Today we’d like to introduce you to Calvin Woodum
Hi Calvin, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am originally from Wrightsville, GA. As a young child, I didn’t grow up being exposed or surrounded by art by any means other than through coloring books in kindergarten. Within a 50 mile radius of my hometown, there probably weren’t any galleries or museums to attend. Fast forward, in high school, I was exposed to art, properly, through photography. In the early 1980s, I assisted my friends’ mother who worked for our local newspaper as a photographer’s assistant and I also worked on our year book staff. I took photos of our sports teams and learned how to develop photos in a darkroom. I attribute this to my self proclaimed status as a “professional amateur artist”. HAHA.
Fast forward to 1990, when I first moved to Savannah, GA and was first introduced to The Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD), is when my artistic creative side was awakened. But the pivotal moment I became an artist was almost immediately after my mother’s death in March of 2005. Faced with my mortality, I knew something dramatically had to change for me. I couldn’t just continue with my mere existence, mundane and unfulfilled life.
At the time, I felt as if I was stuck in rut. I needed a spark. Although I was exposed to art extensively during that time, I was not being creative at that point in my life. I identify with the following quote by Leo Tolstoy. My candle was not yet lit.
“Just as one candle lights another and can light thousands of other candles, so one heart illuminates another heart and can illuminate thousands of other hearts.”
Leo Tolstoy
By this I mean, for my first ten years of living in Savannah, I lived my artistic life vicariously through my friends who were students, alumni, faculty, and staff at SCAD. I needed to find my true identity as a living being. I needed to find my life’s passion. For years, I heard Oprah talking about finding your life’s passion which always struck a chord with me. Now the issue with that was, your life’s passion is supposed to find you, I thought. It’s unexpected. And that’s exactly what happened. In September of that same year of 2005, I bought a canvas, some paint, brushes and finished my first painting. Once I finished that first painting, I felt that spark. I felt as if I was lit. My entire life changed. Because I had finally I had finally created something with my own two hands that no one could ever take away from me, the weight of the world was lifted off my shoulders. I genuinely felt a sense of freedom. And that’s what art means to me, it means freedom. It’s freeing.
I want to share a brief timeline of some the highlights throughout my art career.
1990 – I moved to Savannah, GA and was exposed to The Savannah College of Art & Design (SCAD).
1990 – 1999 – During those pivotal years, I was:
Observing
Absorbing
Thinking Creatively.
1999 – I was employed by SCAD and enrolled part-time in and a BFA Program as a Fashion major.
2004 – No longer employed at SCAD, I enrolled full-time in a BFA Program as a Fashion major.
2005 – In September of 2005, this was the pivotal moment. I finished my first painting titled “Progression”.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
In my formative years as an artist, the obstacles were, not having a lot of galleries to show my work, not having gallery representation. Or not having that knowledge to navigate that world as an artist. However I did managed to show my work at local hotspots that I frequented such as nice restaurants, chic cafes, coffeeshops and locally owned businesses. My mode of thinking was if I patronized these places, surely they would support me by letting me hang art on their empty walls and they did.
The challenges were not having a live/work/studio/gallery space to create and show art. I found myself working in my bedroom or living room. Having to set up and breakdown each and every time afterwards was not conducive to being productive or prolific. At one point, I found myself sharing my bed with a couple of canvases and my bedroom floor where I’ve had to jump and step over them.
Also before social media, although I am computer literate, I was not as tech savvy as I should have been. I didn’t know how to create a website. So not having a website, it was a bit of a challenge to show my work, let’s say, to random strangers. And this was a time before everybody had camera phones.
One last challenge I can think of is living from paycheck to paycheck. And having to have a day job to make ends meet, it takes a toll on your mental health. When you’re not liveing your true authentic self, it takes a toll on your mental health more than people realize. They don’t necessarily get to see us artists suffer in silence. Not being able to, just, be you, a full-time artist, after a number of years, it’s utterly frustrating, even today, nearly 20 years later. But you don’t give up, you just keep creating and creating and creating. It will happen.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am an abstract painter. I pour paint on canvasses and see what happens. I use a pour, drip and splatter technique to build layers-upon-layers. Depending on what I am aiming for, I pour less drips to create something a bit more minimal and use more pours if I want something heavily saturated. I love to not use the entire canvas when I am aiming for that clean and minimal aesthetic.
Throughout my art career,
I am most proud of a number of things. In 2011, as a Telfair Museums employee, I was part of an employee group exhibition and had my first piece of art hanging in a major museum. In 2012, I sold my first piece of art to my sister, Nannette McClendon. In 2014, I became a Friends of African American Art Board Member. In 2015, I received my first commissioned piece from my hometown friend, Cheryl Webb-Carey. In 2017, I donated a painting to The Beach Institute, our African American Cultural Center here in Savannah, GA. In 2019, I won my first artist award as The Lowcountry Stories and Guests Low Country Artist Contest. Also in 2019, my art was featured on the cover of Julia Coates’s book, Invisible Diversity: Teaching Every Student. In 2021, I became The Chair of Friends of African American Art at Telfair Museums. In 2022, Savannah Morning News/Do Savannah featured artist of The 912 Newletter, which profiled a local African American artist. In 2024, for deep appreciation and gratitude, I was given an Outstanding Service and Leadership Award as Chair of Friends of African American Arts by Telfair Museums. And lastly, I am the recepient of The 2024 Winter National American Reciprocal Membership (NARM) Quarterly featured artist.
When sets me apart is I do have my own unique style of painting. Although I use a pour and drip method, it is not like those videos you constantly see on social media.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I don’t think I’m yet that risk-taker. I don’t isually overspend putting myself in a lot of debt. As an artist, that could be debilitating. I haven’t quite developed that mode of thinking to jump off the cliff or take that deep plunge. Although I have a painting titled “Leap Of Faith”, which is about that very subject. The older I get, I am applying to artist residencies and entering art competitions. Maybe 2025, I will take that leap of faith or jump off that cliff afterall. As an up and coming artist, I think it’s time to start entering those top art competitions in the world. It’s time to take that next step.
But I do have to say, that I have taken some risks, I suppose. I have spent money on art supplies instead of buying groceries and having to live with that consequence until the next payperiod. Having to choose one over is an unpleasant experience. Working from paycheck to paycheck to paycheck, I’m afaid I’m apart of that reality.
Pricing:
- $250
- $500
- $750
- $1’000
- $2,5000
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/calwoodart?igsh=MTk5ODZzMjhucW1vNw==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/15twFsquQx/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@calwoodart6927?si=vV5NhgIXoRAbrpwF
