Larry D. Alexander facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Larry D. Alexander
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| Born |
Larry Dell Alexander
May 30, 1953 Dermott, Arkansas, U.S.
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| Nationality | American |
| Education | Self-taught |
| Known for | Visual artist, author, catechism, evangelist |
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Notable work
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Clinton Family Portrait |
| Movement | Realism |
Larry Dell Alexander, born on May 30, 1953, is an American artist and Christian author. He comes from Dermott, Arkansas. Alexander is famous for his detailed and colorful drawings made with "pen and ink". He uses a special technique called "crosshatching" or "hatching". He also creates beautiful acrylic paintings.
His art shows the experiences of African-American people. It also tells stories from all of American history. In 1995, he painted a "Clinton Family Portrait" and gave it to U.S. President Bill Clinton. President Clinton thanked him personally for it. This painting is now at the Clinton Presidential Library in Little Rock, Arkansas. Larry D. Alexander is also known for his "Arkansas Schools Tours" which he did from 1996 to 2006. In recent years, he is well-known for his writings and teachings about Christianity.
Contents
Larry D. Alexander's Early Life and Art Career
Larry Alexander was born in Dermott, Arkansas. He was the fourth of ten children. He started drawing when he was about four years old. He never went to art school or had formal art training. There were no art classes available in his small hometown.
After finishing Dermott High School in 1971, Alexander moved to Pine Bluff, Arkansas. There, he studied how to design buildings. Later, he also studied computer-aided design (AutoCAD) in Dallas, Texas.
Today, six of his artworks are in a special collection at the Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas. These pieces are from his "Dermott Series." This series shows paintings about his childhood home. Alexander's art is often inspired by his own life. This includes growing up in the rural South in the 1950s and 1960s. It also includes his time living in Detroit, Michigan, in the 1970s and 1980s.
After two years of school in Pine Bluff, Alexander moved to Detroit. He wanted to find a job in design but couldn't right away. Instead, he started working at a Chrysler car factory. He became very interested in how cars work. This led him to become a certified mechanic. He worked as a mechanic for seventeen years. In Detroit, he met and married his wife, Patricia. They moved their family to Irving, Texas. There, he opened his own car repair shop and ran it until 1991.
Patricia encouraged him to start drawing again. He hadn't used his art talent in fifteen years. This is when his career as a professional artist truly began. He developed his "pen and ink" style called "crosshatching". He used this style to create greeting cards for his company, "Alexander Greeting Cards Company." He called his first line of cards "The Expressions Line" in 1991. Between 1991 and 1994, he made over 80 "pen and ink" artworks. These included "Renetta," "Girlfriends," and "Cowboy Fiddler." He also used many of his drawings on his "Fine-arTshirt" T-shirt line.
Alexander is also a "realist painter." This means he paints things to look very real. He uses different types of paint like oils, acrylics, and watercolors. He is a self-taught artist. He likes to show his art in places where many people can see it. These places include festivals, schools, malls, libraries, banks, and even post offices.
The Dermott Series
In 1996, Alexander finished his popular "Dermott Series." This collection has 20 oil and acrylic paintings. They offer a look back at his childhood in rural southeast Arkansas. The paintings show people, buildings, and places in Dermott, Arkansas. For example, they include a cotton gin, his childhood home, and his old school. Alexander said he created this series for personal reasons. He was very happy with how people reacted to it. The series includes paintings like "Birthplace," "Where I grew up," and "Picking Cotton."
The Detroit Series
In 1999, Alexander showed his "Detroit Series." This series has oil and acrylic paintings of different places in Detroit, Michigan. He showed them at the American Black Artist Institute in Detroit. The nine paintings include scenes from Belle Isle Park, the Detroit skyline, and the Detroit River. They also show Hitsville USA (the original home of Motown Records) and Greektown Historic District.
The Delta Series
In May 1998, Alexander showed his "Delta Series." He painted this series entirely with acrylics. He showed it during "the Arkansas Schools Tours." That year, the tour also went to Greenville, Mississippi, and Memphis, Tennessee. This series includes paintings of the Mississippi Alluvial Plain region. It shows places from Monroe, Louisiana, to Memphis. Some paintings include Graceland, Elvis Presley's former home, and the Greenville Courthouse. It also features a view of Beale Street in Memphis and his famous "Cotton Farm" painting. One painting from this series, "Aunt Eira Mae," was given to the African American Museum (Dallas, Texas) in 2004.
The Sixties Series
Alexander's most popular Pen and Ink art series is "The Sixties Series." He finished it in 1993. It has been shown in schools, libraries, and art places. This series has detailed drawings of famous people and events from the 1960s. These include the civil rights Selma to Montgomery marches of 1965. It also has portraits of Martin Luther King Jr., Lyndon Johnson, Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, and Rosa Parks. This series also covers the Vietnam War.
Two main pieces in the collection are "Composite Sixties" and "Composite Protests." These show a mix of people, places, and events from the 1960s. For example, they show images of presidents like John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Richard M. Nixon. They also show Jackie Kennedy and images of U.S. astronauts landing on the moon in 1969. Many American protests from this busy time are also shown.
African-American History Book
In 2001, Alexander finished his first book, African-American History at a Glance. This book included many pen and ink drawings. These drawings showed African-Americans who helped make America successful. Mr. Alexander believes there isn't enough information about African-Americans in school history lessons. He said, "There are a lot of schools that offer it as a choice to students, but I think it should be a part of regular American history."
His book was used to help create extra learning materials. The Irving Independent School District put these materials together in 2002. They wanted to make the American history lessons better in high schools in Irving, Texas. Alexander's book purposely does not focus on African-American contributions in sports and entertainment. He feels these areas are already very well known. He wrote in his book that he wanted to highlight contributions that have often been ignored.
The Arkansas School Tours
Larry Alexander and his cousin, Lawrence "Larry" Crockett, both grew up in Dermott, Arkansas. In 1996, they started the first "Arkansas schools tour." In May of that year, they visited ten schools in seven cities over four days. Crockett and his son, B.J., traveled with Alexander on the first tour. B.J. was in the Broadway musical Carousel at the time. After the first year, Alexander continued the tour by himself until 2007.
Alexander wanted to give back to his home state of Arkansas. He wanted to help and encourage the children there. Because the first tour was so successful, he decided to do it once a year for the next ten years. The main goal was to give hope to the children of Arkansas. It also aimed to help them make good choices as they grew up. Alexander usually ended his tour with an art show and print signing at the Dermott, Arkansas Crawfish Festival.
Religion and Christian Art
Alexander is a very religious Christian. He teaches Sunday school and has been a Church deacon. He has taught Sunday school for many years. He also teaches through his books and online Bible study guides. These guides are based on the international Sunday school lesson system.
Over the years, he has created many artworks with Christian and biblical themes. For example, his paintings include "The Twenty-third Psalm Series." These paintings show the verses of Psalm 23 from the Holy Bible. Other works include "Memories of St. Paul," which shows his childhood church in Dermott, Arkansas. He also painted "Bible Stories," "The Fall of Man" (showing Adam and Eve after leaving the Garden of Eden), and "Sunday Sermon."
Personal Life
Larry Alexander lives in Texas with his wife, Patricia. They have four children: Ken, Leandra, Kawanna, and Patrice.
Books
- Home and Church Bible study commentaries from Paul's letter to the Romans - ISBN: 978-1-105-66048-1
- Home and Church Bible study commentaries from the books of Galatians, Ephesians, & Philippians - ISBN: 978-0-578-15400-8
- Home and Church Bible Study Commentaries from the Book of Ezekiel - ISBN: 978-1-329-94443-5
- Home and Church Bible Study Commentaries from the Book of Acts - ISBN: 978-1-365-01313-3
- Sunday school lessons from the Book of the Acts of the Apostles - ISBN: 978-1-4116-9831-4
- Sunday school lessons from the Gospel according to John Mark - ISBN: 978-0-615-13552-6
- Sunday school lessons from the Apostle Paul's letter to the Romans - ISBN: 978-0-615-15342-1
- Home Bible study commentaries from The Gospel of John - ISBN: 978-0-615-20347-8
- Home and Church Bible study commentaries from The Book of Hebrews - ISBN: 978-0-578-03453-9
- Home and Church Bible Study Commentaries from the Apostle Paul's First and Second Letters to the Corinthians - ISBN: 978-0-359-17694-6
- Home and Church Bible Study Commentaries from the Book of Genesis - ISBN: 978-0-359-36349-0
Gallery
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Aunt Ira Mae
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Send in the Clown
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Sleepy Head
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Down by the Sea
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Greenville Courthouse
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Helping Out
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African Mothers
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Moose Call
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Princess of the Blue
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Daughter's Loyalty
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Clinton Family Portrait
See also
In Spanish: Larry D. Alexander para niños
