St. Marks Boogie Woogie Painting

I am an inmate in a Federal Prison. Before going to prison I used to buy, sell and collect modern art and mid century modern furniture & accessories. Upon going to prison I found myself isolated and needing to find something to do with my time. While I was in the Federal Detention Center in Milan, MI, I started experimenting with the thought of creating my own art. I had no supplies whatsoever so I cut chunks of my hair and wrapped one end of my locks of hair with mailing labels to create a "paintbrush". Then I used powdered drink mix packs that were provided with our meals to create "paint". I then went to the book racks and found hardcover books that I ripped the 1st and last blank pages out of for my "canvases". With these supplies I started creating my own works based on what I loved, influenced by my favorite artists like Willem DeKooning, Franz Kline, Jackson Pollock, Helen Frankenthaler, Hans Hoffman, etc. With my early creations, I found a way to spend my time and really start to be able to cope with the sheer loneliness of incarceration. As I progressed, I incorporated shoe polish and "Prison Gray" latex in my artwork that I was able to get from the maintenance dept. run by other inmates. In time I started to create some pretty good works from these found materials. I was proud of them and it gave me something to live for. I started to hang my works on the walls in my cell and during a routine "shakedown" of my cell the C.O's asked me "Who do you think you are, Picasso?" and sent the warden up. The warden was very impressed and allowed me to continue in my work. He instructed the C.O's not to tear down or confiscate my artwork. That gave me fuel to continue to create with a new found acceptance and fervor. I have over 160 of these "Kool-aid" creations. After I was finally sentenced, I was transferred to Coleman FCI in Coleman , FL. Coleman had an art room where I could get my own art locker as well as paint, canvas, and everything else I needed to create larger works. I have been going strong ever since. Looking at my art is looking into my world of colors, sensations, & shapes that I incorporate into the search for the definitive image in my head at that exact time of creation. The implacable geometry of chaos. A harmony of lines & forms past a certain point of no return. A place where ethics as well as esthetics have been left behind. Looking at my art is looking at me. It is looking at my past, my present & my future.