ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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s I approach the legacy aspect of my career as an artist, I would be remiss in not giving honor to my family.
To my mother and father posthumously, Diretha V. Hall and Larry O’Neill Brown, Sr., Thank you for passing your legacy to me. I am forever grateful for you both allowing me to spread my wings and fly. Your undying support was truly the wind beneath my wings. How awesome to have both parents become your biggest cheerleaders! I felt your pride with my every stride, and I still feel your presence today. Congratulations on what has now become three generations of artists in our family. To both of my sisters, Jacqueline Brown, and the late Hilda Neal thank you for tolerating me. I know I was a pain, a nuisance, and a little silly at times, but at least I got a smile or two out of both of you. Much time and sacrifice were necessary for my journey. All of my many hours of studio isolation, travel, time away from home, and other notoriety demands surely presented many challenges. Fatherhood truly impacted my drive, motivation, determination, and commitment. The universe provided another artist as my partner. Thank you, Isabelle Massey, for always providing an open creative environment for our children. I have an amazingly talented daughter, Fontaine Patterson, and a creatively gifted son, Mandela Brown. Both of you assisted me in expanding and evolving as a better person, as a father, and as a friend. It amazes me to see the genetic creativity passed down to and through us. May all of your creative endeavors manifest in abundance. I am blessed to be completely surrounded by a constant circle of creative expression. God truly has blessed me. Much respect to my village of great Black men who always had my best interest at heart. The late David Humphries, the late Chenal Alford, my second father; Joseph Ford, my third father, and Lawrence Kirk, my Godfather. You were the true pillars to my success. The lessons you imparted and the wisdom shared
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with me were invaluable, but the love you shared was immeasurable. Together you made me fearless and focused. Much respect to my writing contributors Dr. Leslie King Hammond, and Dennis L. Forbes. Each of you were selected because of the impact you have made in different stages of my life and Larry, Mandela, Poncho career, and the historic Photo by Helen Baskerville contributions each of you have made on the art world, specifically in the support and advocacy of African American art. I also thank my editing team of Isabelle Massey, Dr. Tuere Anne Marshall, and Elma La Touche for clarifying the array of story lines in my head and made them all make sense. A note of recognition to Jeff Salva of Archival Arts who unknowingly prepared me for undertaking this project by providing professional images scanning services of my art for the past two decades. Giving honor to my design team of Joseph Ford, Donna Gardner, Perry Sweeper and William Maxwell. May we continue on the path of visualizing creative journeys. Many thanks to Eric Diggs and Lamerol Gatewood for all your printing consultations. To the many gifted artists with whom I have shared creative comradery, fellowship, kinship, and friendship: the late Carl Owens, the late Annie Lee, the late Harry Davis, Charles Bibbs, Synthia SAINT James, Paul Goodnight, Karen Buster, Deborah Shedrick, Sylvia Walker, LaShun Beal, Phyllis Stephens, Grace Kisa, Charly Palmer, Kevin “WAK” Williams, and Leroy Campbell. Thank you for being my extended family. To all my sisters and brothers from another mother. You inspire me, make me feel like family, and challenge me to stay focused. You all make me want to work harder. A special thank you to each of you that entrusted loaning work to me for redocumentation of lost images that made it
