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TWO BRENDA SINGLETARY PASTELS ON PAPER HANDSIGNED MEASURING 24X22 INCHES EACH IN PASTEL. ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL AND COLORFUL Singletary, Brenda. (active Atlanta, GA, 2010) Bibliography and Exhibitions MONOGRAPHS AND SOLO EXHIBITIONS: Atlanta (GA). Frazier Center. BRENDA SINGLETARY. 2000. Solo exhibition. Multimedia paintings on paper. Charleston (SC). African American History Museum. BRENDA SINGLETARY. 1999. Solo exhibition. Multimedia paintings on paper. Ellenwood (GA). Spence Art Gallery. BRENDA SINGLETARY. 2003. Solo exhibition. Multimedia paintings on paper. Rochester (MI). Oakland University Art Gallery. BRENDA SINGLETARY. 2002. Solo exhibition. Multimedia paintings on paper. GENERAL BOOKS AND GROUP EXHIBITIONS: ATLANTA (GA). Eklectic Gallery. Visual and Folk Art. November, 2001. Group exhibition. Included: Margaret Warfield, Brenda Singletary, Andrew Turner. Biography Artist Brenda Singletary was born on May 23, 1954 in Detroit, Michigan. She received her B.A. degree in art education from Morris Brown College. Prior to becoming a fulltime visual artist, she worked several years in television broadcasting until 1985. Singletary’s original pieces are done in oil, enamel, acrylic, gold leaf, and pastels; they range from figurative and abstract to floral and landscapes. Singletary’s experience in broadcasting, along with her artistic dedication, created a unique artistic career that is centered on projects to help support community non-profits. She has raised funds for organizations such as The March of Dimes, 100 Black Women and 100 Black Men, United Negro College Fund, the Atlanta Day Shelter, the Senior Connection, and the National Black MBA Association. Singletary served two years as a panel judge for the President’s Commission on White House Fellows. Her artwork is a part of the White House permanent art collection and hangs in the conference room of the White House Fellows Administration Office and the Georgia State Capital. In 2001, Singletary was invited by the White House as the guest lecturer for a luncheon hosted by the President’s Commission on White House Fellows to speak on current events and express her views as an African American artist. Collectors of Singletary’s work include Andrew Young, Hank Aaron, Terry McMillan, Thurbert Baker and Marion Wright Edelman. She has been presented with the American Express Cultural Arts Award, the Golden Sable Award from the United Negro College Fund, and the Daimler-Chrysler Motion through Expression Art Competition Award. As an advocate of community arts, Singletary has worked with Atlanta-area high schools and facilitated seminars for students who wish to express themselves creatively. Singletary lives in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Artist Statement Living my life as an artist was always a certainty. I consume colors, lights and textures all around me that fuels passion for my work. My path of artistic experimentation takes me on a journey that’s always growing and changing. As a woman of color, I illustrate a historical vision that exhibits my cultural perception of beauty. When I’m working I challenge myself to discover a higher level of art making by defining the rules, recreating and breaking them. I’ve formed strong ideas that shape the way I approach my paintings that humbles me with grace. Bio Artist Brenda Singletary, Originally from Detroit, attended Kettering Sr. High and Oakland University. She moved to Atlanta, Georgia and received her B.A. degree from Morris Brown College, and an MFA-IA from Goddard College in Vermont. Ms. Singletary is formerly a member of faculty as a teaching artist at the College of Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan. She is presently on the campus of Adrian Center for the Arts, in Adrian Michigan as artist in residence. Prior to becoming a fulltime visual artist, she worked several years in television broadcasting. Singletary’s original artworks are in pastels, acrylic, oil, cement and concrete. Images range from figurative and abstract to floral and landscapes Singletary served two years as a panel judge for the President’s Commission on White House Fellows and included in the Library of Congress through History Makers. Her artwork is a part of the White House permanent art collection and hangs in the conference room of the White House Fellows Administration Office and the Georgia State Capital. Singletary’s works are included in museums, art galleries, college/universities, and corporations such as AT&T, Ford foundation, McDonald’s Inc., Fox Television, Marriott, Kaiser-Permanente and many private collections. She has been presented with the American Express Cultural Arts Award, received the History Makers award, the Golden Sable Award from the United Negro College Fund, and the Daimler-Chrysler Motion through Expression Art Competition Award. Ms. Singletary received an artist residency award at Carmac Art Center in Marnay sur Seine France, to create a collection of work to exhibit there. Brenda Singletary, presently a teaching artist on the campus of Adrian Center for the Arts, in Adrian, MI, received an MFA-IA from Goddard College in Vermont. She is an accomplished artist with works that are part of the collections in the White House, Georgia State Capital, museums, corporations and so on. Singletary has also received many arts awards, including the American Express Cultural Arts Award. Brenda expresses herself through imagery. Everywhere she goes, seeing colors and textures that inspire new ideas are endless. Her passion for creating acrylic paintings, pastel drawings and sculptural paintings in concrete mounted on wood, takes her on a continuous journey that is forever growing and changing. It is the love of the process of art-making that’s spiritual, her workplace becoming as a church. Singletary makes art that provides a service. She is committed to working with intense community collaborations based on projects that speak to a cause or need through fundraising. This is the essence of her practice, creating with purpose. She looks for opportunities to display her art in non-traditional spaces that connect with diverse communities. She moves a bright turquoise pastel across the paper while Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” floats through the air. A new drawing is emerging. Across the studio is the original created 14 years ago. The piece, “Three Sisters” (Brenda’s beloved sisters) is being recaptured through brighter colors and tones, yet the timeless image lives on. Brenda Singletary’s interest in art began as a young child. When the newspapers came, her father pulled the “funny papers” and drew the characters he saw. She followed suit and quickly discovered her talent for art. Brenda began her pursuit of a Bachelor’s Degree in Art Education at Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia. But it was after years of a life in television production that she decided to again follow her passion for art. She says, “ I didn’t want to get stuck in the trap – a career, a house, a car, and so on.” It was time to pursue her dream of being an entrepreneurial artist. She began with a bold goal: “to single [herself] out amongst a sea of artists!” She set a route across Atlanta, Knoxville, Memphis, Chattanooga, and Florida, cold-calling galleries, interior design houses, and set-decorators. She carried her work selling to whomever would purchase it. She stopped into hundreds of locations a few times a year marketing her work. Brenda took what she could get often pinching herself in excitement exclaiming, “I can’t actually believe I can make art for a living!” She also had the desire to become a “Community Service Artist” – to beautify the community, to educate, and to raise funds for non-profit organizations through her artwork. She began partnering with non-profits such as the United Way, United Negro College Fund, and other groups offering her art in a one-woman auction called “Art Rescues”. She would complete 70 or so pieces of art to be auctioned at a fundraiser, donating a significant portion of the funds to the non-profit. Twenty years later she continues to serve communities this way. “Art Rescues” have become a signature work for Singletary. In 1997 and 1998, she was selected to be a panel judge for the President’s Commission on White House Fellows in Washington, D.C. She offered her services to the head of the commission and was commissioned to create a pastel piece titled “Unity” which continues to hang in the White House to this day. It was not until 2013 when Brenda completed her Interdisciplinary Masters of Fine Art at Goddard College. “Education is a tool to get one started to learn the basic usage of mediums,” says Brenda, “but there are so many things you can do beyond the typical. Take it further than what [the medium] is ‘supposed’ to do. Demand that the medium does more…to get maximum results. Then the work becomes your fingerprint – an actual style.” Singletary’s fingerprint confirms her belief in this statement. She works with multiple mediums and supplies: pastels, acrylics, oil paints, wire, fabric, feathers. Most recently, she has been experimenting with sculptural paintings. This process involves painting on a non-porous surface and then pouring hydrostone over the painting within a square stencil. Hydrostone is a building material which is strong, yet lighter than regular cement. After the hydrostone dries, the mold is removed exposing a 3-dimensional painting underneath. The painting is then enhanced with additional paints or other materials. Another element of Singletary’s fingerprint style is viewed even in her seemingly simple floral pastel drawings. She often combines the pastels with water or even vaseline. In each work produced, her goal is to “make the last piece better than before.” A newer resident to Adrian, MI, Brenda has found her place in a studio at the Adrian Center for the Arts, where she prefers to work in the early morning hours before the second story, industrial-style building heats up in the warm sunshine. She loves having visitors stop in and chat about her artwork, which ranges from abstract paintings, sculptural paintings, floral pastel drawings, and figurative mixed media pieces. Take time to meet Brenda Singletary at Artalicious and view her unique mixed media pieces. Her passionate spirit will overflow as she explains each “fingerprinted” creation! Brenda Singletary Artist Brenda Singletary, originally from Detroit, attended Kettering Sr. High and Oakland University. She moved to Atlanta, Georgia and received her B.A. degree from Morris Brown College, and an MFA-IA from Goddard College in Vermont. Ms. Singletary is formerly a member of faculty as a teaching artist at the College of Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan. She is presently on the campus of Adrian Center for the Arts, in Adrian Michigan as a studio artist. Prior to becoming a fulltime visual artist, she worked several years in television broadcasting. Singletary’s original artworks are in pastels, acrylic, oil, cement and concrete. Images range from figurative and abstract to floral and landscapes Singletary served two years as a panel judge for the President’s Commission on White House Fellows and included in the Library of Congress through History Makers. Her artwork is a part of the White House permanent art collection and hangs in the conference room of the White House Fellows Administration Office and the Georgia State Capital. Singletary’s works are included in museums, art galleries, college/universities, and corporations such as AT&T, Ford foundation, McDonald’s Inc., Fox Television, Marriott, Kaiser-Permanente and many private collections. She has been presented with the American Express Cultural Arts Award, received the History Makers award, the Golden Sable Award from the United Negro College Fund, and the Daimler-Chrysler Motion through Expression Art Competition Award. Ms. Singletary received an artist residency award at Carmac Art Center in Marnay sur Seine France, to create a collection of work to exhibit there. As an advocate for the arts, Brenda offers classes, workshops to non-profit groups with members who wish to express themselves creatively