Black Male Artist Professor Series, No. 17 of 25
I’ve finished a portrait featuring Dr. Imo Nse Imeh (@imoimeh) — a Nigerian-American visual artist and scholar whose work profoundly explores African Diaspora visual culture and aesthetics as part of my Black Male Artist Professor Series.
Symbolic Representation of Imo Nse Imeh | Graphite & watercolors on watercolor paper mounted on board | 36” x 48” | 2025
The 36” x 48” panel is now mounted with watercolor paper — a dynamic surface full of rhythm, movement, and geometric energy. Next up: drawing the figure. Stay tuned as this portrait unfolds.
✨ About Dr. Imo Nse Imeh
Dr. Imeh is an Associate Professor of Art and Art History at Westfield State University in Massachusetts and an alum of Yale University Graduate School.
He’s the author of Daughters of Seclusion: The Revelation of the Ibibio “Fattened Bride” as the Icon of Beauty and Power (Peter Lang, 2012), and his large-scale drawing Flying Home with Laura Nelson was recently featured in Transition Magazine. His project, Ten Little N̶i̶g̶g̶e̶r̶ Girls, was supported by the Westfield State University Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Grant (2015), and he was the featured artist for Eight New Generation African Poets: A Chapbook Box Set.
🧩 In this series, I’ve been working primarily with acrylics and oils, incorporating paper into both media. For this piece, I’m expanding my material range to include watercolor, exploring new ways to express visual rhythm and emotional depth.
This expansion allows me to:
🎨 Explore visual language
🖌 Experiment with textures and layering
💡 Respond dynamically to each subject
🔥 Stay creatively engaged
🛠 Explore more painting techniques using watercolors
👩🎓 Model artistic risk-taking for my current & future students, encouraging them to explore multiple media in their own practices
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