The Logo of Garnets and Blackberries
The Logo of Garnets and Blackberries
The book cover of Garnets
and Blackberries. Brenda
Mitchell-Walker graces the back cover. After many years of friendship, I have
discovered a side to my friend previously unknown to me, that of poetry writing. To me,
reading her poetry is one thing, her reading to you is quite another. The innate passion
and conviction of her words and thoughts will sweep you along her path, a familiar path,
so you see through her eyes and somewhere along the way, you will feel what she
feels. Read her words with her voice, consider them with her heart, savor them, then
give thanks to a world-class talent that now walks among us.
Daisha.
Lovely Daisha, my play- daughter and the daughter of Brenda Mitchell-Walker and her
husband Lloyd. I'm her 'Uncle TheArthur' and this was given to her on wedding
day, unseen by her until then.
Dawn Dancers
The citizens of the African continent are very strong dancers and the Zulu are among the
strongest.
A Fade to Dreams
A symbol, this lady of the wistful eyes has faded from the gaudy luster of her
accoutrements, the beautiful jewel works adorning her head, neck and shoulders, her arms.
In combination she is the history, the present, and the future of the Mother continent. In
her early history her majestic stature and prominence in world history fed the world with
her wisdom and sciences, religion and philosophical thought as her progeny spread around
the globe following their separate fates. Greece is known to be the cradle of Democracy
but Egypt fed early knowledge to Greece and to mighty Rome, and Nubia spoon-fed Egypt. To
the south lay the great learning centers of Timbuktu and mysterious Zimbabwe where this
tributary to the welfare of early civilization began. Ever southerly, Olduvai preceded all
of the above.
Dancing Hands
Kinara!
The seven candles signify the seven days of the Kwanzaa celebration. Though it is
barely a quarter century since its inception it has gained steadily and rapidly in
prominence and soon is destined to take its place among our important days of
observation. Kwanzaa, salutee!
The Fruits of Kwanzaa
Harvest's end and feasting begins.
A King Dines
Nothing matches a hungry monarch and even fewer things can resist him. All hail!
Masai Warrior
Renowned for their jumping tendencies and the height of those leaps. Beautifully decked in
their traditional and striking attire as they tend their herds, they are also
hunter-gatherers. I have known many men who could be of that nation of people.
Miz' Tweedle
A very dear lady in my distant past, she was my mother-in-law until her death in 1972.
Named by her spouse after a 1930s cartoon character of the same name her quiet determined
demeanor served her in good stead throughout her life. Along with my mother I placed her
with the highest of women.
Noire Mystique-The Dark
Mysteries.
As the walls of her new home were bare this work was originally done on behalf of my
god-daughter, one Yvonne Bouchelion, nee Pointer, and this represents my first foray into
watercolors. Actually I started with some old felt tipped marking pens that I had lying
around and found that they could do well enough in some areas but for other aspects finer
and eventually even finer tips were needed to do the detailed work I had in mind. Prowling
the art stores I discovered the double ended pen\brushes that went far beyond the
capabilities of the felt tips. Indeed they were probably invented expressly for me to use.
Of course they were. Whatever, they work beautifully for me. The majesty of the subject in
the piece, the stern austerity, suggests great inner power, unyielding in firmness, with
no compromise. Another collaboration here, this piece has been mounted on the face of a
watch and will soon be for sale. Look for it, you will probably like what you see.
An Old Man in
Thought
An early charcoal piece inspired by the great and telling photographic art of James Van
Der Zee from the early part of this century. The idea was to develop what I thought at the
time was a unique style of pointillism. The subject seemed well suited for the medium but
I had absolutely no idea someone a century ahead of me (perhaps even more) had the same
brilliant flash of inspiration! And it probably took him longer to develop it, too, which
is probably why his was done better (tongue-in-cheek). My intent here was to portray the
thoughtfulness and innate kindness of this subject, as well as the weary traveled roads
seen in his face. Brenda Mitchell-Walker has matched this drawing with one of her
beautiful poems ("The Old Ones") and we have collaborated on her book of poems
‘Garnets and Blackberries’, with this piece being one of the art contributions
to the book.
The Many Moods of
Paul--Paul Robeson
What can be said about Paul Robeson? So much has been written, controversial, some
of it, most in great praise. Paul was a man of his time blessed with overwhelming
talent as an athlete, a man of letters, a prick to the social conscience of all
oppressors, especially in the service of his beloved people. His tremendous talents
took him to the Shakespearean stage, the silver screen in numerous starring roles, and not
in the least his deep, deep voice seeped deep into the hearts of his fans around the
world, speaking strongly of the dark mysteries of black people as they struggled to stand
aright against all odds. Ah, truly, what can be said of Paul Robeson?
SingingHands
The sister piece to 'Dancing Hands' this was one of my very first sales and one of
my favorites. When one of my sons was quite young he asked me for a print and I gave
it to him. He was obviously an art aficionado at a very young age. I
discovered many years later that he had used the back of it for schoolwork, which was okay
by me, as it was the only copy I still had that I could lay my hands on. So I
cleaned it up the best I could with PhotoShop and scanned it. Of course the original
was far superior to this.
Zulu Golden Lady
The elegance of Nandi, Queen Mother of the Zulus in Shaka's time, as well as the royalty
of the great Zulu kings was typified by this magnificent ceremonial masterpiece adorned by
brilliant feathers and beads and shells. Doubtless some of these adornments were the type
and style worn only by royalty while others could be worn by anyone. I plead ignorant to
the meaning of these trappings but, simply, I was taken by the sheer overall beauty. While
the lady in this painting is obviously not the Nandi who was the mother of one of Africa's
mightiest kings, the dress she is wearing is like that of the Zulu queen worn at her son's
inauguration and it shows the beauty and majesty, and even the power, that was inherent in
the Zulu dressing styles at that time. Behold!