Last week, our Journalism class interviewed Sherman Watkins. Mr. Watkins is an amazing artist. His story was absolutely incredible and a true inspiration to me.
Mr. Watkins was born in Danville, Virginia and orphaned at age 5. He was given to his aunt and uncle who would beat him constantly and his siblings were given to other families. At age 6, he began drawing stick figures. He says that drawing would take his mind off of his situation and make him stop worrying about where his siblings were. From there, his talents grew by the day.
He is now a very successful and well known artist. His works are incredible and sell for thousands of dollars. Not only is his art featured in museums, it is also featured in the houses of celebrities…yes, you read that right…celebrities! For example, he is heading to Georgia soon to deliver artwork to none other than…Tyler Perry. In addition to this, he has painted portraits for United States Presidents as well as rulers all over the world. He is currently working on finishing a Civil Rights collection. This collection already has 42 paintings, but he is hoping to get a few more pictures (about 8 more) in there before he calls it complete.
One of his best pieces of advice was, “Everyday is a new day to learn. You are always better today than you were yesterday.” This advice can rein true in anyone’s life. No matter what you are going through, stay strong because you, along with what you do, will continue to get stronger.
Written by Ashley Burnette
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