DAILY/WEEKLY PAINTING #6

In the first picture book I illustrated,

The Baby on the Way, I was required to alternate between scenes of the rural south and an urban rooftop garden. This was back in 2004 when I first began using hand-painted paper as collage for grass and other foliage.

Soon after, I was offered the opportunity to illustrate The Poet Slave of Cuba  While I did use some collage for the art, I mostly painted the foliage.



Around the same time I was creating art for the book Dizzy, about the life of jazz icon Dizzy Gillespie. I used the same stylization for flames as I had been for grass.

I came to really enjoy adding these decorative elements to my art not only enhanced the imagery but also gave me an opportunity to be more abstract in my work.

By the time I illustrated Lullaby , I wanted to take a different approach to these elements and began including magazine collage along with my hand-painted collage papers and the foliage took on a greater prominence.



And with Emmanuel's Dream, I decided that a dialed back, hand-painted collage paper approach would work best to accent the landscape of Ghana.



This week I have two pieces to share:






From time to time, I like to return to my earlier art to see what I was doing at the time. Often, I'll find elements in the work that I want to explore further. I like to think of it as finding forgotten conversations.
These are both mixed media on 6x6" on masonite.

Next week I'll be in Columbus, OH speaking on a panel: “The Power of Picture Books: Illustrators Who Use Pictures to Speak” for the 17th Annual Conference for American Association of School Librarians, AASL (http://national.aasl.org/) . Also, Selina and I will be at theBrooklyn Museum's Ninth Annual Children's Book Fair (https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/calendar/event/ninth_annual_childrens_book_fair) on Nov. 14 from 12-4pm.
Thanks!
Sean

DAILY/WEEKLY PAINTING #5

Hair as a crown.

In a previous post, I wrote about my childhood afro-envy. Because hair adorns one's, head
 it can be likened to a crown. Personally, I see hair as an outward extension of one's consciousness,  
one's inner personality and not just a fashion statement, although it can be

The sixties were a perfect example. Long haired hippies made a statement about how 

they were different than their parents' generation and about their desires to be free from 
social norms and constrictions.

Similarly, in the 60's, the afro became a statement for African-Americans about being comfortable with themselves, defining their own values and replacing the conk

Similarly, in the 60's, the afro became a statement for African-Americans about being comfortable with themselves, defining their own values and replacing the conk

and other previous straightened hair styles with their natural hair texture. Even James Brown stopped straightening his hair and proclaimed - "Say it loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud.

And of course there were the the Black Panthers.  

Finally, this week's piece was inspired by these two women:

Angela Davis

& Kathleen Cleaver

Afro Psyche #1 is 6x9" (slightly larger than my usual 6x6" pieces) mixed media on 1/2" plywood.

Again, I'll be sending out updates every week, hopefully on Friday but if not before the weekend is over. If you know of anyone interested please send them this way. 

Lastly, Selina and I had a blast last week at The NAIBA Conference where we accepted the Carla Cohen Free Speech Award for The Case for Loving. Here's a very blurry photo of us giving our acceptance speech.

Best,

Sean

DAILY/WEEKLY PAINTING #4

Going to the movies

isn't always fun for me. I find myself fighting not to surrender to the messages they intentionally or unintentionally feed us. Are films (and television) only entertainment or do they suggest how we see ourselves and the rest of the world?

In considering this question, I started to think about how much (or how little) the role of African-Americans has changed in Hollywood. At the most elemental level, I asked myself, "Are there more leading and supporting black characters in Hollywood now than there were 100 years ago?" This led to thoughts of who were the first black actors in Hollywood?" I thought of Stepin Fetchit, Amos & Andy, Mantan Moreland and, of course,D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation which did employ some black actors but also featured white men in "black face."

I asked myself, "who were these men (and women) and how did they see themselves compared to the one-dimensional stereotypes they portrayed?"

I began doing sketches for paintings on the subject.

First, I did a larger piece about the actor Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry also known as Stepin Fetchit - A Brief History of Stepin Fetchit 24x30 mixed media on 1/4" hardboard.

That lead to these two smaller pieces I did for my daily/weekly painting. They are not about the characters the actors played but more of a contemplation of the inner lives' of the actors.

They are both 6x6, acrylic, pencil and collage on 1/8" hardboard. Again, I'll be updating my blog every week, hopefully on Friday but if not before the weekend is over. If you know of anyone interested in receiving updates please direct them here. 

Best,

Sean