On occasion, The Lobes will stumble upon someone who uses an art form other than music to make a difference in the world, and deserves to have their voice heard. Leon Finney III is an artist from Philadelphia, who inspires the lives of inner-city youth through art. I had the opportunity to speak with Leon about his inspiration, his art, and the work he does to keep art in public schools through his “1 Touch of Color” foundation.
Faith W: Thanks for taking the time to talk to me about your work. Let’s start with the piece that you have at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Leon Finney: That piece has been there since I was 17, since 1997. I won an art contest and the president of the museum pulled me aside and asked me if she could have the piece.
That piece is part of their private exhibit. It’s actually inside of one of their corporate offices, and every year, during the month that I originally entered that contest, they bring it out for public viewing and it sits on the wall that’s across from the cafeteria.
FW: This is not a painting, and most people who know your work think of you as a painter. Tell me how you created it.
LF: It’s a collage, and it was done with paper bags, newspaper, and trash that I found. It’s a self-portrait. I also used a lot of different types of glue so that I could get different textures, and tones.
FW: Are you still doing collages?
LF: I still experiment with collages, and I want to do some projects, but I haven’t had the time to actually sit down and get back into that zone. I’ve been doing a lot of portrait work, and that’s been taking up a lot of my time.
FW: You also do something in conjunction with Citibank for Black History Month, correct?
LF: Yes. Four years ago I started doing an annual art exhibit at Citibank for Black History Month. I’d go to different schools and teach the kids a few things about Black History, and then we’d express ourselves through artwork. After they learned some things, and created a painting, we would have an exhibit to show what we’d learned.
FW: How did you get started with that?
LF: I like to be involved with my kids, and since they started taking art out of schools, I wanted to do something that would allow me to bring it back. So, I donated myself and my time and the supplies; then it was just about finding a place that wanted to go in on it with me. Citibank was really good, and they said they wouldn’t mind helping me out, and they actually came up with a few dollars to give to the kids, so that all the kids were winners just for participating.
FW: Are your children artistically inclined?
LF: My daughter is. My son, he’s color-blind, so he gets a little jealous when he can’t figure out colors, but he can draw pretty well. My daughter, she’s an artist. She’s even better than me when I was her age. She’s really talented.
She sits down with me, and I really don’t want to teach her. I just want her to watch, and pick up her own stuff. She’ll just draw, and paint, and do her thing. The thing I tell all my students, and it’s kind of like what I live by is, “I can teach you how to draw and how to paint, but creativity comes from within.” So, looking at her work you can really see where the creativity comes from.
FW: What motivates you in terms of creativity?
LF: Prayer, and my dreams. I’ll dream about some crazy thing and I’ll wake up and say, “I have to paint it.”
Like the “Anticipation of War” piece; I had a dream about it, and I woke up and just painted it. Something just sparks while I’m asleep and I just go in on it.
FW: So, you just wake up and say, “That’s it. I have to get this out of me…”
LF: I don’t care what time of night it is. I started “Anticipation of War” at 2 o’clock in the morning, and it was finished a day and a half later.
FW: I don’t know how many people know this, but “Anticipation of War” has a companion piece, doesn’t it?
LF: Yeah, it does. And it’s a painting of the person that he’s looking at. So, unless you’re friends or family, that piece has not been shown to you.
FW: Will that piece ever go public?
LF: Yes. I’m going to bring that out when I come back to Philadelphia.
FW: Excellent. You also have a foundation called “1 Touch of Color”. Tell me about that.
LF: The 1 Touch of Color Foundation is based on what I told you that I was doing with Citibank. But in The 1 Touch of Color Foundation we were painting murals inside of inner city schools like Potter-Thomas, Fairhill and Houston. I believe that blank walls leave blank minds. Kids that see nothing around them all day, more than likely they are going to do nothing.
I wanted to take the effect that the outdoor murals have on people and bring it inside. When you see a mural, it brightens up the area, and it causes you to stop, and talk about it. That’s the feeling that I think should be going on inside of schools, so that the kids feel appreciated.
FW: What else inspires you?
LF: The thing that inspires me is God. I feel like what I do is a gift. I can be as creative as I want, but I am nothing without God. My second inspiration is my grandmother. When I was 3 I drew my first picture and she put it her wall, and she put the next picture on the refrigerator, and it made me feel so good. After that, I just wanted to draw anything to make her happy because she made me feel like I was the best artist in the world.
My favorite artist is Raphaelle Peale. I love his use of color and I really love his still life. I like another artist named Frederic Church. I started doing landscapes because of Frederic Church.
FW: Do you still have work at the Lucien Crump Gallery? Tell me about your connection to this gallery.
LF: I still have a few pieces there. Lucien was a really good friend of mine, and a great artist. After he passed away I kept in touch with his wife, and I ran a lot of the programs on his behalf. Lucien Crump was the first African American art gallery in Philadelphia. So it was pretty cool for her to choose me to continue his legacy.
The work of Leon Finney III can be seen at The Lucien Crump Art Gallery, 6378 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19144
