Thursday, January 19, 2012

Visual Melodies: A Conversation with Fine Artist, Charly Palmer

:::Renaissance Woman::: 11:03 AM 2 comments Edit

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Artist Charly Palmer in his studio

Walking into Charly Palmer’s art studio is like walking into a garden filled with exotic flowers, each one bursting with vibrancy, texture and magnificent color. His paintings tell stories of times past, but one can easily become more captivated by his amazing use of color and collage—so much so, that the stories, albeit important, feel secondary to the visual melodies. His Utrecht paint containers lie open, while the tops are strewn about—he is preparing to paint. As I watch him dip his brush from one container to the next, while blending his colors on his table, and wiping the excess onto his new jeans, he begins to talk about his life, and his inspirations.

Palmer is a child of the South. Born in Alabama, he and his family moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin when he was just four years old. As a very young child, he began to draw. He remembers his mother giving him pencil and paper to keep him busy and out of trouble. Some of his first inspirations were the Beatles, and at 4 years old he remembers being enthralled with their mop tops and fascinating outfits. Although he was inspired to draw, Palmer says that he never felt like he was doing anything that was unique or special because his brothers were also talented creatively. “I always thought that my brothers were much better artists than I was, so I never thought that there was anything special about what I did.”

It wasn’t until he was in his junior year at Custer High School in Milwaukee, that Palmer saw that he could use his artistic talent to get into college. Although he was good at art, he couldn’t recognize it as his passion at such a young age; art was simply something that he enjoyed. His teachers, however, saw that he had talent, and encouraged him to challenge himself. He remembers one person in particular who helped to encourage him to do better. Carolyn White Travanti worked with an accelerated program that Palmer was enrolled in during his junior year in high school. She recognized his talent then, and supported him. Her support was very important, and because of it, he was encouraged to apply for art school. As a standout art student at Custer High School, Palmer won a competition for a scholastic program that would assist him in getting into college. Winning the competition gave him options, and he had a choice between many reputable art schools, including Parsons School of Art and Design, Pratt Institute, and the Art Institute of Chicago. His fear of New York City, and the potential drawbacks of living there helped him to make the decision to stay close to home and study at the Art Institute of Chicago.

A short drive from Milwaukee, The Art Institute of Chicago was one of the top art schools in the country. At the time Palmer studied there, he says that there weren’t many African American students, so he had to work hard to be a standout. He spent his last two years of study at The American Academy of Art, which is located in Chicago as well. Similar to the Art Institute, Palmer felt the pressure to push himself because he was once again one of the only African American students in the school. Another African American, and an immensely talented artist, Thomas Blackshear, was already making a name for himself, therefore, Palmer felt that he had to challenge himself even more.

Art school was significant for Charly Palmer, and he feels that if it weren’t for art school, he may not be creating today. When asked what he thinks that he would be doing, he jokingly says that he would hope that he would have made it to a position of management at McDonald’s by now. Jokes aside, his biggest fear was not making it out of Milwaukee, and falling victim to the streets. He was very aware of the term starving artist, but he had no real fear of being one because he had plans. Upon graduating Palmer began to work in graphic design. It was his way of providing a solid foundation for his family. While working as a designer, he honed his artistic skills. He moved to Atlanta and formed a successful design firm with his wife at the time. TP Design, created ads for major corporations, and has done so for many years, but Palmer chose to leave the company to fully pursue his art.

Palmer’s works at the time were, as he describes them, “impressionistic.” They mimicked the movements of some of the great Impressionist artists before him, like Monet and Manet. His goal was to study light while creating representational work without all of the detail. Those were the types of paintings that intrigued him, and influenced his work the most.

“ I’m not into detail,” he states, “I’m into attempting to tell a story with as few strokes as possible.”

Palmer soon developed an alter ego, of sorts, that he named Carlos, Spanish for Charly. His, Carlos works were more conceptual in nature, and came from Palmer wanting to explore interpretive work and abstraction. He had already developed a client base for his Charly Palmer pieces, but felt like he wanted to explore creatively without confusing his clients. Carlos was developed out of a need for exploration and expansion. There are artistic rules that he feels that he may have broken, but that doesn’t bother him because in the end he was able to learn more about his work and himself. His, Charly Palmer work began to loosen up, and soon he was able to fuse to two styles, creating the works that we see today.

Palmer says that his biggest fear is being stagnant—trapped and stuck in one place creatively with no growth in sight. He feels that it is normal for artists to have fears and insecurities about their work, but he doesn’t allow that sentiment to manifest in his mind too long because as he says, “ I release fear because I don’t want to deal with lack…there’s enough for all artists.”

The term, black artist is used to describe all artists of the African Diaspora, regardless of their heritage, and inspirations. Palmer feels that the term is limiting and he feels that since white artists aren’t classified, neither should blacks. He believes many artists get turned down immediately because of their race, and often times their works aren’t viewed or even given a chance. In one of his current art series, entitled the Tar Baby Series—which depicts men and women in various challenging situations, where all attempts to resolve the problem results in them getting stuck deeper into the tar…thus creating more of a problem—he talks about one of his main characters Brer Rabbit. Brer Rabbit is speaking, and says, “ I don’t like black art; I prefer landscapes and still life.” The rabbit is inferring that black artists don’t create those things, thus perpetuating the ignorance in much of the art world. He feels that African American Artists are multi-faceted, and deserve to be recognized as the artists they are without the distinction and limitation of color.

Palmer’s art covers a broad range of subjects, from personal, to historical and political. You can occasionally find him painting landscapes, and even a still life here and there. He is one of the most prolific artists of his time, painting upwards of six paintings a week—until he takes the occasional month long break to recoup. He continues to encourage artists and art lovers around the United States and abroad through his art. He leaves some poignant words for emerging artists… “Don’t be driven by ego because it gets in the way of growth.” He also says that lack of originality turns him off as an artist, and encourages emerging artists to, “Be original, say something that has not been said before.”

“Stay focused, have fun, be creative, be original.”

-Charly Palmer 2012

Please visit www.charlypalmer.com to view more artwork. All images © by the artist and cannot be reproduced without the permission of the artist.

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Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Welcome to Cultured Artists™

:::Renaissance Woman::: 10:01 PM No comments Edit

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I decided to create this blog because I wanted the artist's voice to be heard, loud and clear. Not just an interpretation of the artist's voice and work, but their personal stories.

Often times we don't hear stories from the artists perspective, especially artists of the diaspora.

I am interested in hearing and sharing the real lives of these creatives. I want to attempt to understand the reason that they feel the need to create and share their work with the world. As an artist myself, I know how challenging that question can be to answer, but I think that it's an important one that can allow insight into a private world.

Many people don't understand the mind of an artist, and what drives them to create, but I know that every artist is driven for different reasons. I hope to interview creatives (some of whom are colleagues and friends), to delve more deeply into their own feelings about their work, the business, the competition, inspiration, failures, struggles and triumphs. I encourage you to follow along, and read their stories. There is no judgment here, just truths.

These are the voices of the keepers of our history. Take note.

-Tamara Natalie Madden