The Left-Handed Blessing

When I was a child, my grandmother told me something that stung so deep, I’ll never forget it. She said, “Because you’re left handed, you owe the devil a day’s work. That hand not good.”

One of my greatest moments as an artist - Signing the Butterfly Maiden - Charcoal/Pastel on Paper

Can you imagine hearing that at 8 years old? It was said in the matter-of-fact tone elders often have. Those words didn’t just float away into the air, they settled inside me and made me feel like I was jinxed or marked in some way.

My Salty Sailor - Charcoal/Pastel on Paper

Back then, left-handedness was still surrounded by superstition and old beliefs. Some thought it unlucky, others considered it a flaw to be corrected. And in my case, “correction” came in the form of being forced to use my right hand. At school, and at home, I had to adapt. In time, I became ambidextrous, able to use both hands almost equally well. It was meant to “fix” me, but life has a way of turning your flaws into unexpected gifts.

Shamika in Full Flight - Oil on Panel

My left hand - the one they said wasn’t good - has become my greatest blessing. It is the hand that guides my paintbrush, the hand that shapes colours into figurative and still-life paintings and drawings.  It’s the hand that spills stories onto paper - a quiet defiance of those old words, and a joyful tribute to the gift that has been afforded to me.

Carnival is Calling - Charcoal/Pastel on Paper

That gift has even carried me to recognition I could never have imagined as a child. In 2025, The Women in Art Organization of T&T - of which I am a proud contributor - was ranked #6 in the 20 Best Women In Art Blogs and Websites. My name was there, listed among the voices and talents shaping the story of women in art.

Proud moment - seeing my name listed among the voices shaping the story of Women in Art

Being left-handed is not a flaw. It’s a perspective - quite literally - on the world that is just a little different. Left-handers have been inventors, leaders, artists, and thinkers who approached problems from angles others didn’t see.

So, to my younger self, the little girl who once felt her hand wasn’t “good”: Your hand was never the problem. It was your magic. I may have owed the devil a day’s work, but I continue to give God a lifetime of art.