Open minded. Ambitious. Prolific. Optimistic. Philosophical. These are just a few words commonly used to describe Quentin “Vercetty”.
Born 1990 in Toronto, Canada as Quentin Lindsay, this young man’s work ranges from illustrations, paintings, graffiti art, and graphic design to spoken-word poetry and music. He even facilitates workshops and does some motivational speaking. But growing up in low-income neighborhoods, Quentin was no stranger to the allures of street life. As his choice of living started to get more dangerous, his parents sent him to a private school in New York State. He was shortly expelled from the school and moved around in the United States of America before moving back to Toronto. After a couple of life changing events and losing several friends to the streets, Quentin became conscious about where his life was heading. He decided to make a change and influence change around him, coining the phrase “Change-Reaction”.
One of Quentin’s mottos, “Tough times don’t last but tough people do,” is a direct reflection of his optimism on life. After transferring through 5 different high schools Quentin finally graduated from Nelson A. Boylen Collegiate Institute in 2010 with an astonishing count of nine different scholar awards and was presented with three scholarships and bursaries upon his commencement night including the Governor General Bronze Medal award as well as the Queen Elizabeth II Aiming for the Top Scholarship. He also was runner up for AJAA Essay Writing Competition with his piece How the Jamaican Culture and Heritage Influence my Life. He performed an enticing spoken-word poem at the Alliance Jamaican Alumni Association awards ceremony; all of these three achievements landed him on the cover of Share Paper.
Quentin also left his mark within the education system by becoming one of the first high school students positioned as a teacher's assistant at George Brown College. His strong work ethics and willingness to help others allowed him to obtain that position through Dual Credit, a program that allows high school students to earn credits for high school/college by experiencing a college course.
Quentin has also painted several murals for different communities within the GTA including one with Artstarts. This piece was declared the best mural of 2009 in the Toronto Star and NOW Magazine. Quentin’s paintings have even recently ended up in the hands of upcoming Toronto native singer Melanie Fiona and international artist K'naan, as well as his live painting that he did for her Excellency the Right Honorable Michaëlle Jean
In addition, Quentin is an alumni representative for The Remix Project, which is one of the largest government funded programs for at-risk youth in Toronto. Quentin "Vercetty" Lindsay is what some might call an all-round artist that knows no limit and care for no boundaries when it comes to his artistic expression. He is consistently looking for innovative ways to use his artistic abilities to provoke social change and provide uplifting messages of positivity. Quentin is now attending Ontario College of Art of Design University in the pursuits of obtaining his Bachelors in Fine Arts Degree.
ART VISION
Refusing to having his working be categorized, Quentin's art is very layered with meaning and imagery and is always evolving. Being very influenced by impressionism and expressionist style of art, Quentin normally uses emblematic colors to convey a message or evoke a certain feel or feeling within his work. What he wants to do with his art is to inspire people, motivate others, create social change and also teach through his work. Quentin often says "if a painting is a picture worth a thousands words, may those words be valuable information or statements that can teach something to someone."
NAME CHECK:ART VISION
Refusing to having his working be categorized, Quentin's art is very layered with meaning and imagery and is always evolving. Being very influenced by impressionism and expressionist style of art, Quentin normally uses emblematic colors to convey a message or evoke a certain feel or feeling within his work. What he wants to do with his art is to inspire people, motivate others, create social change and also teach through his work. Quentin often says "if a painting is a picture worth a thousands words, may those words be valuable information or statements that can teach something to someone."
The name Vercetty was given to Quentin by his peers and mainly his cousin who often reference things Quentin would do to the Grand Theft Auto: Vice CityÔ protagonist Tommi Vercetti. As Quentin’s street creditability began to grow the name began to stick, but now on a positive stream Quentin coins the name “Vercetty” from the word veracity, meaning pertaining to truth. Which is what he tries to portray with his spoken word poetry and his artwork as well as in his own character.
