My Style And Motivation

My style and motivation

Very few people get to experience black women from the perspective of being a black man that loves and appreciates the existence of black women and what they mean to the world, to our communities, and to our family units. Our women are all too often objectified, belittled, physically, emotionally, and mentally abused, sexualized, and so many other things. While at the same time they are expected to be the backbones of corporate America, our households and families, our intimate relationships etc. Black women, despite all they endure are expected to be the moral compass for our societies in general, all the while being the scape goats for every one else’s missteps, ill intentions, and short comings. These are all things that I’ve been aware of for a long time, having a daughter, sisters, younger cousins whom I call my nieces (because that’s the rules within black family dynamics lol), Aunts, cousins, ex-girlfriends, close friends, Grandmothers, and especially my mother, having all of these different dynamics and perspectives has always had a positive impact on my masculinity and my perspective on what it means to be a black man.

Black women (from my observation) are the biggest supporters and cheerleaders for black women. They are also, (from my observation) the biggest supporters and cheerleaders for black men as well. And for as much as they selflessly give us, throughout the duration of our lives (to include history), I genuinely feel as if us (black men) should be the biggest supporters and cheerleaders of black women. Having all of these different dynamics with black women, but especially with the transition of my mother, I have just been really sitting in a space where I really had to come to terms with the loss of the most genuine and purest love I’ve ever experienced. And I can’t help but to see pieces of my mother in so many other black women. And as art is most often times an expression of things the artist is unable to normally express, accepting and learning to live without the physical presence of my mother, when I create, the things that I remember and miss about her come to the surface. I see aspects and pieces of her in each piece that I create. That being the case, and as people suggest that “good art” invokes some type of emotional feelings, I think it’s safe to say that even though countless artists are out right better than I am in skill, my ability to tap into and invoke emotions are my strongest skillset. After all, I may be a fledgling painter, but I have been an artist my whole life.