Earl Darius Etienne was born in Roseau on February 24, 1957, and became one of Dominica's most recognized and influential artists. He painted and exhibited for years before studying fine art in Jamaica on an Organization of American States fellowship, graduating in 1986.

He was best known for his smoke technique, in which soot from a flame becomes part of the image, and for work rooted in African traditions, carnival, dance, and the history and daily life of Dominica. He never stopped experimenting. He worked on canvas, wood, paper and fabric, and with recycled materials, banana latex, Dominican black sand, local soils and coconut gauze. His paintings of Hurricane Maria captured the pain of the storm and the island's rebuilding.

After returning home, Earl served as a Cultural Officer in the Ministry of Culture, where he mentored a generation of Dominican artists and helped lay the groundwork for an art industry on the island. He was also a curator, an event coordinator, a carnival costume and set designer and builder, and a founding member of associations devoted to preserving Dominica's historical and architectural heritage. His work has been exhibited across the Caribbean, in Europe and in the United States.

Earl dreamed of uniting all of Dominica's artists. That dream is why WAA exists. He passed on February 23, 2022, and we carry his dream forward in the spirit of Koudmen, working together as one.