We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jerome Fleming a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Jerome, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project I ever worked on was a watercolor illustration I created around the brutal death of George Floyd, an unarmed African American man killed while in the custody of the Minneapolis Police.

This incident which the majority of the world witnessed happened in 2020, right during the height of the Covid 19 Pandemic. I absolutely couldn’t believe what I was witnessing happening live on TV. I was stunned, heartbroken, furious, and completely helpless.

The killing of George Floyd ultimately changed the direction and focus of my artwork.

The piece is titled: CAW To Action, and depicts a crow in place of US President Andrew Jackson on a crumpled $20 bill. The crow speaks directly to the history and continuing problems of the Jim Crow Era, and the $20 bill is in reference to the supposed/alleged crime that George Floyd was accused of… passing a counterfeit $20 bill. All the details within this painting speak to the history of the past and how it relates to the present and specifically to the death of George Floyd.

Jerome, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is Jerome Fleming (aka Kulorbandit), and I was born and raised in the Bay Area, CA. As long as I can remember I was always interested in art. Having grown up in the the city, I was really inspired by the sites, sounds, and culture. One of my favorite forms to this day continues to be graffiti which was prevalent in & around the areas I frequented growing up.

Immediately after graduating HS in 1993, I decided to move to AZ in pursuit of a career in Graphic Design. However unbeknownst to me that market was still in it’s infancy, especially in AZ. So for the next few years I worked a number of odds and end jobs all while still working on honing my craft as an artist.

In 2000 I finally landed my first and only job which utilized my graphic skills, designing course graphics for a local golf publication company. My work produced during my tenure at the company till this day can still be viewed in a number of golf publications such as Golf World, Golf Digest, and countless yardage books and scorecards for premier, destination, resort golf courses around the world.

In 2006 I finally married the love of my life and we welcomed the birth of our son a year later. It was then I made the decision to become a full-time stay at home father and pursue the next career as the Freelance Artist that I am today.

My artwork has under-gone a number iterations since my time as a graphic designer. I went from designing landscape styled digital graphics of iconic golf holes to now focusing primarily on portraiture created with acrylics, watercolor, ink, or even digitally. I’ve always enjoyed drawing the human face and features, even dabbled a bit in drawing them with a more realistic approach. However, realism didn’t suit me. These days it’s my abstract, geometric styled portraits that i’m most known for. A style that was conceived from an online competition. I see shapes in whatever subject matter i’m creating, from people, places, animals, even inanimate objects. Features, details, emotions, and textures in all these subjects lends perfectly to my style. A style that is still relatively fresh to me and continuing to evolve. My goal is to tell stories with portraiture, that links the past with the present either through historical content or personal journey’s.

My style, coupled with any given subject matter is what sets me apart from others, and i’m just getting started. As I like to say during casual conversations with friends, family, even clients… “you haven’t seen nothing yet”. Anyone who’s been supporting me, following me, purchased art rather it was an original, a print, a sticker, evens those who messaged me words of encouragement should know that all of these factors have contributed to my journey as an artist. Each piece created is a direct, authentic reflection of me and my audience.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Artist/creatives have a unique voice, vision, insight to their local communities, world views, etc. No matter where you reside, support your local artist, or even non-local artist who’s work you love by buying directly from them. Meet them where they are by showing up to their shows, pop-ups, and exhibitions… it means the world to creatives to meet those who appreciate us and our craft. Follow them through social media, get to know them, even off platform if possible. Society as a whole should want to whole-heartedly embrace these communities by providing them with funding and resources at both the state and local levels. You lose these unique voices and perspectives when we as a society continue to cut these programs from communities that are severely under-funded and under-appreciated.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

As an African American Artist, my goal, albeit not always easy, is to tell the stories of my time and my culture for the next generation to be inspired by!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @kulorbandit
• Twitter: @TheKulorbandit

Image Credits
All photo image credits belong to the Artist Jerome Fleming.