Footballer Sherral Daniels sets his eyes on a career in the arts

By Lakhram Bhagirat

Sherral Daniels is perhaps one of the most well-known players in the Digicel School Football tournament and over the years has amassed quite a record. He has scored multiple goals and has been awarded the Most Valuable Player (MVP) title quite a few times.

He has the skills to always score a goal or a few. It was that very skill that led him to become a player for the National Under 20 Football team. However, football is not the only interest Daniels has and as matter of fact, he wants to become an artist.

It is without a doubt that the Indigenous peoples of Guyana are very artistic. Whether it is making jewellery, painting, sculpting or even in the preparation of their food, they utilise the most common things in the most creative ways.
Daniels hails from the Indigenous village of Rupertee in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) and all his life, he has been surrounded by the arts and sports. Coming from the Rupununi meant that he was actively involved in sports, especially football, from a young age since the heavy football influence from neighbouring Brazil pours across the border.
“Growing up in Rupertee village, sports was a big thing for me. From small I was playing sports and all throughout school I was playing football in the Digicel School Football competition and get the MVP trophy and so. Sports is really a big thing for me,” the young man said.

Recounting growing up in Rupertee village, Daniels said that his mother and father had a very hard time raising him and his four siblings. His father worked as a driver while his mother worked as a cook. Jobs were hard to come by and whatever income they had went to managing the household.
This reality made the young man great at improvising and being creative.
Throughout his childhood, he has been an avid artist. It started from doodling to full-blown paintings and sculpting. He had the dream of heading to the Burrowes School of Art immediately after he finished his education at Annai Secondary School.
“Ever since I was small I always want to be an artist. I love art and everything about it. It was the dream to make sure that after I finished Secondary School I would come to Georgetown and study art here. So when I finished writing my CXC I immediately came here and started Burrowes School of Art,” he said.
The now 20-year-old is in the final phase of completing his diploma in arts from Guyana’s lone art school. After he is finished, he intends to move on to the University of Guyana where he will complete his degree in art.
“When I am done at UG I want to get into teaching and practising art. I see that as the career for me and I want to teach because I want to be able to make sure that the children of my village know that they can have a career in art. I want to be a role model for them so that is why I am pursuing this career,” Daniels explained.
Daniels’ work is nothing short of amazing. He takes his time in perfecting every piece he creates and noted that he wants to leave behind a legacy that will outlive him. He is on the path of building that legacy one piece at a time.
He particularly enjoys doing portraits and landscape pieces because, according to him, it relaxes him and puts him in tune with nature. Painting, for him, allows for an escape from the realities of the world into a place where he is the master of its universe with every stroke of his brush
Not only does he paint but he also dabbles in jewellery making and sculpting.