Fine Art

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A look back on my artistic journey

Colored pencil drawing as a young child is where my art journey started. Throughout high school (1995-1997) I produced a series of drawings about African-American pride and culture. They include the pieces 'The Gift of Love'; 'Three Friends Drumming', 'Return to the Mother', 'The Gift of Humanity'; and 'Listen to Your Heartbeat'. 

 

The NAACP ACT-SO competition was an outlet and avenue of inspiration for me to produce these drawings to enter them through my high schools, Milwaukee High School of the Arts ('93- '95) and Wilmot Union High School ('95-'97) every year. (ACT-SO stands for Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics). Winning at state meant going to nationals and experiencing a broad array of talents and interests from other black high-schoolers from around the country. It was very inspiring - I saw other young people who looked like me competing at top levels in areas as diverse as visual art, classical or modern dance and music, to STEM and architecture. It was a rich experience that exposed me to things I'd only imagined. Thanks to all the chaperones, local parents and community leaders who supported the program, who helped us make the trip every year and the local NAACP Milwaukee chapter for offering these opportunities to young people!

Though drawing is my foundation, since high school I'd always wished for the fluidity and feeling of freedom that I believed painting would allow me. Watercolors were something I'd been exploring since childhood, and wasn't too good at acrylics or thicker paint (in fact I disliked acrylic with a passion), but that feeling that I could do more didn't go away. In fact, after college water-mixable oils started coming out and in 2006 I started experimenting with them for commissioned portraits and the other paintings in the gallery.

Experimenting was fun, but also challenging at times because I was becoming busier with commissioned murals. Around 2016 it became more difficult to split my attention between a lot of different side projects and decided the place where I could most fully express myself is through community-engaged murals. 

 

As of 2014, murals are my full-time focus for Cosmic Butterfly Design.

Some of my early drawings are available as Giclee reproductions in the Shop.