We’re looking forward to introducing you to charles Humes Jr. Check out our conversation below.
Good morning charles, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What do you think is misunderstood about your business?
The act of artistic creating I feel is one of the most underrated concepts and actions that is often taken for granted. The time and effort to formulate an idea or action using media on most commonly a two dimensional surface is a monumental achievement that requires a magical intervention by an artist to master the elements of line, shape, color, space, form and texture. Most audiences have an appreciation for what I do but have little idea of how long and grinding it takes to visually project feelings and emotions not to mention a long lasting impression.
My art practice spans more that fifty years and in my time I have endured many heartaches that I can comfortably say is the mantra of creative visual artists striving to find their style and place. The “BS” that is the norm in today’s art world is but a passing fancy and I believe only true
aesthetically appealing and impactful art forms will stand the test of time. This is my opinion and comes from a deep belief in work that depicts and honors the physical realm of life and happiness. Being a creator of art is a special gift that is not something that is taught or manufactured but a deep and spiritual sense that comes with knowing and feeling a need to interpret and depict the worlds that engulfs us.
This journey to paint,, draw and articulate the physical realm into a visual statement or visual reflex can never be understood by the common laymen because it is a craft or act that depends on intuition, spirit, emotion, dreams and expression, all ingredients that magnify the act of creating a truli impressionable work of art. When a patron wants to purchase my work they can only see the image, the end result but lack the full scope and knowledge of the pathos, struggle and act that the artist suffered through to create such joy, impression, emotion or statement, This is what separates my art and practice from any other business, trade or work. That what I do is not manufacturing, not a commodity but an act and Art form like no other that can’t be equated by dollars and cents.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am Charles Humes Jr,, a visual fine artist of African-Bahamian-American lineage, who is dedicated to creating work and expressions that depict the beauty, aesthetic, drama, multiple cultures and history of peoples of color.
My official business entity is ‘Creative Visuals, Inc. registered through the state of Florida, with a studio practice in Miami Dade County. My practice encompasses large scale site-specific mosaic murals, oils, acrylics, watercolors, dyes, inks, charcoals, pen & ink , and mixed-media works that reflects the time, acts and places that is faced by people of color, specifically the African-American in America and n the Caribbean Islands.
I am presently working to complete works for my next solo exhibition presently entitled ‘Smatherings and Gatherings’,
a show that will consists of watercolors, drawings and large scale mixed-media tapestries that featured the beauty of the Everglades National Forests and my personal footprint there in the South Florida park. The exhibition will also touch on some forgotten and scarcely mentioned history of the Black Seminole or formerly Enslaved Black Maroons or Freedmen who endured the ravages of the U.S Government’s colonial purged of Florida.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
When I read and as a child and searched for truth in the things I saw about the history of the world, I realized as a child that there was no place in literature, culture and history for someone who looked like me. I marveled at the works of artists of the early renaissance, the impressionist and post impressionist, the surrealists, the regionalist and so many other types of artist in the history books but saw no evidence that this was a world for the Black man.
That was my awakening of whom I was and whom I was going to be, At an early age I knew that I was going to be an artist. back in 1962 as a boy I knew and declared that i was going to be an Artist for and about my people, Black people and all peoples of color.”!
Do you remember a time someone truly listened to you?
I was blessed to know and share ideas, philosophy and art in the late eighties with a fellow artist and studio-mate at the then Bakehouse Arts Complex. This artist was a truly gifted man who mastered the roles of actor, teacher, mime, sculptor, computer whiz and bamboo craftsman. He was Timothy Charles Ivory a brillant Detroit born Irish-american whom I considered my brother from another mother.
Timothy listened to me, understood me and celebrated my visions and I will always miss him.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What’s a belief or project you’re committed to, no matter how long it takes?
My belief is in the work I create. My art depicts the norms, culture and history of a area, place, time and a people, I am in pursuit of creating masterpieces that will stand the test of time, works that impacts and makes a statement about .the lives, ordinary and exceptional events of Black folk, working people, the homeless and those who make a difference in our society.
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The question for me has never been a matter of time, it will always be a matter of life, to portray the african-american, caribbean americans, ,and all peoples of color throughout the african-world diaspora has always been my quest and after sixty-plus years of doing art I’m still going and I will never be finished.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. If immortality were real, what would you build?
To me, Immortality is a gift given to everyone who chooses to use it to the best of their ability. It is the work and legacy one leaves behind.
My art is my message, my language, and my vision. It is a spiritual deeply conceived body of work that speaks of my state of mind, my expressions and what I have interpreted of the world we live in. My many drawings, designs, paintings, prints and murals features the genre of life and circumstance of the Black man and Black woman in our society today.
That is my portfolio, being a creator of substance and meaning and masterpieces for everyone to see and enjoy.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://charleshumesjr.com
- Instagram: cehumesjr@gmail.com
- Linkedin: cehumesjr@gmail.com
- Twitter: cehumesjr@gmail.com
- Facebook: @charles.humes.14418
- Yelp: cehumesjr@gmail.com
- Youtube: cehumesjr@gmail.com
- Soundcloud: cehumesjr@gmail.com
Image Credits
faren.humes@gmail.com
