Ever since Pure Art opened its doors in 1987, its unique charm has been that it is housed in a traditional Caymanian cottage, allowing shoppers to wander through its quaint rooms, admiring both the architecture and the work of dozens of local artists and craftspeople.

As much as Debbie van der Bol loved running the business, as an artist – best known for her watercolours of historic Cayman homes – it left her little time to paint, and she wanted to make sure she gave herself that time while she still had the urge and the creativity.

“Now I can be one of the artists whose work is displayed and sold at Pure Art,” she reasons.

Debbie was delighted to hand the baton over to a local art enthusiast, and astute businesswoman, Maria Tom Pack, at the end of 2022, who she is confident will continue Pure Art in the same spirit it was formed with an appreciation of the Islands’ cultural and architectural heritage. And having only leased the property, she can rest assured that the Caymanian cottage will remain standing.

Originally from Pennsylvania, Debbie’s love of art blossomed the summer after third grade when she attended art classes at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Being exposed to works by renowned painters was an inspiration. She loved exploring the myriad styles – but it was the unique colours and brushstrokes of the Impressionist paintings that took her breath away and that would have the most significant influence on her painting.

But alongside art, she nurtured another passion: scuba diving. Having majored in painting and printing at Edinboro State College, she went on to manage the art department of a retail store in Erie, Pennsylvania and dived in icy lakes and quarries on days off.

The desire to experience diving in clear, tropical seas landed her on Cayman’s shores one day in 1981. Captivated by the sunshine, underwater scenery, and a certain divemaster, two weeks turned into five months, and eventually a permanent relocation to Cayman.

“I started painting right away,” she recalls, “and I became a member of the Visual Arts Society, which back then was the only active art organisation on the island.”

The National Gallery of the Cayman Islands did not yet exist, so artists had limited options for displaying their work. So, when a cottage came up for rent on South Church Street, she requested permission from the Planning Department to change it from residential to retail use and soon after opened Pure Art.

As an active member of the art community, she had no trouble finding established and emerging artists whose work she could exhibit. Over time she added prints and ‘usable art’ (coasters, books, placemats) to her inventory, creating more affordable ways to purchase a little local art and crafts ranging from baskets and ceramics to Caymanite jewellery.

“In my mind, I wanted a silver thatch hat to be held in the same regard as a painting because both are part of the cultural heritage of the island,” she says.

It was the way of life and culture these homes represented, as much as the details of gingerbread trim, peeling paint and rickety fences, that captivated her.

Sometimes Debbie works in acrylics or pastels, but she is best known for her watercolours. Often, she draws the outlines in ink – it’s like the backbone of the painting, she says – and then fills in with watercolours, building up layers to achieve the desired depth and tone. For her, the painting process is akin to a spiritual experience: even if she’s working from a photograph, once Debbie finds her flow, she will rarely look at it, immersed instead in the page or canvas. Hours can pass without her noticing. Painting is never a chore; it’s something she is compelled to do, she says. It’s stopping painting and attending to daily life that requires self-discipline.

Despite her paintings’ sunny, colourful quality, there’s a certain nostalgia now in these fabled, storybook scenes of wattle and daub homes and sand gardens. Debbie could not have known at the time she painted them that she was capturing an era – a time when life was less hurried, less complicated, and altogether more gentle.

“It’s heartbreaking how many of those houses no longer exist,” she says. “So, when you buy one of these pieces – whether mine or that of artists like Joanne Sibley and Janet Walker – you really are buying a little piece of historical Cayman.”

Thanks to her generosity in donating her artwork to various charitable causes, including creating a Christmas card for the National Trust for over 15 years and painting 12 unique pieces for her month-to-a-page desk calendar each year, everyone can have a little part of ‘old Cayman’ in their home.

Now residing mostly in Pennsylvania, where she can be close to her grandchildren, while visiting Cayman regularly, Debbie is settling into active retirement. She can do so with a sense of deep satisfaction, knowing she has made a priceless contribution to Cayman’s cultural heritage – both through her paintings, which constitute a visual archive of historic homes, and through her business which has helped elevate and promote so many of Cayman’s talented artists and craftspeople.