Hello, there π
Lately, I’ve been more and more fascinated with the Black culture. There’s so much that I had no idea about, and I’m just eating up all the new information that I’m learning. I’ve always enjoyed being Black, but I’ve never been as open about it as a lot of other people are. Mostly because I’m a quiet person, and also because I didn’t like starting any drama or anything. And I didn’t want people to think I was better than anyone else.
What I’ve been most excited about is discovering all these freakin’ talented Black artists. Being the sweetheart he is, my boyfriend frequently sends me many drawings by Black artists that he follows on Twitter because he knows how interested I’ve become with Black art. I even have a whole Pinterest board dedicated to the beauty of Blackness.
Needless to say, I’ve very much embraced my Blackness, and I freakin’ love it. Since I’ve found out about so many super talented Black artists, I decided to make a blog post highlighting some of my favorites. Of the select few that I chose to highlight, some of them already have a massive following, some of them don’t, and one of them, I know personally! I made sure to ask all of these artists if I could feature them on my blog and got approval from every one of them, FYI.
4EverEstherr
I first discovered Esther’s art on this coloring app I play called Tap Color. She was a featured artist on the app and had many pictures of Black women to color. I’ve always enjoyed coloring people and characters, especially Black characters, so ya girl was pumped about Esther’s pics! I colored all of the pictures from her special section called Blacknificent, and I’m in love with how they turned out. I love the detail Esther puts in her drawings, especially the shimmering skin and lips. She captures the beauty of the Black woman so effortlessly! I also recently found another one of her drawings on this wallpaper app called Melanin. Esther sells some of her art on Society6 if you’re interested in supporting Black artists.
Nneka Myers
Funny story about this artist! The first time I ever saw an illustration by Nneka Myers, I had absolutely no idea it was her until months later. I was on Pinterest looking for a Disney-themed photo to use as my phone’s wallpaper when I found a Princess and the Frog picture drawn by her (embedded below). This was back in March, I believe, and I bought a children’s book she illustrated called Bedtime Bonnet in April. Since I loved the illustration so much, I did a little more research on Nneka and found out that she was the artist behind the Tiana photo I used for my phone’s wallpaper. She’s also a character designer for TV animation. I love Nneka’s art, and I can’t wait to see what else she puts out there.
Celi
I discovered this artist because of a photo that my boyfriend sent me (embedded below). Around the time that Halle Bailey was confirmed to play Ariel in the live-action Little Mermaid movie, he sent me this, and I fell in love with it. I was all for having a Black Ariel, and I loved all the fan art that people made of her. This one by Celi was one of my absolute favorites. You have to admit that a Black Ariel with red locs looks stunning! I recently found Celi on Instagram and enjoyed her feed. She illustrates a lot of characters, and for Blacktober, she recreated a lot of popular characters as African American. Of course, they were all fantastic!
Artemis
My boyfriend sent me pictures by this artist recently, and I had to look her up to see what else she did. He sent me a Black Snow White drawing that I swear almost looks like it could be an actual character. After finally finding Artemis on Instagram and following her, I was hooked on her art. I especially loved seeing her drawings of different popular characters as African American. The Kim Possible one that I embedded in this post is by far my favorite one. Artemis’s art is only slightly different from the ones I featured earlier because she uses warmer colors, but I still enjoy her artwork a lot!
Ray’Quan
I don’t know this artist personally, but someone from a mutual Discord server sent me their friend’s social media page. I wanted to shout this artist out because his work is truly amazing! The young artist, whose name is Ray’Quan, does a lot of cool drawings like sketching, animation, and painting. Based on the YouTube channel that he also has, I learned that he’s been doing art for a long time and doesn’t get as much recognition as he deserves. Over the years, Ray’Quan has learned to perfect his artistry and is eager to learn more. Check him out if you like supporting Black amateur artists trying to live their dream! The link to his YouTube channel is right here.
Kira The Artist
The photo that I have embedded below is currently set as the Always On Display image on my phone. I found this picture on the Melanin app when I was looking for a new photo for my phone’s wallpaper recently. Of course, I picked this one because my family is Jamaican, and I had to represent my island! This masterpiece is by an artist named Kira that I found on social media recently. I’m completely in love with this picture, so I wanted to find her online and see more of the art she’s created. Kira’s drawings are out of this world, and she has art available on her website for purchase. Click the link here if you want to take a look!
Christina Lorre
Funny story about this artist, too! I saw the embedded photo on a shirt that I bought on Amazon a few years ago, and I’m just now discovering who the artist is! The shirt had Christina’s art of a curly-haired girl and said “Black and Bougie” on the front. Admittedly, I bought it mostly because I was obsessed with the girl’s beautiful curls. Now, all these years later, I found the picture on Pinterest, did a reverse image search, and found the mastermind behind this work of art. Another fun fact is that the curly-haired girl is actually a drawing of someone else. It’s pretty spot-on, too! Christina’s work is impressive. You can find her work on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Tumblr, and Twitter. Go ahead and check her out!
Cornelia
Recently, I found a cute drawing of a mixed-race couple on Pinterest. Luckily, the artist’s logo was on the picture, so I found her easily on Instagram. The artist behind that photo is Cornelia, a young, self-taught artist who is crazy talented. I love the way she creates her characters. Cornelia is also active on YouTube and TikTok. In her videos, she draws and creates cool animations. Her artwork is truly amazing, and you have to check her out on social media.
Nyobee
This was yet another beautiful picture that my boyfriend sent me. I love this photo because it reminds me a lot of myself. What I love the most about this drawing is the girl’s fashion. I found the artist on Instagram a couple of months after my boyfriend sent me the photo embedded below. A lot of her work includes cartoon, anime, and comic illustrations. I love the colorful artwork that Nyobee draws, and I’m glad I stumbled upon her.
Jayden (My nephew!!!)
He’s technically not an artist (yet), but I have a 9-year-old nephew named Jayden who likes to draw cute pictures. He has a true talent, and I’m not just saying that because I’m his aunt! He drew these adorable pictures linked below and has a bunch more stored in his room. If his drawings are that neat at the age of 9, I can’t wait to see what he can do ten years from now. Hopefully, Jayden continues to draw because he could go far with his talent. He could illustrate books, draw characters for TV shows, or even sell some of his art if he wanted to! I’m having a proud aunty moment! π
Now that I learned how to do a Google image reverse search, I’m doing everything that I can to find out who the artist is behind a photo that I love. I’ve learned from my friend Olivia that many artists get their work stolen quite often, and that’s so unfortunate. As a creator, I understand how frustrating it could be to have something you work so hard on get stolen by some jerk who wants to make an easy profit. If I find a picture that I like online, I’ll make sure to find out who the artist is and check out more of their artwork.
Make sure to give each of these artists a follow if you love their work as much as I do. It was a lot of fun finding these talented people and writing this post to celebrate Black artists. I can’t wait to discover even more Black art and creators. Thank you so much for reading!
Make sure to follow me on Instagram and Facebook for more awesome content! π€πΏ
Yours Truly, Tasha B. 