“My work is always based on moments of lived experience. A lot of how I choose what I paint is just by slowing down and thinking about a moment or a sensation I want to zoom in on.”
“My work is always based on moments of lived experience. A lot of how I choose what I paint is just by slowing down and thinking about a moment or a sensation I want to zoom in on.”
“It is so important to let things go from the heart onto the canvas or onto paper. I feel like the process allows me to let other things in.”
“I want to use my artistic platform to try and reason with and educate others about the harm of intertwining religion with the state.”
“There was always something thrilling about taking a material and pushing it in a direction that was never intended. The unpredictability of the results would lead down many unique paths as I reacted to their nature.”
“I look back to the very small town I grew up in and the county lifestyle I was raised in and here I am today. How many people can say they look forward to going to work and do what they love and love what they do.”
The Blog is on vacation for a five weeks while we are on vacation in Italy and Greece. But, I will be posting art from Italy and Greece and our cruise ship each week until interviews start again November 18.
"I find the process of making my work to be more rooted in cultivating a space for exploration and care. The act of making becomes a time of reflection for me – a space to feel fully present."
"Being an artist is the only thing I ever wanted to be, even before I knew that it was something you could be. The thought of it would be like getting paid to eat breakfast. I just knew I never wanted to be anything else."
"I loved many art forms growing up from music, theater, literature, to ballet. But by the time I graduated from high school, I decided I wanted more of a normal life, so I went back to my first love of visual art."
"The people in my creative vision are ALL types of people. I try to be inclusive and expressive to show that diversity and inclusivity are absolutely necessary."
"After 206 interviews I guess I should not be surprised that one scheduled artist decided at the last minute that he did not want to do it. There are still lots of great Arkansas artists who want to be interviewed – so keep checking back!"
"I really hope that people see what I see in my work. I love every painting I do and I find beauty in almost everything. God has been so good to me!"
"The challenge for me is thinking creatively and putting to canvas ideas that I've been carrying around mentally. It has been a grand journey and hopefully I can continue to learn and grow, not take myself too seriously, and have fun."
“I create art to preserve my heritage and initiate conversations around societal and cultural issues that countercultures and African Americans are experiencing.”
“…when I take the photograph, it’s not only how I am looking at my subject but how they are looking at me. It’s that psychological connection I’m trying to catch.”
“As a Southerner, I’m constantly conflicted by the South. Our region is filled with so much to love – rich arts, food, natural beauty, musical heritage and literature, but also so much disparity that it can be overwhelming.”
“I want my repurposed objects to represent a message of purpose and redemption for the once discarded and forgotten.”
“This has been an amazing ride! I don’t want the blog to outlive its relevance and I don’t know what the future may bring, but for now I am having a blast and I hope you are too!”
“I am not an artist and cannot create art in any fashion. But art has been an important part of my life for a long time especially the past 70 years or so.”