Spending a dreary winter afternoon with Philadelphia artist James E. Dupree is like winning a trip to the tropics: He’s warm, funny, gracious, and full of fascinating stories about pinging – and getting pinged by – the conventional art world as an African-American male.
James E. Dupree – Philadelphia’s own Black Picasso
And visiting Dupree’s art-packed, 8,600 square foot studio in Philadelphia’s Mantua section is like exploring an inspiring alternate universe.
Three rooms in the marvelous maze that is Dupree’s West Philadelphia studio Continue reading
Leo Sewell’s Lady Liberty tribute took three years to plan and construct. (Photo courtesy of Leo Sewell.) 
Leo constructs a flamingo in his studio. The bird and its partner now grace the lobby of a Florida business building.
Hirshman’s 1962 “The Duel” shows two combatants – deftly outlined in long strands of string – locked in eternal combat by the children’s scissors that bind them. Their matching physiques and identical button faces hint at a different type of duel – an internal one.
Artist Lou Hirshman transformed coconut and peanut shells, matzo, peas and Chiclets into this witty caricature of JFK. Note the fish-shaped tie.
(Ellen in her living room with what she modestly calls “The Wall”. 
(This wonderfully inviting inglenook shows Okie’s love of woodwork and clever design. With those big windows on the landing, how did he hide the fireplace chimney?)
(Did we mention the elaborate woodwork? And, yes, Okie carefully designed the fireplace columns to match those seen outside on the porch.)
Unexpected Philadelphia 