Newman Jackson

Even though Newman shares the same first name as his father, he is not a Jr. They have different middle names. He figures his parents wanted him to seek his own identity while maintaining an anchor to his genetics. He is the first of ten children who were raised in a two-bedroom house in a predominately Black neighborhood on the West side of Charleston, West Virginia. This was a neighborhood of eclectic personalities.

Even though this is Newman’s first foray into a career as a full time artisan, he has always had a finger in the arts, from doing posters and banners for different groups and individuals to just piddling around with drawing and painting for his amusement. While in the military, he was often called upon to paint holiday decorations or do drawings of the girlfriends of his shipmates. All throughout his primary school years, he frequently caught the attention of his art teachers. As a Black child, however, growing up during the late fifties and the sixties his exposure to Black role models in the arts was close to nil; that was to come later. His neighborhood had numerous Black professionals from doctors, lawyers, educators and others who appeared to be successful in whatever field they endeavored, but none of their careers were of interest to him. A career in the arts was not even a practical profession to seriously consider. The closest to an artist in Newman’s life was a neighborhood artisan named Arthur V. Haynes (A.V. Haynes). He was a sign painter and an iron fence welder.

Newman’s first introduction and interest to figure drawings were comic book superheroes and later the caricature artists like Li’l Abner’s Al Capp and Jim Davis and Mort Drucker of MAD magazine fame, not to mention, Frank Frazetta and most recently, Renzo out of California.

Always in the back of his mind, Newman has wanted to become a career artisan. In 1973, at the ripe old age of twenty-five, he enrolled at West Virginia State College under the G.I. bill majoring in art. The years at State College bought him into the fold of Della Brown Taylor, Culbert Smith, Paul Nuchims and Raymond McNamara. They are artisans of fabric, clay, canvas, metal, paint, ink and photography. The cup was getting full; he couldn’t get enough so he carried full time hours through all four seasons. Later, he carried this full schedule with a full time job, which was to be the demise of his schooling. Just 26 hours short of his degree, the full time job and full time schooling compromised his family of two children and a wife. So, he left school with the intent to finish the degree later.

Of the few artists Newman knew of, the greatest American artist who ever lived was Norman Rockwell. He looked forward to the new issue of “Post ”magazine. The stories he could tell in a single frame of art just awed him. Salvador Dali was a different kind of inspiration. His works reflected the way Newman saw images. Some of his favorite works from Dali were his paintings from the 1950s through 1970s. More specifically, his paintings; “Crucifixion”, “The discovery of America by Christopher Columbus” and “Christ of Saint John of the Cross” were very inspirational, just to name a few. One day Newman strives to combine Rockwell’s style of story telling with Dali’s style of imagery to speak in metaphors.

Newman’s choice of a surreal style of expression reflects his attitude about his own surreal life. From his childhood adventures, his military years to some of his adult explorations, he always seem to be in the middle of a dream hurdling over his personal goals. Consequently, most of his paintings will be a continuing work in progress and somewhat autobiographical.

Newman resides in Charleston, West Virginia where he is kicking off his second career as a full time artisan with an ambition to become an active name among art devotees. Despite the number of years in his life, Newman is in the infancy of his art. As he grows and develops, Newman’s life experience will meld with the maturing artist to create pieces that welcomes others to his imagination. Newman is an active member of West Virginia's Allied Artists.