We recently connected with Leonard Le’Doux and have shared our conversation below.

Leonard, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen?

I must say if you want to pursue a full-time career as a creative, you must really love what you do because money will not be there in the beginning. You must understand, unless you have a person that is committed to being your agent, getting you exhibitions, showings etc., you will have to do the business side of this yourself. It is more that just creating all day, let most artist would like to do. Your livelihood depends on you getting out that and looking for those opportunities to make money and get exposure. In the artworld, every artist feels that they are the best. And some feel as if they should be the only one’s in the limelight, but the talent is so great and there is enough meal for everyone to eat, if you stay focused and create from the heart.

Leonard, 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?

I am a lifelong artist. There has never been a time where I can remember not making stuff. I’m a teacher and a painter. I was born and raised in Kansas City, Kansas and I went to Northeast Junior High, Sumner High School and then graduated from F. L. Schlagle High School. I served in the U.S. Army for 22 years.

I later graduated from the University of Missouri Kansas City and received a bachelor’s degree in History and a Master’s of Arts in Education from the University of Saint Mary. I have never been school trained in Painting or drawing, but have been doing this all of my life.

Faces are special. You remember them long after you forget names. My paintings have a traditional classical style with a more modern look. My goal is to capture color and depth while incorporating elements from typography to abstraction to nonobjective. Historical subjects are my favorite.

Most of the painting are acrylic on canvas but occasionally I’ll experiment with other mediums.
All of the artwork that have been submitted with this application is an attempt to show diversity in my soul as well as an open mind toward the world. I am an artist that loves to express myself through all types of subjects, not just certain genres.

I have been doing this for at least 50 years, even when I was in the military I painted. I really got into this full time during the recent pandemic, which caused me to one day pick up my brush and see if I still had it.

If I had to say I provide something it would be my historical aspect to my paintings. I love to paint historical content which I believe sparks much needed conversation on several issues

I love to inspire our youth when they ask questions about what made me paint certain subject matter. I do it to show that history is our history not just my history.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

I enjoy making people ask questions about my intent in my work. I enjoy painting subjects that make us think about life. I do lots of figurative work and I try to ensure that facial expressions are alive and that people will ask what were they thinking.

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

I think that society should be more open minded. I feel that because an artist is Black, doesn’t mean that they ONLY DO BLACK ART. I feel are should be just that art, but because of our history of segregation and not being able to work together in the past, we have sort of divided our creativity into race. I would love for use to be able to enjoy art and it not be categorized as Black Art versus Art. I have seen anything that says here come check out this White Art.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/leonardledouxjrart
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/leonardledouxjr

Image Credits
I just want to thank Jan Jensen Artist and the African-American Artist Collective for allowing me to create my way.