Guy Harvey 40th Anniversary: 40 Years of Art, Adventure & Ocean Conservation

As we celebrate the Guy Harvey 40th Anniversary, I’ve taken time to reflect on this incredible journey—one rooted in art, family, fishing, and a lifelong commitment to ocean conservation. From my early days growing up in Jamaica to launching a global brand, these 40 years have been filled with adventure, discovery, and purpose. Here’s a look back at the milestones that shaped the path—and a glimpse at what’s ahead.

1. Jamaica Days: My Earliest Inspiration

Growing up in western Jamaica was one of the key influences on becoming an artist. Our parents were out doors people, farming cattle, great naturalists and bird watcher. Plus the dishes a lot. We grew up fishing and snorkeling on Jamaican reefs. We fished marlin tournaments which helped increase our encounters with this great fish. My passion to learn more about marlin and billfish generally was ignited at an early age. My first formal art show was hosted by a prominent Kingston gallery called Upstairs-Downstairs in October 1985. I was off to a solid start.

2. Starting an Art Business: How It All Began

As a fish illustrator, I produced small ink drawings and paintings of game fish while at preparatory and high school in England. Anglers from Florida visited Jamaica for our marlin tournaments in the fall. Scott Boyd and Charlie Forman from Ft. Lauderdale “discovered” me and introduced me to Raleigh Werking, owner of an apparel brand “Rags to Riches”. A contract was signed so that apparel bearing my art could be printed and sold by Raleigh’s company and distributed in the US. The Guy Harvey brand was started.

Guy Harvey at work on one of his early iconic murals—art that launched a brand and inspired generations. A cornerstone of the Guy Harvey 40th Anniversary journey.

3. Florida-based and On the Road

We worked trade shows, fishing tournaments, seafood festivals and boat shows from Florida, New Jersey, Texas to California. In those days, there were no websites, no social media, you had to plan, set up, work and breakdown the shows yourself. Getting in front of your customers was the key. We worked as an effective team and in 1988 I resigned from my career at the UWI. My hobby had become my profession. T-Shirts of Florida were able to establish good independent accounts in the SE of the US as well as some big box accounts.

4. California: Partnership with AFTCO

Working with the Shedd family in California was a great pleasure. It began in 2002 with Milt Shedd asking me to do some designs for AFTCO, so we started with woven shirts. After working with TSF for 17 years, in 2004 we switched over to licensing AFTCO for all apparel.  This was a highly respected company in the fishing hardware genre, which then expanded into apparel. Conservation was also a major consideration. Bill Shedd eagerly supported the research and conservation efforts of the GHRI and later was a board member of the GHF. We worked together for 16 years during which time AFTCO expanded the apparel business considerably, though mostly in cotton t-shirts.

5. Painting the Hull of the Norwegian Escape

For me, the opportunity to paint the hull of the Norwegian Escape was both an honor and an extraordinary challenge. Working on a canvas of such monumental scale required a different way of thinking, one that balanced artistic ambition and restraint. Given the large format, it was a challenge to restrain myself and not pepper the hull with beautiful sea creatures that are endemic to the waters through which the Escape will be sailing. Due to the fact that the Escape is based in Miami, I chose the sailfish to be the figurehead art. The sailfish is synonymous with South Florida, which is the boating and sport fishing capital of the world.

The Norwegian Escape cruise ship featuring Guy Harvey’s largest artwork to date—an unforgettable moment in the Guy Harvey 40th Anniversary celebration.

6. New Chapter with Intradeco

The contract with Intradeco began in 2019. This Miami based company was vertically integrated and has large apparel plants in El Salvador. The transition was hampered by the arrival of the pandemic. Intradeco was able to weather the down time and resume doing manufacturing business, but still far from usual given all the circumstances following the upheaval suffered by commerce generally. With our new GH brand manager Monica Mirro at the helm, she brings a level of experience and expertise to the brand that is working well.

7. The Creation of GHRI at NSU

Once the business had the decade of the 1990s to mature and grow, we were able to collaborate with Nova Southeastern University in Davie, FL to form the Guy Harvey Research Institute, in 1999, led by Dr Mahmood Shivji. We started research work on a number of shark species in the Bahamas, Bermuda and the Caribbean. In the Cayman Islands, we initiated the Stingray Survey on the iconic southern stingray at “Stingray City”. It is now the longest running survey of animals in a marine interactive zone.

We have worked on tiger sharks in Bermuda, Bahamas and Caribbean, as well as oceanic white tip sharks, silky sharks, great hammerheads, makos and whale sharks in the Yucatán. In doing so we have filmed many documentaries about these fish. Our work in the Galápagos Islands on scalloped hammerheads and silky sharks seeks to better align the MPAs to the vast oceanic areas these sharks frequent. We have now published 185 peer reviewed papers in highly reputable marine science journals. The Panama Project has provided new details on the life history of blue marlin, black marlin, mahi and roosterfish in the Eastern Tropical Pacific. Working on this long term project, supported by Tropical Star Lodge in Pinas Bay Panama, has been one of the highlights of our research efforts.

8. Fishing Adventures Around the World

It was very important for me to see fish and places with which I was not familiar. There is no substitute in painting wildlife for getting in front of your subject matter and using each situation for reference of the life history and ecology of the animal to create authentic, representative art. Expeditions to the eastern Pacific were a priority partly because the abundance of fish along the continental shelf from California south to Ecuador. We pioneered filming all species of billfish free swimming to portray them in their natural environment. To do this we visited Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Panama and the Galapagos to have in- water experiences with billfish, tunas and sharks as well as all the large pelagic species such as mantas, eagle rays, sea turtles, and the abundant life under logs. A lot of diving was also involved. Particularly off the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. The species in the western Pacific are very different from those in the Eastern Pacific and Atlantic.

This marlin tagging expedition off Panama reflects the research-driven legacy behind the Guy Harvey 40th Anniversary and our commitment to conservation.

9. Diving for Art and Conservation

As an avid snorkeler and spear fisherman I could not wait to learn to SCUBA dive. Diving since the early 1970s has been an important tool in accessing marine life which I painted. Starting around Jamaica’s reefs and coastal areas moving through the Bahamas and Caribbean and then to Cocos Island and the Galapagos were all exciting destinations from which we returned with lots of underwater content, for educational documentaries. Spending time in the water has been very important and rewarding. Billfish and large sharks cannot be kept in captivity so going to see them in their natural environment is the key. We only have minutes at a time with them as they rapidly come and go. In contrast to studying land animals and birds where one can spend hours observing your subjects.

10. The Kids Take Over: A Family Legacy

For any family business that has endured 4 decades, there is always the question, what next? From a very early age Jessica and Alex accompanied us on expeditions to the Caribbean, Central America, Hawaii and Australia. They learned to dive and fish and are accomplished at both. Jessica opted for a career in the biological field and after graduating from Edinburgh University in Scotland, she then worked for several years with Dept of Environment in the Cayman Islands before joining the Guy Harvey Foundation full time. She became the CEO in 2023 and continues to excel in managing both the research division and more importantly in the marine science education arena.  Alex took the business and marketing route at Cardiff University in Wales. After working in London for a year he joined the GHI team and was based in Florida, learning the ropes of the art licensing business. Today Alex’s portfolio is in both licensing and marketing, managing the intricacies of social media and working with all electronic and print media. He is also the father of 3 beautiful girls, he and Julia live near us in Grand Cayman.

11. The Future of the Guy Harvey Brand

There are many opportunities ahead in the art licensing industry and finding reliable, experienced partners with whom to work in new fields such as in restaurants, resorts and even in non alcoholic beverages. The apparel license model has been the mainstay of the brand for 4 decades, in spite of accelerated competition and many players in this field. The art library created during this time is vast and will always provide the core of the brand. These exciting new pieces of original marine wildlife art and derivatives are the basic building blocks of the brand.
 
Thank you all for your support over 4 decades. There is a bright future in art, research and conservation. Conservation is good for business. It is important that corporations take action to be sustainable in their operations and support the conservation initiatives that are available.
 
Tight lines, good fishing and safe diving.
It is our collective responsibility to conserve the marine environment and maintain the biodiversity of this planet.