Woman King by Dominic Newsome
Medium: acrylic on unstretched canvas
Size:16 x 20
Artist statement: Viola Davis played the Warrior King
Artist Bio: I’ve been locked away since Jan 1st 1990 in the state of Maryland, and transferred to PA in Nov 2000 due to a riot in the MD DOC that I started in 1997. And the PA DOC held me in “the hole” or RHU from Nov 2000 til 2018. So I never had REAL art supplies to work with, only a jail issued pencil and ink pen, so I learned how to use basic tools and combine the pencil and pen as one, and you’ll see the results. I do not have financial support because I’ve outlived just about everyone. If I win anything, it’ll go toward buying real art supplies. Enclosed is Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali), Sitting Bull, and Black Panther. I chose these “freedom fighters” because they are symbols for the belief of justice and freedom for all oppressed peoples.
January 1990 was when my freedom was lost and I chose to become one of the most violent prisoners in the history of the state of Maryland. So due to a prison riot and convictions of trying to murder a couple of prison guards, I was sent to the PA DOC from the MD Supermax on November 2000, and only got released from the RHU from general pop around July 2019. So I control my violent urges with my artwork, the amount of detail I use in my art forces me to remain calm and complete the task at hand. I’ve lost time working on my art skills through practice, because I was so caught up trying to destroy anyone and everyone in my path. Never again.
Image description: A painting depicting Viola Davis from The Woman King. She stands in profile against a bright blue sky with a few clouds, a machete over her shoulder that reflects women seemingly in protest, or preparing for battle. She has a rich dark skin tone, facial scarring, and natural hair worn in the style of a mohawk. The sides are cut low in a pattern with silver beaded hair jewelry, and she wears a red sleeveless top with shells adorning the back.