artnme

Today my career and my life is one of a professional painter, sculptor, wood-carver and singer. I have no doubt that my artistic ability has always been present; however I was never able to embrace it until about 1998. I can remember always being the first nominated to design the class bulletin board in elementary school; still throughout my childhood and long into my adulthood, the walls of my room bore no evidence of an artist’s presence. Growing up, most of my creative energy was channeled into being a vocalist, writing music and performing in countless bands. It wouldn’t be until my early twenties that I would get my first paying job as an artist in my hometown of Springfield, Massachusetts at Channel 8, where for a brief period I worked as a courtroom sketch artist for the nightly news. Although the profession paid well, the monotony of sitting in courtrooms depressed me.I vowed that I would only pursue art as a profession if I could be totally unique in my approach. It would be nearly twenty years later that I would discover the medium that would set me apart from every other artist. My introduction into the world of professional art began in Los Angeles, California in 1999, as a sculptor of three-dimensional ceramic faces that are mounted in frames. The faces are males, females and combinations of humans and animals, specifically lions and black panthers. They are hand-sculpted and hand-painted with blended shades of browns, reds and yellows, to resemble real skin. They are represented as African kings and queens, as homage to my ancestors and assessorized with afro-centric fabrics, jewelry and hairstyles. Although the faces are numbered as a limited edition of 500, my intention has always been to create a face to represent every one of my ancestors who endured the holocaust of the African slave trade. Realistically my life will probably end before I will come close to matching that number; however being able to represent just a few of my ancestors makes me feel close to them.Four years after creating the faces, I decided to try oil painting and more recently, wood-carving: all in the spirit of my history. Today I continue to work in all three mediums, four if you include music and I will always remain open to exploring more. I believe that as humans we are the creators of nothing. We simply recycle what already exists in the universe. I am thankful for the opportunity to channel the energies of my ancestors into my artwork. I pray that I give them the respect they so deserve.Through God All Things Are Possible…..Just Believe!