook that Wayne is a 'find' - as rare an employee as any home centre would wish to have.

Pots, flowers and all things decorative are Wayne's stock-in-trade.

natural eye

Born with a natural eye for art, the young man, Malika Wint says, seems to have come by his artistic talents - used for both in in-store decorating and in assisting clients - without the benefit of classes or other kinds of tutoring.

"Wayne is entirely creative and very friendly. He came here as a regular store clerk and one day when I was about to ask someone else to do a creative job, he told me that he was the man for the job," she explains, adding, "he was!"

Winter has been stunning his employers with his decorating and designing talents ever since.

According to the 27-year-old man, he was working at John R. Wong Supermarket in the customer service department when his latent creative abilities began to emerge.

He would organise in-store displays and progress to advising clients and friends about how to decorate both living and commercial spaces. Now he does the same, as well as painting and accessorising.

talent

He has never taken a decorating class, so his eye for line colour and balance is entirely natural.

States Malika Wint, "He does a lot of free form. A big part of his designs is his personality and what he does always end up looking really good.

"Wayne paints pots to suit the surroundings. We have encouraged him and this has been instrumental in his growth.

"He is always trying his hands at different things. Pablo's (mother store for Vanessa's) does a lot of creative things and this helps him."

Wayne comments, "I have done home decorating projects. I did a store for Angel, Beenie Man's wife. I have also done Kingston Bookshop."

He feels that his talents are God-given and looks forward to more opportunities to express himself.

"It is self-taught. I have never done this before (prior to John R. Wong) and now I enjoy it. I just have a natural talent for decorating and people see."

At home in Norman Gardens where he, single and childless, still lives with his parents, he admits that his living space bears his very personal stamp - that of the true artist.

- Avia Collinder