96 | SEPTEMBER 26 • 2024
J
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ARTS&LIFE
ART
K
eyon Lovett said he was 7 years
old when sports stars inspired
his artistic interests, and he
worked at copying star images seen in
magazines. He said it was much later
in his life of 34 years that he launched
observances of Judaism and placed rel-
evant religious images and words in his
paintings.
Lovett’s projects can be viewed the
weekend of Sept. 28-29 in the 50th year
of Common Ground’s Birmingham
Street Art Fair. The event is being held
in downtown Birmingham near Shain
Park, and some of the funds raised will
be placed in the mental health initia-
tives of the organization.
The group references September as
National Suicide Prevention Month.
“I have art I do that showcases a
character named Ready and Talented,”
said Lovett, who lives in Flint and has
added his talents to programs in sup-
port of alleviating the city’s water crisis
issues.
“Ready and Talented is a charac-
ter I created after I dropped out of
art school and started my journey
of becoming an artist. He essentially
represents me, but the paintings cre-
ate pieces so people can feel related to
him. He’s like Mickey Mouse, and I’m
like Walt Disney.”
The artist works with different artis-
tic materials in creating his images on
canvas. He uses oil pastels, acrylics,
markers and ink to emphasize bright
colors and intermittent lines.
Married and the father of two young
sons, Lovett has looked for techniques
to work faster. The incorporation
of a projector has helped with that
Local artist to make debut at Common Ground’s
Birmingham Street Art Fair.
SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Keyon Lovett
Work by Keyon Lovett