DESCRIPTION:
"Queen Aya is part of an ongoing series of images based on my interest in Ghanaian Adinkra symbols and vintage photographs of traditional African portraiture."
ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Aaron Beatty is an illustrator, painter, comic book and digital artist from Philadelphia PA; a city that plays a major role in his life and work. Aaron has been making art from an early age starting with copying panels from his favorite comic books. This interest led him to study at The High School of Creative and Performing Arts, Pratt Institute and Parsons School of Design. Over the years he has worked in the comic book industry as an inker, a freelance illustrator, art director and teacher just to name a few.
Queen Aya by Aaron Beatty
Queen Aya (2019)
Aaron Beatty
Digital Collage
20”x 30" / Framed
"INK & DIGITAL: DRAWINGS AND COLLAGES" Art Exhibition
Aaron's creative influences are drawn from a diverse kaleidoscope of music, social events and cultural revolutionary artists of the 1970's. Music from Afro-Punk, Miles Davis, Nina Simone and Fela Kuti were his lyrical Sirens. Artists such as Jean Michel Basquiat, Jerry Pinkney and fellow art friends Reggie Byers, Christopher Taylor and Eric Battle fuels his collective fellowship with the Black Arts movement.
From his mastery of combining all these influential elements, Aaron has created imaginary images that honor the historical past, speaks to the present and focuses on the future. This exhibition compels the viewer to analyze the symbolic regions of the heart and soul and expand our interpretations of visual storytelling.