VIEW IN MY ROOM
United States
Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Size: 41 W x 80 H x 1 D in
Ships in a Tube
Artist Recognition
Artist featured in a collection
Herbert Jeffries was known as "The Bronze Buckaroo," the first Black singing cowboy. In fact, he wasn't Black at all, but Sicilian. He fibbed about being African American so he could sing in Duke Ellington's band. Later in life before he turned 100 years old, he moved to Idyllwild, where I live, in the mountains above Palm Springs. I had the pleasure to meet him at several events in town, and then he rented a cabin for a week next to my house. I got to know him and his wife, Savannah, better. She would get him ready with his cowboy hat, rings, big belt buckle, to go out to eat. He didn't have his hat on yet, and I noticed that he had a full head of curly hair! I told him that, and he flirted back with me! Later on, I created this large-scale banner to decorate the French Quarter at Jazz in the Pines, a benefit for jazz scholarships at Idyllwild Arts Academy. They hung this banner from the trees, along with many others. I created this banner, hoping to capture the spirit of a man who was willing to take huge risks for his art. In fact, he was still performing well into his late 90s. He performed many times at Jazz in the Pines. I chose tab-topped curtains as my medium to make them more accessible and portable into a Honda Civic. Banners seem more free, can easily be hung from pine trees, and are used by activists worldwide. I always use bright colors, mostly big gallons of hardware paint that can cover a large area. I figured if acrylic paint can cover your house, then it can cover a banner that is hung inside or out!
Painting:Acrylic on Canvas
Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork
Size:41 W x 80 H x 1 D in
Frame:Not Framed
Ready to Hang:Not applicable
Packaging:Ships Rolled in a Tube
Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.
Handling:Ships rolled in a tube. Artists are responsible for packaging and adhering to Saatchi Art’s packaging guidelines.
Ships From:United States.
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United States
I'm a journalist by trade, but I have been an artist most of my life. I started taking private art lessons in Omaha, Nebraska, at age 9. But then by age 12, I had put art on the back burner for cheerleading and boys. So then when I went to college, I got poor grades in art so I switched to writing. I worked at small ad agencies, newspapers and large corporations most of my career. I've always done portraits because I find them the most challenging. I would always paint pictures of friends and coworkers during the holidays to make extra money. When I lived in Chicago, my portraits became bigger and brighter. I think it was because I lived in an artist building on the corner of Milwaukee and Damon, where there were artists from all cultures living there. They encouraged me to stretch the limits of my creativity. On my way to work in the city, I admired the large scale bright banners that I would see in the apartments along the El line. Some were political, others decorative, but the Expressionist portraits I'll never forget! Big gallons of acrylic hardware paint usually cover the backgrounds of the door-sized cotton curtains that I have been painting for the past 10 years. I use tiny brushes to get the hard edges. In 2009, I painted a small banner of Barack Obama in response to a rousing speech I heard on TV. It was later used at a political rally at a restaurant in Idyllwild where I live. Then I started doing more banners of jazz icons to decorate that same restaurant each year during a jazz concert. I like painting big because of its impact! It can be challenging to get the right scale. I don't use a projector or any equipment except chalk. Sometimes it takes awhile to get it right! I turn the canvas over and over and make the blocks of color more abstract and bright! Even though sometimes I paint political figures, I don't like to discuss politics with strangers! They always talk louder than me and seem to know more about the subject, but I believe that a strong image is better than all the words you can say! Most of the banners I've done are of people I admire who are creative in the arts or in the public arena who have courage and determination! Lately, I have been doing a series that deals with race relations in the United States. Every time there's a shooting, and another young black man dies, it makes the news for awhile, and then disappears from public memory.
Artist featured by Saatchi Art in a collection
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