Ernest Shaw: Illustrating the Beauty of African Americans

Ernest Shaw is something of a hero in his hometown of Baltimore, Maryland. The artist is a beloved teacher at a school for the arts and an accomplished muralist with large-scale public pieces across the city.

For Shaw, art is a dialogue between the artist and the audience. But even more than that, it’s a conversation between communities and the artwork itself. To Shaw, these inner conversations are vehicles for transformation and social change.

Read on to learn how this accomplished painter uses various mediums to bring the African American experience to life.

Let’s jump in!

The Story of Ernest Shaw

Shaw was born in Baltimore, Maryland, where he lives today. He grew up in the West Baltimore neighborhood of Edmondson Village. The artist wasn’t the first creative in his family–he comes from a long line of visual and performing artists. He credits this supportive environment with helping him grow and develop.

Shaw attended schools in the city’s public school system. He earned his high school diploma from the Baltimore School for the Arts. The artist continued his education by completing an undergraduate degree at Morgan State University, followed by an MFA from Howard University.

Today, Shaw teaches at his high school alma mater. He’s also an adjunct professor at the Maryland Institute College of Art.

What Inspires Ernest Shaw?

Like many artists, Shaw takes inspiration from his experiences. He cites his childhood and education as two significant factors in his creative process. As a Black artist, he’s especially interested in how the rest of the world views people of color. His work aims to dispel negative stereotypes and myths surrounding Black communities.

Shaw hopes to communicate the experiences of African Americans and Black people to all other communities through his art. At the same time, he hopes his art will uplift his community. The distance between cultural ideas of “blackness” and “whiteness” are especially important to his work.

As he says in his artist statement, Black bodies fascinate him because “there is no other subject I find to be as complex, misrepresented, and misunderstood.”

In addition to racial and cultural identity, Shaw also finds inspiration in the relationship between his art and his audience. He hopes viewers will sense the creative process when they see his pieces. The artist’s philosophy is that a person’s perception of an artwork ultimately becomes part of the work itself. Likewise, he hopes his art positively affects people.

What Does Ernest Shaw Use to Create His Art?

Shaw works in several mediums, including painting and drawing. He also creates mixed-media pieces. He inherited his mother’s passion for painting by watching her work. In an interview with BaltimoreFishbowl.com, he says, “I can still smell the turpentine and see her stretching the canvas.”

Shaw’s current work consists primarily of acrylic and charcoal. But he’s also known for his large-scale public murals. He’s painted many famous Black creatives like Aretha Franklin and John Coltrane. He also completed a mural of Toni Morrison in Baltimore’s Graffiti Alley one day after her death.

What Are Some of Ernest Shaw’s Art Pieces?

Shaw’s portraits are thoughtful representations of their subjects. Viewers feel an immediate connection with the people in his paintings. His meticulous attention to detail creates a sense of intimacy between the viewer and the artwork.

Let’s take a look at a few of Shaw’s pieces.

Ma

Ma is a mixed-media portrait of a mother and her baby. The mother stands in side profile while her child, tied to her back in a baby wrap, looks out from the canvas.

While Shaw drew the mother and child in grayscale charcoal, the rest of the portrait explodes with color. Shades of yellow, bright blue, pink, and purple surround the two figures. The artist also outlined the two figures with geometric shapes, giving the otherwise realistic portrait a slightly surreal feel.

Looking at Ma feels like seeing a moment frozen in time. Shaw’s bright colors and lively shapes, paired with the black-and-white charcoal portraits, invite the viewer to wonder about the inner lives of this mother and child.

Sankofa

Sankofa is a public mural in Baltimore depicting multiple subjects, including two young children. Famed jazz singer Billie Holiday and author Ta-Nehisi Coates are the two adults featured in this piece. At the bottom left of the mural, the artist painted a small theater marquee that reads “Break the Chains.”

One of Billie Holiday’s best-known songs is “Strange Fruit,” condemning the lynching of Black Americans. Ta-Nehisi Coates, whose father was a Black Panther, is an author and journalist working to combat racism and white supremacy.

These famous figures are paired with portraits of a young girl in traditional clothing and Coates’s own young son. They encourage viewers to remember the past while looking toward the future.

Civil “Rites”

Civil “Rites” is one of Shaw’s acrylic paintings. This piece depicts two young men standing back to back. One looks forward while the other turns his face down.

Set against a dark backdrop, the mood of the painting is quite meditative. With its pun on “civil rights,” the title asks the audience to wonder, “What are these men thinking, and what experiences or struggles are they going through?”

Where Can I See Some of Ernest Shaw’s Art?

Shaw’s strong ties to Baltimore led him to create much public art within the city. But you don’t necessarily have to be in Baltimore or Maryland to see this artist’s work.

Murals at Lexington Market

Some of Shaw’s newest murals are in the historic Lexington Market plaza. The artist created four public paintings here during the summer of 2022 to celebrate the opening of a market building. Although these new pieces are large murals, they’re references to even bigger pieces he completed elsewhere in the city.

The Lexington Market murals feature grayscale portraits set against colorful backgrounds and surrounded by geometric cutouts. Like all of Shaw’s work, they invite visitors to admire the grandeur and strength of Black communities and creators. Since they’re referential, they also give Baltimore citizens a sense of familiarity and being at home.

Online

Shaw’s art is readily viewable online. The artist’s website, EShawArt.com, features a tremendous selection of his paintings, murals, and charcoal drawings. Pieces are sorted by category, making them easy to browse.

Shaw’s Instagram account, @eshaw_art, is another excellent place to see more of his work. The account features works in progress as well as older pieces. He also posts updates, exhibit announcements, and more on this account. 

Illustrating a Community

Ernest Shaw’s representations of Black life and culture are one-of-a-kind. This artist’s appreciation for his community and the legacy of other Black artists is visible in his work. Shaw’s thoughtful portraits are a reminder that looking back and looking forward are equally essential along the road to human progress.

Now that you’ve seen some of Shaw’s work, do you have a favorite piece? Tell us in the comments!