CONCEPTUAL PAINTINGS

Henry ‘box’ Brown is an amazing story of motivation, perseverance, planning and effort.   All attributes were necessary functions to promote escape agenda and  counter Mental Health problems.   We have to believe that we can be and do better in time.

The challenge for me during the execution of this image consisted of painting a man in a box and having fun with color, shape, form, contrast and expression.   Creating compositions that are intriguing is always a concern for me because of my intention of maintaining the viewer’s attention.   At some point during observation, I am hoping the audience would question “Who was Henry Box Brown?

The concept of this painting is to document a contrast of negro worthiness.   Cotton was a powerful commodity that required many hours of African slave labor.   Cotton production stimulated the Industrial Revolution and an increased value in slave labor.   The ending of slavery and the decreased value of cotton led to African American marginalization.   Social exclusion of blacks was reinforced with increased surveillance of their migration.  

Fear, prejudice and discrimination led to lynching and incarceration of black people for any reason.  The lynching of negroes was a tactic to discourage their desire for equality and advancement.   Anti lynching legislation was suppressed in order to exercise and maintain a sense of superiority.   In many instances, black people were lynched or murdered for entertainment purposes.   The passion associated with racism has endured many centuries.   Race relations continue to be problematic and seemingly systemic in the United States of America. 

This image is a reaction to the length of time to make lynching of black men a crime in the United States.  Numerous anti lynching bills were rejected because of a psychological need to control and hinder the advancement of negroes before, during and  after the Civil War.  Many of these extremely brutal lynching events included torture, mutilation, decapitation, desecration and alive burning of the victim.

This painting is the end result of an exploration of one of my creative processes.  This creative process involves a journey of creating and destroying my drawings.  These pieces of my drawings are artificially lit and recombined to form multiple compositions that are photographed.  The photographs are used as a resource toward the development of conceptual paintings.

The concept of "Once Upon A Time" is the creation of a clock face with the hands emerging from the eyes.  My explorative, creative process is exercised on the right side of the acrylic painting.   This painting was generated from pure curiosity and the love of painting.

The concept of this painting is centered on the continuous need to educate and develop ourselves.   We must be life long learners to stay ahead in every endeavor.   Success is not an accident.   We must make healthy choices and maintain awareness of our inner self. FOOD, SLEEP, EXERCISE, EDUCATION and RELATIONSHIPS are important aspects of a healthy lifestyle.   Take charge of your life and decide to move forward 

Prey for us is an acrylic painting of two black crows consuming a rodent.  I was interested in portraying life and death.  Prey can be any organism that is consumed by another organism for nutritional gain.

A challenge was painting black crows with colors that contribute to the harmony of the overall composition.