Today we’d like to introduce you to Cedric Ingram.
Cedric, before we jump into specific questions about your work, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I’m 38 and an artist and art teacher for Katy ISD. Originally from Dallas (Duncanville, TX), I attended the University of Houston where I studied art and communications. Upon graduation, I started teaching. Growing up, I fell in love with art because it was something that I was good at and it got me some attention in school but didn’t feel as challenged by my art teachers in high school. I knew that I wanted to teach high school art so that I could challenge my students within their work and prepare for the next level.
Within the past few years (since 2015), I have focused my art on collector work or “the gallery scene” as I call it. For the past five years, I have been involved in group shows from California, Illinois, and of course, here in Texas. I felt, growing up, there wasn’t much representation of art that spoke to my African American Culture and what I did see seemed very cliché and unoriginal. I knew within my work, I wanted to speak and connect with black culture but from a contemporary urban perspective, which is where I felt I related most. In 2020, with the help and direction of the Houston Museum of African American Culture, I produced my first solo show entitled “New Growth”.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s been a long road, but I can’t say that it’s been smooth or rough. It’s been more of a winding road. When I got into art from middle school through my twenties, I did a lot of sports art. I would make original drawings of sports players, especially those related to Dallas teams. People would commission me (and my brother because he’s an artist as well) for sports art, but I felt that there wasn’t a real connection to that work because even though it was my work and style, it was always owned up to some sports figure and felt I could never fully put my name on the work. Plus I didn’t like how you have to be more trendy and dependent upon who’s hot and that’s tough on a regional level. I wanted to do work that spoke more to me and that I could incorporate and develop a style. Plus, I wanted to represent my African American Culture in a way that I feel we haven’t been represented in my artwork.
I fell upon oil pastels and immediately fell in love! I found I could treat them very similar to Prismacolor colored pencils and found an angle that I was comfortable with in regard to the subject matter. Oil pastels are my staple and I’m continuing to explore other media with it.
Please tell us about your work.
I’m an artist and inside from creating my own catalog of work, I do commission work as well. I do a lot of portrait paintings and drawings for people. I’ve created several mural wall paintings for Crowley ISD. Although I don’t do as much graphics work, I also have a strong graphic design background and have created logos and other graphic works for schools and companies.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
When I ventured into showing my art, it was my brother and I. He is five years older than me, but we are both artists. We both took some risks, especially when we were trying to do sports art. We decided to sell our sports art within the gallery that the Texas Rangers used to have back in the day. We were young yet determined. We knew what we wanted. We still do our thing, just in different lanes.
My wife pushes and provides an alternative perspective for me, as well. Believe it or not, my kids play a role as well. I, like many other African American kids, systematically grow up with a bit of a disconnect of their true origins because of what isn’t taught about our culture in schools. Along with taking advantage of the many resources that our parents and grandparents didn’t have, I want my kids to be able to embrace their culture and be able to connect and see images that look like them. That’s powerful. It’s my responsibility to provide what hasn’t always been available in that aspect. I have the power to control my own narrative.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.cedricingram.com
- Email: ciworksart@gmail.com
- Instagram: @cedricingramart
- Twitter: @cedricingramart
Image Credit:
Shawn Artis
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