I‘ve been drawing and painting for more than 40 years. It is a gift given to me from God. I have always believed this, and I have always wanted to share my images with any and every one who has shown interest. This desire is just as strong today as it was 40 years ago. Having never been formally trained in fine arts, I taught myself how to draw and paint. I have focused my attention on teaching communities around the country about African American culture and history, and the power of the human spirit. I was born in the midst of the Civil Rights Movement in Columbia, South Carolina in 1961. The Jim Crow laws and the prejudice that saturated the segregated community I grew up in, called “the Bottom,” strongly affected and continue to influence my art. At my segregated school (before integration, when I was 8), I had exceptional Black teachers who cared immensely for their students, never allowing us to see the world in black and white. When I was 11 years old, and just out of elementary school, I negotiated my first exhibition. It was at a bank in downtown Columbia, where I was given space right up front in the bank’s showcase window. I continued to work on and display my art throughout high school, with the guidance of a number of strong people I was fortunate enough to meet. After graduating from high school and a brief tour in the army, I married my wife, Cathy, and we moved to Greenville, South Carolina, where I saw Black people living in segregated ghettos as if they were right out of a Gordon Parks photograph. For 3 years I battled the public school system and its practice of failing and retaining its Black youth. In 1991, after I had had enough of living in segregation, I moved my family to Washington, DC, where my art career has blossomed more than I’d ever imagined. Important Exhibits: 1990 South Carolina Arts Museum
Books: “From Slave Ships to Freedom Road (Dial Books, pub.1993) Films: “Around Town” (PBS, aired 1991) People Who Have Influenced Me: My grandmother: Leola Brown raised me and had a very strong influence on me. She had 16 children: 4 girls and 12 boys. My mother was one of the middle children, but I never knew my father. My uncles acted as surrogate fathers for me. By society’s standards we were very poor, but to us, we were very rich, thanks to my grandmother. Mr. Larry Lebby: A renowned South Carolina artist, Mr. Lebby was, and still is, known for working with young artists in the South Carolina public school system. When I was in high school he took me under his wing and exposed me to various sides of the fine arts world. I attended many art shows with him. Because I came from a nontraditional family with no father, Mr. Lebby filled a tremendous void in my life and was a true role model for me. Mr. James Wright: Mr. Wright, my high school Black History teacher, was a very quiet, but serious man. He challenged us to believe in ourselves and not to use our race as a crutch and an excuse for not striving to better ourselves. He encouraged us to be pragmatic about life and to always apply common sense when trying to understand how, as young black men and women, we came to be where we were in our lives. Using all the resources he could find, he taught us black history and embedded in many of our spirits a pride that carries us to this day. Mr. Wright is still a very close and dear friend of mine. I will always be grateful for his guidance. Mr. Dick Hurlbutt: The director of the Charles Sumner School Museum, Mr. Hurlbutt became one of my first benefactors and advisors in the arts. He and the museum allowed me to exhibit one man shows, and he introduced me to many in the District of Columbia’s political circle, including City Council persons and the Mayor himself. I was introduced to national figures as well as celebrities who passed through Washington. Dr. Howard Dodson: Dr. Dodson was and still is the director of The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. This research center is the premier hub for academic, cultural, and artistic studies in Black history in America and the world. Dr. Dodson, too, became a close advisor to me. He gave me a show at the Center in Harlem that catapulted me to new heights. My relationship with Dr. Dodson and the Center opened many doors for me that I am still walking through today.
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