Charley Harper and the Cardinal

I thought it was fitting that I post about red cardinals; for the past three weeks I've spotted the birds on my morning walk and with red being my favorite color I think they are some beautiful creatures. Famed illustrator Charles (Charley) Harper often made the feathered friends a subject of his artwork and you can even find home accessory collections featuring his illustrations of the birds. Here are a couple of my favorite pieces that he's done.

Ain't we lucky we got em...Good Times

How many people remember the hit sitcom Good Times from the 1970's? It was about an African American family , The Evans Family, that lived in the Cabrini-Green housing projects in Chicago. I wasn't born when the series aired or went off the air but I've watched all the re-runs. Anyway the eldest son of the family, J.J.'s character, was a gifted painter on the show. I thought it would be interesting to share with you the real talent behind all of the beautiful artwork shown on the series...Mr. Ernie Barnes.


Ernie Barnes is a very influential African American painter and one of the most collected artists in the world. He has lead an interesting life, which he chronicles in his auto-biography From Pads to Palette. The book describes how a one time NFL player went on to sell out art galleries, have his work highlighted on national television and become commissioned as "The" artist for the 1984 Olympics. You can read all about Ernie Barnes here and here.


Below are just a few of his beautiful pieces including the infamous "Sugar Shack"


"Olympic Gymnast"

"Olympic Finish"

"Song of Myself"

"Sugar Shack"

With everything that has been going on lately in the world, my life, and not to mention the state of the economy I've really been living by the above title..."Ain't we lucky we got em...GOOD TIMES!"