Pride and Tradition (The Blessed Damned One)
I have traveled many places in the world. I find it best to not stay in a resort, but hang with the people. In Bali, I was invited into a family's home for dinner. I had the same experience in a small village in Mexico. What struck me most was the fact that though they did not have an abundance of money or material things, they had pride and tradition. Much like indigenous people worldwide, their beautiful cultures were damned - taken from them in part. But their sustained sense of self endured.
Memories of Her Hair
Air France...Paris to New York. Painted in the air imagining her hair. The intensity in her eyes penetrated my soul like a laser in the dark…
Childhood
We all grew up somewhere...I dreamed of never being a puppet on a string...Soap Box Derby...Quaker Oats...and my best friends playing basketball...
Earth 1933
My mother's father passed away when she was two years old. Somehow, he earned his degree in Engineering from the University of Pittsburgh. His professors told him the only job he would ever get as an engineer was in Africa. He became a mathematics teacher. His sister (my great Aunt Violet), attended the New England Conservatory and Juillard as an opera singer. Their mother was a maid and their father was a butler. Strength!
Flowers for Duchess
My three year old son gathering flowers for my wife. Some would call them dandelions, he saw beauty.
Reflection
College photo J class. I received a B in this class because I didn't take traditional shots of the Flats in Cleveland. China was her name...the first woman to reveal my artistic nature. This was her standing over a mud puddle. Beauty...
Knight of Harlem
Early Sunday morning and he’s standing outside at the newsstand with his old head friends on 148th & St. Nicholas Avenue, Harlem, USA. A plastic cup of Smirnoff in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Steady bumpin’ his gums – droppin’ philosophy, dispensing kind pleasantries with every pretty woman passing by, sporting matching suits and shoes, and boasting about his worldwide exploits.
To most, he was just an old drunk. But Richard Pryor once said “God don’t make no old fools”. So I got to know him. His name was Mr. Neals and turned out he was no fool at all. He was a maitre’ de at the Rainbow room, spoke seven languages and had a closet full of suits (with matching shoes and hats no less) from his time in Italy. I’ll never forget the beautiful jade sculpture he gave my mother as a gift and tribute to her beauty. God bless you “Neals”. I know you are up in heaven regaling all the angels with your stories.
I hope u can taste a spoonful of Harlem in this print.
Movin'
Life is movement...always changing...like the rhythm from a jazz band...needing fight like a soldier...
One of my early works entitled Silky Slim.
The Knight of Harlem
This is the photo on which Knight of Harlem was based. Mr. Neals was a very special man. God bless you always!
New Year
A lonely new year spent alone. I painted this piece, envisioning the love the new year would bring.
One
Another photo journalism piece. We all strive to be number one when maybe we should simply strive to be.
Reality Based Expectations
This was a commissioned work for a friend. Her mother was retiring and she wanted me to paint a vacation themed piece. It is a San Francisco theme. An unforgettable vacation - I actually was homeless for one night due to a mistakenly cancelled hotel reservation during the high tourist season.
Soul Flower
The greatest part of a woman is the part unseen. I painted this for my sister and her family. My sister is fighting multiple sclerosis (MS) and I wanted her to know her strength is well beyond the physical and what is seen. This print incorporates Christianity and the I Ching. This is one of my favorite and most pure images.
Sax Player
I am a musician and love to riff. This is my version of Sonny Rollins. It is oil pastels on funky paper. Oh - oil paint sticks too for the sheen!
Sax Player was sold as the opening poster for the Glenwood Arts Opening!
Black Man's Heaven
Strong Woman
Women are strength. Caring for the world and transcending circumstance. I was turned down by several Black Art galleries because they felt my art was not "Black" enough lol! Art is art and color is what I feel. So never changed and ended up participating in Soho Gallery Shows! I always say no compromise - be who you be!
‘pac
1996 and I was wondering where does a Black man get a break…the military, corporate America, America in general? Or, do we simply live up to the society imposed self-fulfilling prophecy – ending up behind bars? Sometimes seems the flag doesn’t cloak me, it chokes me. I was really saddened about Tupac Shakur having been shot earlier in the week and combined with my melancholy, found a piece of wood paper and began to paint (draw). This is a self-portrait to some degree. Upon completion, I turned on the radio and it was announced Tupac had just passed on. 13-9-1996…'pac's "me against the world" was playing on my cd player and a 40 of Bud was my comfort...
Three Boys
Reflection...
Woman in Water
To live, we must immerse ourselves in the experience called life.
Black’s Volcano
Black American story….are we forever dormant?
Angles
We see what we want to see...what do you see in the angles?
Work, Faith, Family, Heart
"Oz never did give nothing to the Tin Man, that he didn't already have" - America
Ain't to much more important in life than these four principles. Hope you notice the dude searching in the lower right corner.
