Category Archives: Bearded Men

1001 Black Men #928

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I saw this man through the window during my art afternoon at the Hive. He was one of several Black men who either walked past the cafe or stopped in. I enjoy drawing figures who have some sort of variation on the traditional beard or goatee, so this highly symmetrical guy with the slightly unkempt chin beard was a perfect subject. I also really like drawing knit caps. The texture is a fun challenge, especially if you like to do line work. I included this guy’s beard and sideburn (and haircut) stubble to add to the texture in the portrait.

Ajuan Mance

1001 Black Men #926

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My job has become a bit hectic in recent weeks, and so I’ve had to sneak in my art whenever I’ve had a spare moment. I’ve had to make the most of each of spare hour or two, and so my afternoon at the Hive resulted in several new drawings for this series. This dapper business man with the impeccably trimmed beard sat across from us long enough for me to complete this portrait.

Ajuan Mance

 

 

1001 Black Men #921

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I met Karl Reeves, the man in this drawing, at the opening of my June 2015 show at SoleSpace. He was kind enough to invite me to his pop-up art and retail space, to record a short film on my work. Many thanks to him and to the Veudo Child Crew for the opportunity to share my work in this way. A relatively recent emigre from the midwest, Karl is an artist himself, as well as the creator of the Art is for Lovers gallery in Bronzeville, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A true force for positive change in the Milwaukee art scene, we are fortunate that he has chosen to make the SF Bay Area his home.

Ajuan Mance

1001 Black Men #917

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Brooklyn Museum, Spring 2015:

At the same time as the Kehinde Wiley show,  the Brooklyn Museum was also presenting an exhibition of the notebooks of Jean-Michel Basquiat, in a different gallery.

I spotted this young museum goer at the entrance of the Basquiat show. He carried himself with the poise of Beyoncé Knowles and the self-possession of Maya Angelou.

Even in progressive Brooklyn, his lace top and carefully chosen accessories stood out among even the other LGBTQ Black people at the museum that day; and looking at him made me very aware of all the ways my appearance doesn’t draw the attention of others. As edgy and stylish as I might think I am, the world sees me a just another middle-aged Black woman in a v-neck sweater, perhaps a bit under-accessorized, but otherwise unremarkable.

It may seem strange to commend someone simply for dressing their body as they please; but that is the world in which we live. I admired this young person’s absolute refusal not to be himself.

Ajuan Mance

1001 Black Men #911

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At the end of last April, I saw the Kehinde Wiley exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. Wiley is best known for his portraits of everyday Black men in heroic poses that are often based on old master paintings.

The exhibit was breathtaking, and the experience of walking into the first gallery of the show is something I will never forget. Mad props to the Brooklyn Museum for creating the most moving and dramatic entrance into a show that I have ever encountered. A lot of the paintings in this show were huge–up to 96″ x 72″ and even larger; and they were beautiful, every single one.

As much as I loved the paintings, I loved seeing the Black men at the show even more. Their expressions ranged from amused to rapt to proud, and I wondered what it must have felt like to walk through an entire exhibition of works celebrating their beauty and power.

Several of the drawings in this part of the 1001 Black Men series are the result of me looking at real-life Black men looking at Wiley’s paintings of Black men. The background of each of these drawings evokes the richly patterned backgrounds for which the artist is known.

Ajuan Mance

1001 Black Men #902

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I recently walked into a Chili’s restaurant. I was in the midst of a long and stressful workday, and I need to get away from my office to relax and clear my head. I was looking for a sports-oriented restaurant where I could watch a little ESPN or Fox Sports  and have some buffalo wings.

Curiously enough, Chili’s does not serve buffalo wings. They do, however, begin their happy hour at 11am. That likely explains the number of people seated at the bar in the middle of the day. The man in this drawing was part of a multi-racial, multi-ethnic group of construction workers seated around the bar enjoying French fries, televised sports, and large glasses of beer. For a few minutes, I sat at a nearby table taking in the surroundings and imagining what it must be like to go to work so early in the morning, that after work drinks begin around 2pm.

Then, after confirming that the only buffalo “wings” at Chili’s are boneless (in other words, breaded chunks of chicken breast with no dark meat anywhere in sight), I got up from my table and headed back out to my car.

Next time I’m seeking the peaceful diversion of sports and spicy wings, I’ll stop in for lunch at Ricky’s Sports Theater. They’ve got over 90 screens of sports programming, and chicken wings are always on the menu.

Ajuan Mance