By Chelsea Davis-Bibb, Ed.D.
Photo Credit: Renaissance Phototgraphy
Recently, Douglas James, also known as Art By Nato, participated in an art show hosted by Eternal Light Entertainment. The purpose of the event was to “set up a forum for artists to actually have their own solo show, so people can see the soul of an artist, which was the theme of the show.”
When people review his artwork, he wants them to “take a sense of hope,” and to be “inspired based off someone else’s personal experience, in order to inspire them to be better. “I also want them to understand who I am as a person,” he explained.
His concept for the show was “The World is Yours,” which was tied to the song off Nas’ Illmatic album. Inspired by Hip-Hop, he wanted to tie that theme with his art pieces. Art By Nato has other inspirations that is instrumental in his work. The inspiration may range from the many talented artist in Houston, or other artist like Faith Ringgold and his favorite artist of all time, Jean Michael-Basquiat.
Art By Nato loves the work of Basquiat because “his artwork was very simplistic, but at the same time, very meaningful and powerful.” He loves the way he used words within his art pieces, and the way he paints. He further mentioned, “I like his backgrounds, people, and how he actually portrayed black people in his artwork, because that’s not highly recognized in the art world.”
As a Black male artist in today’s society, Art By Nato feels that being in the art industry is very powerful. “It’s very powerful because you don’t necessarily see Black men in this field. It’s a gift from God for you to scrape something in your head and put it all on the canvas. You’re trying to tell your own story, and with technology on the rise, you’re able to get your work out to millions of people.”
During the show, Art By Nato and the other artists who participated in the show were presented with a plaque from Mayor Tuner as a special appreciation for putting the show on for Houston. In addition, Art by Nato was personally recognized because he was able to sell some of his artwork to the well-known filmmaker Spike Lee. Art By Nato posted some of his work on Instagram and not too long after, he received a message from Lee who was interested in one of his pieces. According to Art by Nato, Lee told him, “I just wanted to say game recognizes game, you have such an amazing talent, keep on doing what you do, and I can’t wait to get this piece from you.” This was a big opportunity for him, and he was very appreciative of Lee’s encouragement and interest in his work.
For young artist, Art By Nato wants them to keep going and to find their passion. “Don’t let anyone else tell you that you can never do anything. Keep on moving, keep going, keep pushing and never give up.” He concluded stating, “Focus on your craft. Focus on you and everything else will come into place. “
