We recently connected with Khalid Thompson and have shared our conversation below.

Khalid , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?

Back in 1997 when I was a junior in high school, I took an elective Creative Writing class that changed my life forever. I’ll never forget my teacher’s name. Her name was Ms. Perkinson and she allowed us to speak our truth and encouraged our unique voices. I began to write poetry at this time and for the first time in my life I took a sincere interest in creativity. My brother, sister, and I grew up under a single mother who worked two to three jobs, and my father was imprisoned from age seven to twenty. My upbringing was unstable in every way and as a young child I had a very low sense of self-worth and meaning. Writing poetry gave me a sense of purpose, where I could use my imagination to escape the mundane reality of life and see myself in a way that empowered me. It was during this time that I emotionally knew that I wanted to be a lifetime creative who at some point down the road could pursue creativity as a full-time career.

However, it wasn’t until almost a decade later while living in Washington DC that I would truly find the creative path that best suited my spirit and inspired me to pursue visual art seriously.

In 2006 my ex-wife introduced me to a visual artist by the name of Cherif Mamadou. He is from the Ivory Coast and is by far one of the most passionate visual artists I know. After meeting him for the first time and witnessing his courageous freedom of expression I became immediately intrigued and started to reengage drawing. Before I knew it, within the year I was buying paint and art supplies and started experimenting with different approaches that were based in intuition. This period of exploration triggered a deep sense of satisfaction that painting was the creative direction that I had to pursue professionally, since then I have been totally dedicated to a professional career in Visual Art

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My artistic approach is using one’s intuition to find a deeper, more sincere connection to the forces of life. Through Abstraction I try to develop a visual language that speaks to one’s spirit, using color and form as a bridge to the mystical, subconscious, and universal. As a self-taught artist, my mission is to share the philosophy that creating art is a healing modality that is essential to expanding one’s perspective on life and it vital to the life blood of the culture.

As a Black American, a large part of my inspiration stems from the desire to connect my contemporary present with a more ancient and established cultural heritage. Due to the tragedies of colonialism, it has been a challenge to access the contributions of my Black American and African ancestors. Alot of the history has been distorted and destroyed, so I use the influences of African and Diasporic cultural expressions to draw parallels which I intuitively express on the canvas. I am a big fan of jazz music, and a larger part of my artistic influence comes from an era in western art called “Post World War Two Abstract Expressionism”. During this time artists and musicians in New York City would create together in order discover connections between color and sound, and how spontaneity can inspire creative catharsis.
Jazz musicians such as John Coltrane and painters such as Jackson Pollock really challenged the standards of their day and both artists have had the biggest impact on my artistic direction. Since 2015 I do live painting performances with jazz musicians to further display and promote these connections between the two creative practices to show how cooperative creative alliances strengthen the artists and community.

Whether in studio, or working live with jazz musicians the emphasis of my approach is to be completely honest with myself in the moment. Over time I have cultivated a style that relies on the emotional need to create personal space for freedom. Every brushstroke to piece of mixed media applied to the canvas is unplanned, allowing the present circumstances to guide my execution. My styles range from gesturally expressive to bold, flat geometrically designed works of art. There is an emphasis on using strong primary and bright colors to capture the attention of the audience. The main motive is to invite the viewer into another dimension of experience. Worlds of energy and activity just beyond their sensory awareness, yet these forces play essential roles in creating our reality.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

Trusting my instincts and walking the path of an abstract artist has shown me that I am completely committed to the purpose of being true to myself and my destiny. There is nothing more gratiying than making a living from your passion during the times when there’s money, and during the times where money’s tight and you’re not sure when the next opportunity will come. Pursuing a full time career as an artist can come with great challeneges, but if you have the commitment and courage to stand on your principles there is nothing more inspiring than to know that you have converted your dreams into a reality.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

MY mission as an artist is to continually inspire myself and others to be as true to themselves as possible. Society is designed to make it difficult for creatives to make a living yet the same society gets so many of their ideas and sense of the larger world from artists. Whether people as a whole appreciate the creative arts or not, the arts play an essential role in everyone’s life. From clothes to music, architecture, to the creative beauty of nature, art shapes our daily lives so when we connect with individuals who focus on creativity we have to acknowledge their genuine desire to help humanity appreciate all of they things that make life meaningful.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.khalidthompson.com
• Instagram: @khalid_thompson
• Facebook: https://facebook.com/artofkhalidthompson