A couple years after graduating from Loyola Marymount University I landed a nice summer job in Long Beach, California. I was hired for about 2 months every year working for the Summer Youth Employment and Training Program. The SYETP program was run by Heather Green who hired me as a lead artist painting murals in the LBC. One summer in 1997 I was paired up with Elliot Pinkney to create murals for the Long Beach School for Adults. Although due to the theme we were given I had a very rough time designing a decent mural that year. None the less, I hit it off with Elliot and we spent about two months working with about 30 youth artists.
In front of our mural at Long Beach School for Adults, 1997.
Photo credit Heather Green
Elliot showing us his Metro art installation at Washington train station, 1997.
Photo: Man One
I learned so much from his approach and patience. He was always positive with the youth and had such an approachable manner about him. Although I didn’t get to see him much after that program, I was always running into his colorful murals all over town. When I heard of his passing in 2019 I created this sketch of him (below) as part of a mural I have been proposing ever since. Hopefully one day I will be able to add this portrait to a street mural and mentor some youth to assist me the way this Maestro of Compton taught me. Please read more about his story “How the Murals of Elliot Pinkney Captured the Creative Energy of Compton and Beyond” (by Jenise Miller) on PBS’s Artbound by clicking on any image or button below.
Click on image to link to the full story on PBS Socal.