What Happens When Passion and Talent Mesh: Art
Brandon Coley
Drawing is an outlet where thoughts come to life. It can be uplifting, fulfilling and inspirational. Drawing also is a special talent that involves skill and patience, but for Brandon Coley, a senior computer graphics and design major from Muskegon, Mich., it is a passion.
“I’ve always loved to draw,” said Coley, who developed his passion for art when he was a little boy. “I’ve been drawing for as long as I can remember. It just comes natural to me. I even have fond memories of Etch-A-Sketch. Art is just essential to my very being.”
Coley was awarded a scholarship to the Kendall College of Art and Design in Grand Rapids, Mich., but put his goals on hold when he joined the Navy at age 17.
“I was a plane captain, not to be confused with the rank of Captain,” Coley explained. “I took care of jet fighters and was a personnel specialist.”
Today, Coley is an award-winning artist who works as the graphics editor of the WSSU student newspaper, The News Argus, and designs logos for campus organizations. He received awards from his graphics and editorial cartoons from the Black Communication Association and the N. C. College Media Association. Coley is also one of 41 collegiate artists to have had their work displayed in the “Self, Observed” juried exhibition held in conjunction with the “Rembrandt in America” program at the N. C. Museum of Art in Raleigh.
The exhibition showcased the exploration of identity that preoccupied Rembrandt throughout his life. Coley’s wining submission was an oil painting entitled “Khepera,” a term that comes from the name of an ancient Egyptian god associated with self-regeneration and self-renewal. It was a self-portrait that he said was a symbol of his inner rage.
“Inspiration drives all of my work and the piece for this competition was no different,” Coley explained. “When it comes to my passion for the fine arts, I don’t play games. It is my career and I take it seriously. I feel like this is the opening to the next chapter of my life”
While Coley was one of 41 artists from 14 different colleges and universities nationwide to be selected for the exhibit, he was the only artist from a HBCU (Historically Black College and University). He said that maybe his winning will open up more doors for other artists at HBCUs.
Aside from drawing cartoons and computer graphic design, Coley is currently preparing for his senior exhibit in March. “The exhibit includes figurative oil paintings and you won’t want to miss it,” Coley said.
After graduation, he plans to attend graduate school for a Master’s Degree in Fine Arts.
“In the future, I hope that my work will have evolved and that it commands the attention of the world,” Coley added. “There is something I am supposed to do with my art that will communicate to the masses a new form of rhetorical serenity.”
