As with so many Black children, I grew up not having a clue of any artistic ability. In my early teens, I was introduced to scale models. It was a past time and a hobby that in time I found to be an art form. From the art form of scale modeling I learned attention to detail, form and function, history and painting, after all, no model was complete without painting. Much later, I discovered I had a particular “eye” for photography. That “eye” had a penchant for structure and design, be it in nature or in human artifact. A friend once described my photographs as being “haunted”, meaning that to look deeply into my photographic subject, one would be drawn and eventually feel like one was there in the scene. That observation has been one of the most complimentary descriptions presented. The photographic works presented are either 5 x 7 or 8 x 10, all in inches. The pictures are: AAM 2, Chapel and Sun, Ivy Covered Arch, Wall and Trail and Willow and Road.

 

Prior to my serious photographic art, I entertained thought of pursuing a love affair with architecture. Thinking that, in the academic setting, I might be called upon to create scale models of architectural designs, I thought of working on a project of my own. Soon an idea emerged; take architectural design and not include the usual accompanying streets but meld it with an alien landscape. What came from this idea was an art form I titled TERRA FORM ART, of which I am the inventor. Simply, it is an abstract depiction of human destiny and space exploration. Of all the animals on the planet Earth, only one has an ability none of the rest share; Humans can leave the planet. This quality may prove to be the defining aspect of the Human species. Examples of this art are titled  T-7 (60 X 40 inches), T-10 (80 X 48 inches), Terra Form Gigantic (15 feet x 6 feet 8 inches). These works are produced with poster board stock, balsa wood, instant paper mache and latex paints.

 

While painting the many scale models, invariably I would spill paint. The resulting flow of colors and patterns intrigued me. Many years later I discovered that painter Jackson Pollock spilled paint and it led him to his more famous painting style. It was not until my fifty's that I decided to explore the spilled paint style of abstract painting. Other artists describe the technique as "spatter painting". I like to think of this form of abstract painting as improvisational or free form. Following only instinctual inspiration, I found the style touched my zeal for natural form and structure. My painted abstracts tend to look like geological formations as viewed from the sky or astronomic star formations. They also have the sensation of conglomerate stone or microscopic entities. I look forward to creating larger work in the abstract painting style. The painted works presented here are 11 x 14 inches, enamel and latex paints. After Crash, Black Bloodstone, Dry Rivers, Forming Land, Landing Site, Lands and Sea.

 

Wanting to return to the architectural form and having lots of scrap wood from making the frames for the Terra Form Art, I created my wood structure collection. Not oddly enough, the wood pieces look like buildings. All of these subjects are of various types of wood; Tower 1 is 21 inches high, Tower 2 is 23 inches and Tower 3 is 34 inches high. I hope to do an entire city of these types of structures, in some part of my future.