Keep your eye on this artist

Whiz kid Charles Black creates memorable wildlife art
by Corinne Livesay

Twenty-one-year-old artist Charles Black is fortunate to have supportive parents who, through the years, have encouraged him to "follow his bliss," as philosopher Joseph Campbell would say.
Black's father, Dennis, is an avid bow and arrow hunter and has provided a variety of wilderness experiences that have been influential in the development of their son's artistic aspirations. His mother, Kathy, a warm and attractive woman who's been a registered and certified dental assistant for 30 years, said she always made sure there were all sorts of art materials available at home.
It has been these two opportunities, plus additional encouragement from teachers and principals, that have all come together to contribute to Black's budding artistic career.
If you go to the Web site Black developed himself, Charles-Black.net, you'll probably say the same thing to yourself as I did. "Wow! And this kid is only 21? What talent."
Black is presently a student at the University of North Dakota at Grand Forks. "Originally," he said, "I was a major in wildlife biology, but this spring I changed to a major in fine arts."
His mother said that he sometimes gets in the car and drives north to the woods to just sit, drawing and observing.
"At about five," said Black, "my dad got me my first bow and arrow. We explored on animal trips by Redwood Falls along the Minnesota River, and when I was six, we went to Quetico Provincial Park and fished. At age 12, I harvested my first deer with bow and arrow, and by 13 was really enjoying the wildlife."
The family have also been members of Chilakoot Bowhunters Club, a family-oriented club near Stillwater, since l973. The group has 53 acres, and sponsors public shoots and leagues.
As a kid, Black said, "Being an artist never crossed my mind because artists just can't make it." But there were plenty of opportunities throughout his school career that pointed in that direction. "My school notebooks were always filled with (impromptu) sketches of wildlife."
In 5th or 6th grade, he drew a mallard that so impressed his principal that he asked if he would donate it for an auction. Charles agreed.
"And in junior high, I entered a competition for a T-shirt emblem and won," he said, proudly showing me the T-shirt. His dad says he wears his all the time.
"I've taken an art course every semester since the 11th grade, and I've submitted one of my works to the Phipps," said Black.
On the day I interviewed Black and his family, he'd just returned from entering one of his works for the State Fair.
"This," he said, "is the beginning for me." I can guarantee, however, most of us would be more than satisfied if we ever got close to his present level of expertise.
A number of his works, mostly done with graphite, white acrylic and colored pencil, were arrayed in a corner of the family living room when I arrived, all in order of his artistic development from the first grade on. His mother saw so much talent and got so much pleasure from his first early painting, that she saved and framed it. (Don't we all?)
It was swaths of color, as in most children's early grade school pictures, but there was also something very special about his. I think it had to do with composition and color. It was subtle and lovely. Just put the name of a famous modern artist on it, and most anyone would be convinced.
Then, there was a mallard painting the principal had singled out, perfectly proportioned and colored, but lacking the detail of his later work, which shows the delicacy and detail of an observant and disciplined, mature mind.
Next, a print of the vicious, open-mouthed bear Black used on his Web site. One can almost smell the animal and feel the coarse-textured hair, each of which seemed attached to actual living bear skin.
Several poses of white-tailed deer followed. In one, a buck cranes its neck, reaching for a high branch on which to nibble, while tips of a side branch are lost in his upbraided white neck fur. That single and observant touch brings the animal to life, and again, the artistry is so painstakingly delicate that one wants to feel the painting as if to caress the actual animal fur.
There are also drawings of dogs and cats.
Black told me that he's trying to develop a style that is more unique to himself, rather than producing pictures that seem photographic.
"I don't want people to look at my work and see it as another standard work. Essentially," he added, "I'm self-taught."
He's also trying to work out more standard sizes for his work, as framing is expensive, particularly for large works.
"I really want to expand and try a few things," he said, "but it's hard to find the time for such things."
It was a bald eagle drawing that filled out his display and exemplifies his search for an artistic identity. Still painstakingly executed, the background slowly graduates into color which frames and highlights the bird's majestic head.
"There's a lot of planning to begin a drawing, and patience is the key to drawing," Black explained. "It starts out slowly, and you think it's never going to end. But suddenly, it really goes.
"I also draw through my eyes," he continued. "I credit a lot of my ability with ‘reading' my subject through my eyes. Lots of people just want to get their pencil going, but I examine and visualize how my pencil's going to go and remember that a reflection is just a little pattern."
Advice? "My advice is to stick to your passion. Draw something that means something to you," he said. "I always found it interesting to look at the works of others to see how they developed, and that taught me a lot about my work and how I developed."
The classes Black has taken so far at the university have been of the sort most of us may have experienced — "lots of the standard still-life stuff," as he calls it — not horribly exciting, like having to practice scales by the hour when one would rather tackle the composition.
"But school has helped me visualize three dimensionality and proportion. I got an email from my art professor at North Dakota saying they're going to be challenging me this year," he said. "After this semester, I'll begin my fine arts major."
Besides his usual subject matter, Black has had many requests for pet portraits. One of a Golden Retriever was requested as a donation for a foundation in Seattle that ran across his work on his Web site. Last year, he said, he got a lot of dog commissions, "so many that I hardly had time to do what I wanted." But with the market for pet portraits so active, one could almost make a living in that niche alone. His pet portraits are some of the best I've seen, and he's sold a number of his works on e-Bay. Since February, he said he's made about a thousand dollars on his art. (I suggested that he charge more.)
Marketing is a struggle — one of the biggest problems relatively unknown artists face. Since Dennis Black retired from a managerial position at X-cel's Allan King plant in 2005, however, he has the opportunity to help and advise his son on marketing and other issues.
"He's talented, and it's fun to see him progress from something small to all of a sudden focus on drawing, and seeing the cash potential," says his dad, "But we try to stress the common sense part. Being realistic, he needs to take some business classes so he has something to fall back on in case he needs to. He'd make a good teacher. He's got a lot to offer."
Perhaps, though, Black's talent will make its way pretty much on its own, possibly covers for wildlife magazines such as Field and Stream and even books.
"Too bad," I said, "that they have only duck stamps, but not other wildlife stamp competitions in which you could enter, as well."
"I still believe he's capable of doing something good enough for a stamp," said Dennis. "He has what it takes."
"Have you ever heard of the Web site, deviantart.com?" Black asked me. With that, I was a little taken aback. His folks grinned. They knew what I was thinking. But I was informed that it isn't as it sounds.
Black said he's belonged to the site for five years. "It's a site where 70,000 unique art works are submitted daily in many different categories, photographs and all types of art from people ranging in age from about 18 to 24 years. I get hundreds of comments and feedback. Thousands view my work, and it helps me decide what people like. There are 37 million pieces of art on that Web site. It's my biggest source of inspiration. One woman, a cartoonist, was even hired through that site by the producers of the Simpsons."
Black does most of his work on a table in front of the TV, but he said doesn't really watch the TV, it's more like background. Amazing how the mind can compartmentalize and multitask. Would-be artists, take heart. Noise can be positive.
You'd think there'd be little time left for this young, fresh-faced, athletic young man to zero in on anything else, but he's also become an avid cyclist and a member of the U.N.D. bike team.
"We do collegiate racing," he said. "I've done 3,500 miles this summer, averaging about 50 miles a day." His mom makes sure he has a cell phone with him, though.
"He's driven to be the best," his father said.
"I never really owned a bike until last year," admitted Black. "I joined the school cycling club last year and have gotten to be quite the active member. I'm the secretary and have helped develop their Web site. The club began with just a few, and now it's close to 30 and expanding."
Black's brother is a computer geek, studying computer science at UW-Madison. "Is there anyone in the family who has an artistic bent?" I asked.
"Well, my grandma makes greeting cards and has a series going," said Black. "She says that's where I get my talent. And I have a cousin who is a sculptor, architect and woodworker."
"Isn't it wonderful to be around young people?" asked his mother. "I mean, it's exciting to see their dreams with none of the negativies — when everything seems possible.
"Of course, success is different for everybody," she added, "but kids, with their enthusiasm, can see the bigger picture. They're just so much fun to be around."