Stolen People of Stolen Land are NOT Illegal!, Oil on canvas, "36x30"

SOMEHWERE, 14" x 11", charcoal, artist Gael Perry

THERE IT IS, 14" x 11", charcoal, artist Gael Perry

J: Yes. I see teaching as a mutual learning process. You know, it’s not so much me doing all the giving, and not taking. A student’s response, a student’s question, leads me to explain it a different way. Their response causes me to see things from a different perspective. 

In the expression of their own work – it might be a certain color combination, or it might be the way they use it, or even a certain technique that they use – I always learn something from that.​

And, {laughs} I warn students in advance: “I am stealing. I am stealing. You put down something that I can use. I got it. Just so you know.” So it’s a mutual learning process.

J: When I was working with the children at Open Doors and at workshops at the YMI, I only have a short time frame to work with them. It’s not enough time for the participants or students to produce something that they can take with them. It is not enough time for them to really get a solid working understanding of the process. ​

The main thing that I want them to take from it is to realize that they are artists already – regardless of what form it takes – that they already know how to draw. That started when they were little kids. The main thing I want them to realize is that it’s the importance of creative expression in itself, regardless of what form it takes. 
We emphasize drawing, because this is something you started with as a child. It’s in you already. So regardless of the outcome, it’s to process of making an effort. 

There’s a book called “Your Brain on Art.” It talks about how scientists have actually hooked up electrobes and other stuff to people’s arms, shoulders, etc., to actually measure blood pressure, and brain waves to show the positive benefits of people who are engaging in (and shortly after) the creative process. 

​So, regardless of what form that art might take, it’s to process of doing something. Make a creative effort. Express yourself.

GIRL WITH ORANGE  This painting was chosen for exhibition in the 110th online International competition sponsored by Allied Artists of America. Oil on Canvas “30x36”
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J: Well, art is my ministry. in that to minister means to "meet the need of" And art idoes that on so many level, psychologically, emotionally and spiritually. They’ve gotta go hand in hand. There are those who say, “art imitates life.” I understand that to a certain point. But to me, “art is life, since art ireflects and interpret who we are individually and as a peoples.

The way this plays out on a day to day basis, is: I’m living life, interacting with other people. My desire, my prayer to the universe for the beginning of each day, is that I be a blessing, both in word and deed, in some way, to everybody whose presence I come into. 

​And that, of course, translates into the art as well. So, on a day to day basis, living and acting in this state of mind is ministry..

RESIST ERASURE AND WHITEWASHING, OIL ON CANVAS
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In “Resist Erasure and Whitewashing” I am using the power of art to push back against this administration’s and others’ efforts to whitewash our black history. To some degree they have erased our history by removing certain institutions that traditionally house our culture. And by denying the public to be educated and by banning certain books about our culture and our history, this piece is intended to push against that. 

​It also allows me to vent the anger that swells up at the idea that there is somebody trying to tell me that I can’t talk about me. That’s not going to happen. So this is my language to say, “No, you don’t tell me that I can’t talk about me.” 

DOROTHY, Oil on Canvas, 20"x16" (part of the Portraits of Dignity: Do you see me now? series)

J: I think about this question a lot, especially as I’m studying and practicing. As an artist, I will study the drawing process of an artist. Then, another artist, I’ll study his painting process, and how they paint portraits. Simultaneously, I’m doing my own practice. 
There are two things I work with as an artist when I’m deciding what paint, what color, etc, to use. First, I questions, “How does it feel?” Then, technically, I look at is the oval shape, proportions, and shadow shapes that the forms the light. I notice the shapes of the features the light creates. But the main thing is “How does it all feel?” 

There are others who do this mechanically. They’ll draw every hair, every eyelash, etc. There’s a publication – I dont know if it’s still out there still, called “Drawing.” In this, you’ll find these  photo realism drawings, like a photograph. I look at that, and all that’s well and beautiful. But where’s the life? I prefer a Rembrandt any day. 

Rembrandt understood all this technical stuff: form, shape, and proportions. But you look at his figures – you feel them, that character. So in addition to looking for this technical stuff in order to be able to get it on canvas, he is asking, “How does it feel?”  

That’s why it’s important. Even though I might be referencing a photograph for a portrait, it’s important to have a connection with the person first – to meet the person, to have some conversation with that person – because we connect spiritually. That translates into the work. So when I’m looking at somebody, it’s more of a feeling that I’m trying to get, even though I don’t know how to go about that. It takes care of itself. I can’t figure out how to do that. 

​One of the questions I've been asked is: “How comfortable are you with not knowing?” I’m totally comfortable not knowing. There’s something I don’t want to know. If I knew, for example, how to get the feeling in that eye, I don’t think it would be the same. I don’t know how to get the feeling in it. I paint it. The feeling just comes out. I think you just have to feel it, it’s enssence. Just, feel.

When I was drawing Dorothy, I tried to capture her smile and overall personality, the way the light fell on her face and her story. She was cheerful and optimistic, even as she revealed that she was undergoing chemo. She passed a week or two before the “Portraits of Dignity : Do you see me now?” show opened at the YMI of which her portrait was a part of.

CONJURING THE ANCESTRAL SPIRIT OF FREEDOM AND RESISTANCE   Oil on canvas “40x34”
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J: Why the human figure? Bottom line is, because we are human. Going back to my early impressions of the old the drawings in the Sears & Roebuck catalogue, I was impressed with the idea that someone could make a human figure out of lines, shapes, etc. I’ve always had an interest and curiosity about the figure. 

As I got older and began to study, art, I learned that throughout history, an artist’s primary education has been the study of the human figure. It’s because it is the most difficult, complex, and challenging form in nature. An understanding of the human figure allows us to interpret every other subject. And for me, while landscapes and still life are worthy subjects in and of themselves, I’m drawn to an expression of my interests and compassion for other human beings. Landscapes are beautiful. Still lives are beautiful. But I’m more concerned with sharing my connection, my spiritual, emotional, psychological connection with other human beings.

​That’s why the figure for me.

J: One of the first things I learned to do, was to recognize that any knowledge, talent, or skill that we have is a gift from the universe. And our efforts should honor that gift. So one of the first things I do is sit quietly, ... and ask the universe to put blessings on my effort. Then, usually, I have a photo reference next to me. I take some time to visualize the image that I’m going to put on the canvas. I create a picture of it in my mind, first, because, in essence, what we’re putting on the canvas is a representation of what is going on in our mind. 
It’s not the thing itself: it’s an interpretation, an impression of that thing. So I try to get as clear an impression as possible, because with painting, we work from memory anyway. Whether it’s a photograph or a person sitting here, we’re working from memory. We look at the subject. We have to remember what we saw, and then interpret it over here. We look at the subject and interpret. And some impressions, even though they are a mini-second translation, things get lost between that translation. Bottom line, it’s an interpretation. 
So, the first thing is that I honor the universe with a gift. And secondly, I take some time to project that image onto that surface before I make a mark. And go from there. 

BOY WITH TIRE, Hughie Lee-Smith, 1952

SOLITUDE, Oil on Canvas 36x30"  Joseph Pearson

SOJOURNER  This painting is accepted into the Allied Artists of America Inc. Associate members online competition Oil on Canvas 36"x24”
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FAMILY MEMORY, Oil on Canvas 72"x48"  Joseph Pearson (in reference to the shotgun house)

J: I guess, like any 4 year old, it was my curiosity. I was just mystified as to how anyone could make, what appeared to be a person, out of lines and shapes on a flat page. I would look so deeply and say, “This is not a real person, but they make it look like a person. How do they do that? Why do they do it?” So curiosity is basically what started the whole thing. 


And out of that came, “Well, let me see if I can do that.” Kids, you know, they have to dive into the experience. They see water. They put their hand in it and stir it around to see it move. A flower blows in the wind. Oh, they have to touch it to understand why. 
So, seeing those images in the old Sears & Roebuck catalogues, at four or five years old, started my questioning. In addition to that, it is instinctual as human beings to have the impulse to express our environment, our little world visually, through drawing. 
So in addition to the curiosity, that natural instinct kicked in. And as I began to explore how they did this, I became more and more fascinated about it. And not just fascinated with how they did it – but the challenge of doing it. Because it isn’t easy. And it’s still not easy. I don’t like that term either. If everything was easy, everybody would do it. And I love the challenge. I don’t ever want to reach a point (I probably won’t) where I think I’ve got it all figured out. Because then the learning, the curiosity, the enthusiasm, will probably go away. 
And just a backstory on the Sears catalogue: in that time, there wasn’t a lot of contact with images. We did not have cell phones or websites. That catalogue was a primary source. It’s how folks took care of business, and it was shared by the whole family. I couldn’t tear the pages out. My folks weren’t to be trifled with. It probably sat right next to the Bible and the phone book. {laughs}.