96 | SEPTEMBER 26 • 2024 
J
N

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