Justin Bua was born in 1968 in New York City. The only child to a single mother, the young spent most of his time in the streets and became very familiar with the characters that populated the neighborhood - characters that would later find their way into his paintings. At age thirteen he was accepted into the High School of Music and Performing Arts on a scholarship. While he studied visual art there, his “education” on streets continued with his involvement in graffiti-writing and breakdancing. At sixteen, Bua took time off from school to perform with a breakdancing troupe in over a hundred shows all over the world.

At age twenty, the artist was accepted to the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA where he earned a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts in Illustration. He had also learned the technical skills he needed to articulate his art more clearly. His art, he says, became a visually distorted expression of his childhood memories and the rhythms of the streets and breakdancing became major subjects.

Bua started his career doing slick bottom paintings for the skateboard industry. He created a line of fine art posters and quickly made his way into the commercial freelance world. He created numerous CD covers for companies such as Warner Bros., Atlantic Records, Sony Music and BMG Music, as well as advertising work for The Nike Corporation and other clients. In 1999, he animated the opening title sequence for MTV’s “The Lyricist Lounge Show”. Then, in a process that took over two years, Bua conceived, created and wrote “Urbania”, an animation series for Comedy Central.

He went on to develop the characters and backgrounds for the EA Sports video game, “NBA Street.” He then created the world for Slum Village’s award winning music video, “Tainted”. Bua recently teamed up with EA Sports again as the visual consultant for their new best-selling game, “NFL Street”.

His urban flavored paintings have become very popular with a young audience and on college campuses as well as among Hollywood A-listers like Robert DeNiro and Christina Ricci, both collectors of his work. The artist also teaches Figure Drawing in the Fine Arts Department at the University of Southern California (USC) and lives in Los Angeles, CA.

If you are interested in purchasing prints by this artist please contact us for more information.

Joseph Holston was born in Washington, D.C. in 1944. He studied and pursued a career in advertising art before committing himself fully to painting and printmaking. Years of self-study were augmented by study with renowned artists Marcos Blahove and Richard Goetz. He also attended Howard University and Montgomery College in Maryland.

A critically acclaimed artist, he has exhibited widely in gallery and museum shows which include the Washington County Museum of Fine Art in Hagerstown, Md; the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Oh; the Smithsonian Institution’s Anacostia Museum, Washington, D. C.; the Fort Worth Museum of Fine Art, Texas and the Afro-American Museum, Philadelphia.

His work is included in numerous museum, institution and private collections. Among these are the permanent collection of the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Washington County Museum of Fine Art; Butler Institute of American Art; the Yale University Art Gallery; the Museum of Art at the Rhode Island School of Design; the Banneker-Douglass Museum, Annapolis, Md; the King-Tisdell Cottage Museum, Savannah, Ga; the Lyndon B. Johnson Library at the University of Texas.

If you are interested in purchasing prints by this artist please contact us for more information.

Born and raised in West Virginia, John Holyfield was orphaned and raised by his grandmothers. Early in childhood, his interest in art was evident. Encouraged by teachers, family, and friends, he studied art throughout school and went on to Howard University and the University of D.C. to major in Graphic Design. John’s interest, however, switched from the graphic arts to the fine arts and printmaking. In 1991 he submitted photos of black and white drawings that he kept in his sketch book to an art publisher to see if his work was marketable. Two weeks later John signed a publishing deal with that company and hasn’t looked back since.

Holyfield’s work has a strong southern feel and captures the essence of African American life. He paints with the maturity of a much older artist, particularly because he uses imagery from an era past to convey his timeless message. The themes that dominate his work are themes of family, religion and culture. He draws on his own family, childhood memories and stories told to him by his grandmothers for inspiration and his grandmothers have shaped his positive view, and the recurring theme in his work, of women.

Among his major stylistic influences John counts the artists Ernie Barnes, John Rockwell and Frederic Leighton.

If you are interested in purchasing prints by this artist please contact us for more information.

Gerald Ivey is a native of Florida. He exhibited a deep interest in art and exceptional talent very early in life. In elementary and high school, his teachers and schoolmates relied upon him to create graphics and promotional material like banners and bulletin boards. This encouraged him to devote a lot of his time and energy practicing and developing his techniques.

Ivey studied at the Atlanta College of Art and has also pursued private art studies. In addition to working full-time as an artist, he finds time to volunteer as a mentor to many of Georgia’s public school children and frequently donates scholarship funds to aspiring young artists.

Ivey favors themes that are inspirational or culturally uplifting. He has traditionally worked in a figurative mode, but is equally adept at working in an abstract mode.

The artist has won a number of awards and citations for his art and his work with young people. He lives with his family in Atlanta, GA.
“…with every piece of my surroundings, I shall express my emotions by being creatively sound.” Gerald is a native of Florida. At an early age, he exhibited exceptional artistic abilities. Throughout elementary school and high school, his teachers and schoolmates relied upon him to create bulletin boards, banners, and logos. Their approval and appreciation of his artistic acumen encouraged him to spend hundreds of hours practicing various art forms and techniques.

Later, after trying out many different mediums and art forms, Gerald decided to study at the Atlanta College of Art and Design in Atlanta, GA. Since, he has spent years perfecting multiple artistic strategies. His style is his own and incredibly colorful and unique. Ivey has been selling his work for over 15 years and is widely collected all over the world!

Ivey is an artist who is never satisfied with his creativity. He continues to surpass his skill as a master of his trade and incorporates various levels of texture, intense color, and mixed media to his canvases. He is an illustrator, painter, sculptor, designer, and artist unlike any you have witnessed. It is not uncommon to find his work on other mediums other than canvas, such as: clothing, wood, metal, paper, or even furniture!

His work is collected by many and reveled by his intensity of shape, color, and texture. He has been privately commissioned to do installations in many private residences and murals beginning at an amazing 8′ tall and beyond.

His work is unique, refreshing, and tirelessly creative!

“Release your spirit and it shall return, for it never left!”

If you are interested in purchasing prints by this artist please contact us for more information.

Born in Massachusetts then brought by his family to live in New Jersey at an early age, Frank Morrison was reared and spent his formative years there, an affable, precocious and inquisitive youngster whose curiosity about everything around him seemed limitless. Then, as an energetic pre-teen, he was interested and enthused by the youthful fads, interests and activities which marked his world: the neighborhood D.J’s with their followers and fans at neighborhood parties, the colorful ‘tags’ of local characters which were splashed across fences, parks and buildings, and the loose-jointed “B” boys and break-dancers who enlivened week-end party scenes. In this setting his world was suddenly rife with possibilities and he became convinced that he, too, could DO this!

In no time, invested with a brilliant flow of creativity, his eye for and execution of colorful ‘tags’ and ‘R.I.P’ scenes began to bring him considerable ‘street recognition’ and local acclaim. But what soon pleased him more was his mounting reputation as a “B” boy–break-dancing, popping and locking with such skill and control that he became a regular on the dance crew of R & B star Sybil. After a couple of years traveling with her, he joined the touring crew of The Sugar Hill Gang, appeared on “Show Time At The Apollo”, performed on the video “Rap Mania”, and with the dance company of the movie, “New Jack City”.

In fact, it was while dancing and touring the nation and European continent that he chanced to visit The Louvre Museum in Paris that he “met his Muse”. As he walked the halls there, he was consumed by what he saw. Looking at the work of the Masters in The Louvre, he was reminded of what he had unconsciously reached for in his sprawling graffiti pieces; he recognized realms of color, style, passionate expression and possibilities that he had never before imagined.

Upon returning to New York, Morrison became a ‘regular’ at local museums and galleries–knowing that he had to return to his art. With a renewed vision and an informed eye, the still teen-aged Morrison followed his heart, began the development of an expressive style of his own, crafted his first portfolio, and set out to market his paintings.

One need take only a cursory view/examination of his portfolio or his work ‘en gallery’ to find that his power and inspiration are products of his deeply religious grounding and his loving commitment to his family. His innate musicality, natural rhythmic bent and intrinsic understanding of physical/spiritual/emotional expression both invade and explode from his paintings.

Notable collections of Morrison’s art are owned by former New York City School Chancellor Rudy Crew, New Orleans Senator Gregory Tarver, renown actor/philanthropist Bill Cosby who prides himself on nurturing the talents of emerging African American artists, and Dr. Lorraine Hale among others. His work has enhanced the settings of televisions shows “Malcolm and Eddie”, “New York Undercover”, “Cosby” and has been a featured artist on the Home Shopping Network.

Morrison has received commissions from the irrepressible radio/TV commentator Tom Joyner, the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans, and executed serially mounted musical scenes for the compact discs “Impulsively Ellington: A Tribute to Duke Ellington. and Down-to-the-Bone’s “Crazy Vibes and Things”. His artwork has been displayed in prestigious locales shows such as “The National Black Fine Arts Show” produced by Jocelyn Wainwright, at the Savacou Gallery in Manhattan, and was honored and given a one-man show at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture sponsored by ESSENCE ART and Toyota.

He earnestly declares that he is rendered speechless with pride when he finds his work displayed adjacent to and in conjunction with Romare Bearden originals. His initiatives include publication of two illustrated children’s books “Zazzy Miz Mozetta” and “Harlem Morning”.

Morrison’s work is inspired, not only by his rich and varied life experiences but, by his love and gratitude for his family–his wife Connie, three sons and a daughter and the omnipresent Hand of God. Each of his paintings bears his signature, of course, accompanied by the notation “TTG” representing and reminding all of his “Thanks To God” for the blessings of his gifts–his family and his talents.

If you are interested in purchasing prints by this artist please contact us for more information.

Ernest Eugene Barnes was born on July 15, 1938 in Durham, N.C. His early interest in art was stoked by the wealthy attorney for whom his mother worked. On the occasions when the seven-year old Barnes would accompany his mother to work, the employer talked to the youngster about art and museums and introduced him, through books, to the works of the great masters.

Barnes excelled at football in High school, becoming the captain of the school’s varsity football team and receiving several college football scholarship offers. At North Carolina Central University he majored in art, studying under the tutelage of the master Ed Wilson and the noted sculptor William Zorack. His athletic pursuits and artistic pursuits gradually merged for the budding artist as he heeded the advice of Wilson that if he wanted to be an artist, he had to work from his experiences. He never stopped being an artist even as he went on to play football professionally and, after retiring from professional football in 1966, he began to paint professionally.

His reputation as an artist grew in the 1970’s, when he began to paint threatening figures of football players with exaggerated muscles and storm trooper helmets. His reputation was further strengthened by his sensitive depiction of Black life in a touring art exhibition entitled “The Beauty of the Ghetto”.

Norman Lear, the producer of the television series “Good Times”, invited him to be “J.J.’s” ghost artist. He also created the cover for Marvin Gaye’s “I Want You” album. In 1984 he was commissioned the Official Artist of the 23rd Olympic Games in Los Angeles. He has received increasing acclaim over the years and is now recognized as a preeminent American figurative painter of his generation. His work can be found in prestigious private collections such as Ethel Kennedy, Bill and Camille Cosby, Norman Lear, and Harry Belafonte. He lives with his wife in Los Angeles where he continues to work in his home studio.

If you are interested in purchasing prints by this artist please contact us for more information.

Cbabi (pronounced Kuh-bob-bi) Bayoc was born Clifford Miskell in 1973. In 1997 he legally changed his name to his current name (‘Cbabi’ is an acronym for ‘Creative Black Artist Battling Ignorance’, and ‘Bayoc’ is an acronym for ‘Blessed African Youth of Creativity’). He was born in Fort Dix, New Jersey while his father was in the Air Force and he has lived at Air Force bases in Louisiana and Korea. The family eventually settled in O’Fallon, Illinois when his father was stationed at Scott Air Force Base there. He currently makes his home in St. Louis, Mo. With his wife, Reine, and their three children.

Bayoc attended Belleville Area College for two years before attending Grambling State University in Louisiana, from which he graduated in 1995 with a Bachelors Degree in Art. After working as a caricature artist at Six Flags Over St. Louis for a short time, he turned full time to a career as an illustrator. His first big client was Rap Pages magazine where he did a caricature of the feature artist each month. This led to more work during caricatures on album covers and in music videos, as well as high profiled commissions by companies such as Coca-Cola, Anheuser-Busch, New Line Cinema and MCA Records, and celebrity commissions by Prince and others.

Keeping a sketch book and pencil with him wherever he goes, Bayoc captures vignettes of daily life and, as an artist who is also thoroughly immersed in his role as a father, children and themes of family naturally find their way into a lot of his work.

If you are interested in purchasing prints by this artist please contact us for more information.

Anthony Armstrong was born in Sanford, Florida. He joined the United States Navy after high school and during his 18 years service had the opportunity to travel to places like Spain, Italy, Greece and Turkey. He often visited museums that housed works by many of the great masters who would become major influences on his art.

Taking advantage of educational opportunities afforded him by his Navy service, Armstrong earned an Associates degree in printing management from the University of the District of Columbia and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from the Philadelphia University of the Arts. This was followed by a position as a Designer/Illustrator for NASA. Over the years he has flourished as a fine artist, using his ‘God-given gift’ and multi-media training to create bold and expressive abstract cubist works. He opened his own studio in 1994 and has since enjoyed several gallery shows and numerous awards. The artist lives in Philadelphia.

If you are interested in purchasing prints by this artist please contact us for more information.

Annie Lee was born in Gadsen, Alabama and lived for a number of years in Chicago. She has recently resettled in Las Vegas.

Lee began painting at the age of ten, winning her first competition shortly after. In high school she won a four-year scholarship to Northwestern University which she declined. She returned to school at the age of forty after two marriages and two children. She did undergraduate work at Mundelein College, Chicago and the American Academy of Art, and she earned her master’s degree in Education from Loyola University. As the demand for her work grew, she left her then current job as a railroad clerk to paint fulltime.

Annie Lee’s art reflects her remarkable ability to observe life as she sees it, combining the elements of humor, satire and realism to share those observations with her audience. Her paintings are popular throughout the U.S. and well beyond. She enjoys considerable recognition in the Caribbean, Europe and Japan. Her work has been featured in film such as Eddie Murphy’s “Coming to America” and “Boomerang”; and on television shows including “ER”, “Hanging with Mr. Cooper”, “A Different World”, “227” and “Amen”.

Today her work can be found in a variety of media and on a number of merchandise such as collectibles, figurines and kitchenware.

If you are interested in purchasing prints by this artist please contact us for more information.

Alonzo Adams was born on Christmas Eve 1961 in Harlem, New York. He grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey where he still lives and works. From an early age he had wanted to be an artist and in 1984 he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Rutgers University. In 1987 the artist came to the attention of Bill Cosby who recognized his talent and praised his “wholesome realism”. Cosby offered the artist a fellowship that enabled him to pursue graduate studied and in 1991 Adams received his Master of Fine Arts degree from the university of Pennsylvania.

Working in various media including oils, watercolors and pencil, Adams creates works brimming with human emotions. His palette is dominated by the earth tones favored by Rembrandt and the African American masters he admires - Charles White, Jacob Lawrence and Romare Bearden.

Alonzo Adams’ work has been featured in solo exhibitions at major public and private venues in the East, including Howard University and the Russell Senate Building in Washington, D.C., Rutgers University, Dow Jones and Uptown Records in New York. He has received commissions from Merrill Lynch, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Motown, Ortho Pharmaceutical, Absolut Vodka and Black Enterprise Magazine, among others. His works hang in the collections of Bill Cosby, Andrew Young, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Earl Graves, Maya Angelou, Patti Labelle, Jasmine Guy, Eddie Murphy and Senator Bill Bradley.

If you are interested in purchasing prints by this artist please contact us for more information.