The power of art is that it can connect us to one another, and to larger truths about what it means to be alive and what it means to be human. Daniel Levitin
What a beautiful love song artist extraordinaire Charles Caldwell dedicates to his partner in life, Ancinetta, his talented children, grandchildren, and other extended members, as a father-figure for those desiring to change the direction of their lives, and a prayer of thanksgiving for the gift of art that began for him at a young age. “I was a six-year-old little country boy from Arkansas whose parents were brave enough to pick up stakes and move to the North side of Minneapolis. To my recollection, there were no other creative visual artist blood line relatives. I was also physically little when I began to exhibit my work at the age of 14, and it was difficult convincing people that I was ‘the artist himself.’”
Fortunately, when Caldwell started school, art was important. He could always feel the surge of creative power and confidence every time he picked up a paint brush or a pencil. It became an instinct, a place he gravitated to. Often, he would stay after school where tools and supplies were accessible, and he was encouraged to let his visions flow. “And although I have managed for decades to take this gift and support my growing family, I take nothing for granted. Time is even more valuable now. My skill level has improved because I’ve done the work so many times, but I know at any time precision can become shaky,” he says.
“For the past two years, it’s been hard trying to get to the beauty of something through transparency in ugliness. How does an artist take all the negatives and try to clean them up? But then I reached the point where I had to start protecting myself, my heart, mind, and soul. I had to capture the connection even in the struggles of current times. This grieving process has been like a chain. There have been so many links added. The war is the most recent. I must visualize the content and remain adamant in projecting hope, pride, and love in the finished products after completing layers of processes. I am seizing the moment with my health and this space of time, so far from my youth.”
For the Caldwell family, art is most of the family business as creativity simply overflows. The matriarch of the Caldwell family is the founder and CEO of a new youth non-profit, Northside Culture. Son Kenneth, and daughter Nakesha have carved their own niche in the industry. Father and son have teamed up on several murals.
In an interview last week on Conversations with Al McFarlane, Caldwell and McFarlane both described how the results of their creations, journalistically and artistically, seem to sometimes jump off the page with an energy of their own. It’s like the pieces talk to them and they are satisfied with the message from stories and thoughts that form the richness of their lives, missives they hope consumers to scholars will appreciate.
McFarlane said, “It’s hard to be creative sometimes when we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. As a writer, I, too, suffer because of uncertainty. But we have a sense of mission not to fail ourselves or our children and the generations after them. It’s worth the endeavor to pave the way as we try to live by example. We cannot take this opportunity for granted.”
Exploring the wonders, sorrows, and joys of life in every portrait, Caldwell’s natural talent was nurtured by a mother who let him draw, an art teacher that told him he was an artist, and a community that supported his art. His work has often been compared to African American social realist artist, Charles White, and also to Norman Rockwell.
Let us give our children the same kind of encouragement to enhance their choices.
McFarlane said he often talks about a Caldwell painting which features his grandson holding a set of paint brushes in his small hands. “It is powerful,” McFarlane said. “It’s like he is holding the world in his hands, a reflection of his responsibility to the legacy of his family and the art world they have established in a place they have always lived.”
