https://darrenmorris.art/home daily 1.0 2021-12-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602311501756-3N4NN85A4DJ7LVAT7XDO/000072-BoyinaCloset-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg HOME - Boy in Closet (Copy) Boy in Closet December, 2009 20" x 16" Acrylic on Canvas Paper 000072 As a boy, my brothers had some unique punishments for me. I’d not recall the first time or what led to it. I remember the house (apartment). I was about 8 when we moved there. When I was about 9, we had both downstairs apartments and that was the first time I was thrown in there. I had developed a fear of the dark. So much happened to me in the dark. I remember being terrified. Once I kicked on that door and it popped open and what I faced outside that door made being inside of it less horrible. How it was set up -- the line down the center of the back of me would be the crack from where the two doors came together. My brother had learned to use tools in shop class and that allowed him to place a pole outside the door and prevented me from opening it. After a while, I made up games to distract me from the heat -- it was really hot. I think there was a boiler in the basement under this closet. I also needed to keep my mind off of the bugs in there with me. This is an image of being locked inside what we, as kids, dubbed the hotbox. In the beginning it was terrifying. Unable to get out. Then I realized why would I want to get out? I was hungry. I was hot. I was alone in the dark. But the boogie man was outside that door. What happened to protecting and nurturing a child? Maybe the hot box was protection and I was nurtured into exactly who and what I was meant to be. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602313364420-OXM68S0IF444DW98E2Z1/000715-DarRenMorris-CrashingWaves-WEB.jpg HOME https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602115031844-V8JSNKHS8QXP61VHENHC/000-Jesus-CrownofThorns-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg HOME - Jesus - Crown of Thorns (Copy) Jesus - Crown of Thorns September 2, 2018 24” x 18” Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000 Funny how when things get a little rough we all cry out and seek reassurance. Made for Payne Theological Seminary, Ohio https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602313553474-R0QPDZEKZI3ILXZX6OVZ/000451-HandsDown%2CCommunityUp-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg HOME https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602313977532-N8D0DS9YB1JX3AWUM9F3/000696-PillarofStrength-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg HOME https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602314085349-E2R44NSAIETQ7SDQVKMK/000663-SoontoBe-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg HOME https://darrenmorris.art/work daily 0.75 2020-11-10 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1605035824683-1H0A2QV08PNZ2SI23VLX/image.jpg WORK - Breonna Taylor November 2020 18" x 24" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000734 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1605035824683-1H0A2QV08PNZ2SI23VLX/image.jpg WORK - Breonna Taylor November 2020 18" x 24" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000734 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1604004832560-9LHHSHGF3QJHS4M47W7D/image-asset.jpeg WORK - Jacob Blake September, 2020 24" x 18" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000730 Jacob Blake. Another man that is maimed by police; forever changed by a moment in time. No more protesting! It’s a revolution. Lives, beliefs and systems are being changed. That which will not bend will be broken. That which does not grow will die. Because we bent and bowed and now we are growing…burning with and from your injustice and our own indignities. We seek to reclaim and create our houses. Being Kings and Queens, upright and righteous, beautiful and noble. Our rise comes from the blood their land has absorbed. Rastafari. Painting insights. Its construction is comprised of all 8 laps. The blue background is the police and the likes that surround us. The brush is loaded and tapped and stopped the colors down. Shots being fired at a target to create a picture. We in the inner city are created by shots, shots at a bucket end zone. Your girl, my girl, Shots at a hair cut, shots at wide noses and big lips. Shots at the very thing that keeps us alive. We take these things, make a new us other than what our mothers and fathers created. The shots they shoot, the sons and daughters of Almighty white father, form a picture as well. Some see resistance in the dark. Some see the complexity of our beauty, our strength. The ability to endure, figure out ways to thrive where they can't survive. Skin tones says something different to everyone. To reclaim humanity. Beauty. I opted to use everyone’s favorite color. Reds, blues, yellows, greens, purples… I try not to promote brands and labels in my work. They don’t free promote me…Seen? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1604005133575-2EYLMXEWW5WGJZHTZ7HQ/image-asset.jpeg WORK - Underground (1 of 2) August, 2020 18" x 24" Acrylic with a touch of water mixable oils on canvas panel 000731 Underground Railroad story, for play. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602114872617-N0NQ7DMQ0PJA9TWPN0DZ/000721-MammaI%E2%80%99frica-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Mamma I’frica July, 2020 24” x 18” Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000722 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602114851271-3UHU07D3SZYGKDPYEHI5/000718-GeorgeFloyd-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Tribute to George Floyd Summer, 2020 18” x 14” Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000718 George Floyd started out as another pebble in a pile of Black bodies. Now he has risen to the height and stature of a mountain, allowing us all to climb him to greater heights. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602391465229-28DUKYZXOZOTWM3ED7YK/000717-SayitLoud%2CI%E2%80%99mBlackandI%E2%80%99mProud-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Say it loud, I'm Black and I'm Proud (James Brown) Summer, 2020 24" x 18" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000717 I've never felt like an American, but when I seen this country from coast to coast shake and crumble, under the heavy hands of the oppressed, when I seen the fires. The looting. I smiled. I felt proud to be an American. To be a Black American. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602391672953-YWZ3F1OI3HAZQXKYMGMB/000732-RisingSun-DarRenMorris.jpg WORK - Rising Sun September, 2020 18" x 24" Water Mixable Oil on Canvas Panel 000732 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602391446986-S9AIQPD343Q8IM4CL0CN/000715-DarRenMorris-CrashingWaves-WEB.jpg WORK - Crashing Waves June, 2020 18" x 24" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000715 Once my son asked me what’s it like in prison. I told him it’s like a huge cliff with the ocean at its border. At first glance, the waves that’s crashing on the rocks don't seem like it’s doing anything. But each time that water hits that rock, it’s taking a tiny piece of it. Forever changing it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602391007881-3CI581A63F3K6YVSTNN7/000703-ChildrenoftheSunDanceBeforeOurFather1-DarRenMorris.jpg WORK - Children of the Sun Dance Before our Father (1 of 2) April, 2020 18" x 14" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000703 In these days of darkness the world is frozen in fear. My mother is in and out of the hospital with a bladder infection. I feel life is tying its noose around my neck. I'm trying to be me. I'm trying not to make my problems other people's burden to bare. Just when I needed it I was able to hear some music again. I closed my eyes and let the music invade my mind, cleanse my spirit. The darkness slowly drained away like someone pulling the plug on a stopped up tub. My fingers talked. My foot twitched. My head nodded in time. 'Fore I know'd it I was in the middle of my cell dancing, tears fell down my cheeks and my soul smiled. Music, dancing and joy have been the ingredients that has sustained my blood long before it ever ran through my veins. Being children of the sun, our Father's love warms and heals us and dancing free's us. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1604002884070-F5DLTB2MPFO3H8ADMYH0/image-asset.jpeg WORK - Jacob Blake September, 2020 24" x 18" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000730 Jacob Blake. Another man that is maimed by police; forever changed by a moment in time. No more protesting! It’s a revolution. Lives, beliefs and systems are being changed. That which will not bend will be broken. That which does not grow will die. Because we bent and bowed and now we are growing…burning with and from your injustice and our own indignities. We seek to reclaim and create our houses. Being Kings and Queens, upright and righteous, beautiful and noble. Our rise comes from the blood their land has absorbed. Rastafari. Painting insights. Its construction is comprised of all 8 laps. The blue background is the police and the likes that surround us. The brush is loaded and tapped and stopped the colors down. Shots being fired at a target to create a picture. We in the inner city are created by shots, shots at a bucket end zone. Your girl, my girl, Shots at a hair cut, shots at wide noses and big lips. Shots at the very thing that keeps us alive. We take these things, make a new us other than what our mothers and fathers created. The shots they shoot, the sons and daughters of Almighty white father, form a picture as well. Some see resistance in the dark. Some see the complexity of our beauty, our strength. The ability to endure, figure out ways to thrive where they can't survive. Skin tones says something different to everyone. To reclaim humanity. Beauty. I opted to use everyone’s favorite color. Reds, blues, yellows, greens, purples… I try not to promote brands and labels in my work. They don’t free promote me…Seen? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602391007904-JU980XP4HDWM8FQY7AJB/000703-ChildrenoftheSunDanceBeforeOurFather2-DarRenMorris.jpg WORK - Children of the Sun Dance Before our Father (2 of 2) April, 2020 18" x 14" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000704 In these days of darkness the world is frozen in fear. My mother is in and out of the hospital with a bladder infection. I feel life is tying its noose around my neck. I'm trying to be me. I'm trying not to make my problems other people's burden to bare. Just when I needed it I was able to hear some music again. I closed my eyes and let the music invade my mind, cleanse my spirit. The darkness slowly drained away like someone pulling the plug on a stopped up tub. My fingers talked. My foot twitched. My head nodded in time. 'Fore I know'd it I was in the middle of my cell dancing, tears fell down my cheeks and my soul smiled. Music, dancing and joy have been the ingredients that has sustained my blood long before it ever ran through my veins. Being children of the sun, our Father's love warms and heals us and dancing free's us. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602390748579-HW50JT16E2N4INHPVMIQ/000696-PillarofStrength-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Pillar of Strength March, 2020 24" x 18" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000696 Pillar of Strength started with the sista from the recent Harriet Tubman movie (Cynthia Erivo). I was thinking how these women didn't have weaves or hair that simulates straight hair; they were leading us to a new form of freedom. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602390708597-ZSJY31W7L8OAWC02WYYR/000689-KobeRestinGreatness-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Kobe Rest in Greatness February, 2020 24" x 18" Acrylic on Cardboard 000689 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602390147688-UZDMEPAXECMUU5LOC51E/000687-MightyQueen-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Mighty Queen 2019 Acrylic 000687 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602390074593-C2QRIZB8G4829DYWIUSW/000670-Contemplation-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Contemplation October, 2019 18" x 14" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000670 What would a new life look like…feel like? What will the same life feel like? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602390054973-VQIIEYPK18K5OUQRAPT7/000668-WhoWillSaveTheBoy-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Who Will Save the Boy October, 2019 18" x 14" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000668 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602390030888-1G20GPNAZ9HXY9ILWFOX/000663-SoontoBe-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Soon to be Available October, 2019 18" x 14" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000663 Soon to be available, a single fold-away bunk, toilet, wash basin, desk with storage space along with a cabinet and shelf for storage. This space comes with harsh conditions. It’s loud when you want it quiet. The people around you will gossip about you, shake your hand, eat your last piece of food and won't call for help if either you or your space is attacked. But you can put down a rug, a yoga mat with a blue towel folded up on the blankets and make your chair a lazy boy. Fold up the bed and the cell turns into my bachelor pad, my chapel, my den of creativity, and my Pee Wee’s playhouse. But now it is time to let someone else have the space and walk their path and hope it leads to… https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5784160729687fbea458a710/5f7e54562c1737355d94e4a5/5f7e546e1e0188750427f04b/1602114670368/ WORK https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602389967580-CTFT6AKQHI9GB9JW2I2X/000659-Wedding-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Wedding 2019 18" x 14" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000659 I started this painting August 2018. I've been begging’ for wedding photos, so my surprise wedding gift went down the tubes. Then I thought I should have it ready for July 2019. So now it's August, 2019 and I, the father of the groom, still never got the photos requested. So much for V.I.P. (Very Important Poppa.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602389416520-FZRAN98MRZ8VOMOR8I7Z/000657-ThroughThePortalofEternalLife-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Through The Portal of Eternal Life August, 2019 18" x 14" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000657 I heard from a guy who was well versed, in my opinion, of Egyptian beliefs and he said some see the “eye” of the Ankh as the gateway for souls to ascend to paradise. Some say the eye(s) are windows to the soul. The soul is of the creator and therefore never dies. It is eternal. But how does one keep his eye on the divine when facing Evil? https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602389397995-Y5OFTTMX16R2ZIQJMI0H/000656-FirstAidKit-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - First Aid Kit August, 2019 18" x 14" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000656 Watching Nightline: 22 people shot and killed in El Paso Texas 13 hours later 9 people killed in Dayton Ohio Tears threatening to breach my eyes; my heart feels full. An infant lost both parents and if that isn't bad enough, his head is bruised and broken bones in his hands. Cracked ribs. One of my neighbors below me yells out, “You see ole girl in the cut off shorts, that little ass is nice.” The gravity of the moment had the building unusually silent and this guy is cruising for tail. I turn my back on this world and embrace my love [my paintbrush]. The comfort of her arms accepts and soothes all my pain. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602390082792-O2QCB4JXF3RGIEN4FIGM/000680-RastaInnaImLionsDen-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Rasta Inna 'Im Lion's Den December 20, 2019 18" x 24" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000680 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602389381576-RI1N43OX6344PZQSLIRO/000639-BatheInnaDaLight-DarRenMorris.jpg WORK - Bathe Inna da Light July, 2019 14" x 18" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000639 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602388412255-NU339EOSSVHZW92KHEUK/000638-QueenoftheSouth-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Queen of the South July, 2019 11" x 14" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000638 Inspired by the Gospel of Matthew 12:42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here. The Queen of the South refers to an African queen from Ethiopia who will rise up on the day of judgment and will have the power to condemn this generation. Most miss this. A woman with such power. A Black woman who has the power to condemn... Rasta see women as equals in different roles. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602388398530-9XQMH10V12X9M61JNKS0/000637-DownByTheRiverside-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Down by the River Side July, 2019 14" x 18" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000637 Inspired by the Gospel of John 7:38. He that believeth in me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. And the Church song my granny use to sing down by the river side. I don't know any other words to the song. Other than the refrain. On this my 43rd Earth day (7) The biblical number of completion. What have I completed and what have I only began? Being imprisoned and claiming my freedom. I am convinced that the scene in this painting is a real place, so I challenge mall to identify it so I can visit when I am free send me all your answers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602388392505-6PIQ2QKKMDM1DRL167XX/000625-TheLionandtheRose-DarRenMorris.jpg WORK - The Lion and the Rose May, 2019 26" x 16" Acrylic on Cardboard 000625 A moment of reflection, hoping to always have that which is natural, always in my grasp and its light shining on me…what could be more natural than love. Lion and the rose new words. He threshes you to make you naked He sifts you from from your husk , He grinds you to whitness He kneads you pliant, And then he assigns you to his sacred fire That you may become scored bread for God's sacred feast. All these things shall love do unto you that You may know the secrets of your heart, and in That knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart But if in your fear you would seek only love's Peace and love's pleasure, Then it is better for you that you cover your Nakedness and pass out of loves threshing floor, Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh But not all of your laughter And weep But not all of your tears. Khahlil Gibran https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602308160891-7HZIFR7385RTPSJM4ZWY/image-asset.jpeg WORK - Blue Line October, 2018 48” x 36” Acrylic on 4 Canvas Panels https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602115017821-YPQX8MZCFKJG1GKD3VZJ/000-37thand48thTheCorner-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - 37th and 48th The Corner September 3, 2018 14" x 18" Acrylic on Canvas Panel I sat on our front stoop in the summer. We lived there and I witnessed life. I'd love to hear the sound of that ice cream truck. The blues playing for the old men under the tree. The cheers from the drill team. Just to hear life. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602115031844-V8JSNKHS8QXP61VHENHC/000-Jesus-CrownofThorns-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Jesus - Crown of Thorns September 2, 2018 24” x 18” Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000 Funny how when things get a little rough we all cry out and seek reassurance. Made for Payne Theological Seminary, Ohio https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602388194221-JXUO2O9HBU78A795ZB3T/000610-Momma%27sApproval-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Momma's Approval December 20, 2017 24" x 18" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000610 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602388176091-8B61OEJOI3MJ35VJ9ZOW/000605-SheAccepts-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - She Accepts December 2, 2017 9" x 12" Acrylic on Soft Canvas 000605 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602388151966-310MX87KK0VTXMF8IWQ6/000586-Caged-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Caged October, 2017 17" x 11" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000586 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602388169881-B7652DVRMORMOZZFZKNV/000587-ADayintheYard-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - A Day in the Yard October, 2017 18" x 24" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000587 Inside this prison environment there are all sorts of people. It would be a betrayal of our intelligence to assume that individuals in any one group means that each of those people are exactly the same. It would be unfair for a prisoner to say that all guards are unfeeling just as it would be equally incorrect to assume that prisoners are all one way. For those of us trapped behind these walls, the experiences and perspectives are unique and specific to each individual. For some, it is a religious retreat where they find the truth of their spiritual selves. There are others who will be traumatized beyond repair by the normal conditions of confinement. There are still others who will be inflamed past control over every injustice that takes place inside the walls. And then there are some who can sit in the prison courtyard, surrounded by all of these energies, and fade into the pastel colors of the sky and take flight into the magic of seeing a bird take flight. I have never seen these birds in person before. Yet I fly with them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602387833507-Q6447B4J96NKPMAEDZQ6/000578-ThotLife4Ever-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - THOT LIFE 4-EVER July, 2017 18" x 24" Acrylic on Particle Board 000578 Girls dese fools out'ere shootin. -- Who? Where? GeeShawn, shot Poo Ova here n'da Jets. --OMG! Poo stupid ass got shot & trying to save his damn shoe -- Now GeeShawn, he always startin trouble Gurl imma tryna get me a baby by GeeShawn fo' somebody kill him so my baby can have dat good hair. -- You so ratchet ; ) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602387328177-SR5VRRRNOIG84SSJNFGB/000552-MotherTeresa-DarRenMorris.jpg WORK - Mother Teresa February, 2017 18" x 24" Acrylic on Masonite Panel 000552 To Sister Mo and the nuns and great people of Sinsinawa. I want to thank all of you who have written to me and for being open to hosting my show. The love and support has been amazing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602387792029-N76JQTVXNT6MCY9ICVVZ/000558-JesuswithCrown-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Black Jesus March, 2017 18" x 14" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000558 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602387310054-JPV87QNO1T30H8S0FC5W/000551-DearJonLetter-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Dear Jon 2017 24" x 18" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000551 “If indignities are not directly named, acknowledged and redressed, they take on an invisible energy of their own showing up in the form of obstacles.” A quote from Donna Hicks’ book, Dignity. I read the above words and I learned that because of the brain’s tremendous neuroplasticity, if we are exposed to a negative relationship (situation) for long periods of time, the exposure can actually reshape our brains. I've endured the indignities of prison for 22 years. This experience has imprinted itself on my personality and my soul through the reshaping of my brain. In prison there are few things that rise above connection with a special woman. But we all dread that Dear Jon letter. “My publisher” (who published In Warm Blood: Prison & Privilege, Hurt & Heart by Judith Gwinn Adrian and DarRen Morris, HenschelHAUS) had recommended to Jon-Darren that I paint the cover of his book. As I read the sample readings, I thought of the environment that shapes “the brain” through indignities that formulate attitude and perception. I came away with a painting that shows a man trapped for infinity, trying to escape/avoid or evade the indignities of prison." https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602387281781-90YCWNOEX52IK4MVTQWS/000542-TheScream-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - The Scream October, 2016 Acrylic on Watercolor Paper 000542 As a starving artist nothing is wasted, so even pieces I messed up are given new life. Jah Bless. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602386975000-DBY61S2N85QG96D2IVO1/000523-Untitled-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Untitled July, 2016 24" x 18" Oil on Soft Canvas 000523 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602386935788-87KLUQA2WMZBHUJK3N41/000515-BennyontheFloorinSeg-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Benny on the Floor in the Seg 2016 18" x 24" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000515 I met Benny about 10 years ago. He came up to me one day and asked, “You YaYa’s son.” Yup! Man that’s my boy. How he doing… He was the 3rd person I met that knew my father from prison since being in CCI. It was interesting that these people knew more about him than I did. And most was not shy in telling me how I was not like my father. I was constantly reminded I could not play basketball as good as he could. Each person told me this. For those people who think that you will automatically mellow out with age, Benny will prove you wrong. He has had just as many, and in some cases more, fights than young prisoners. In 2011 he was in seg for beating up a guy his cousin had beat up a few days earlier. Both were in seg. While in seg Benny had a confrontation with his roommate and had to be moved so they put him on the floor of the cell I was in. I had just gotten 180 days in seg for misuse of the telephone. One day as Benny slept, I sat writing my woman a letter and to describe to her the nature of the situation. There was an empty cell next door and one across the hall, yet they kept him on the floor. Less than 8 inches from his head were my feet and about 8 inches from his feet was the toilet. Less than ideal. But we made it work. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602386920762-FYZGN2DIXA54R2ZFNKGO/000513-ISeeDeathAroundTheCorner-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - I See Death Around the Corner June 6, 2016 17" x 24" Acrylic on Cardboard 000513 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602386481645-JP8LDYB8DYXZXJQ7O5E9/000502-YellowOchreCanvas-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Yellow Ochre Curtains May 1, 2016 24" x 17" Acrylic on Soft Canvas 000502 I can't remember what my room in this apartment looked like. I don't recall the bathroom. But with accurate clear detail I can remember this living room. This was such a sad space for me. It was this apartment that my mom was shot in. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602386464598-MDY0QI446PODBQJGVRBA/000496-DemonicWallsofDS1-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Demonic Walls of DS1 April 21, 2016 14" x 18" Acrylic on Masonite 000496 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602386456995-K29ZOPOBDE6WMIPN6O08/000465-RastaintheLion%27sDen-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Rasta in the Lion's Den 2015 20" x 24" Acrylic on Particle Panel 000465 A lion in man’s clothing. I was attempting to demonstrate what I long for: being with my own kind. My kind is not a color. It is a consciousness. It is the people who understand my religion and can help push me to being a better representative of my faith. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602385069979-V2MFMIQU278PZYOVXWFC/000464-DarRenMorris-Despair-WEB.jpg WORK - Despair 2015 18" x 24" Acrylic on Cardboard 000464 I have heard of the urban war syndrome and I get that. But what do you call it when a 17-year-old boy comes to a maximum security prison for life? You cannot grasp the gravity of that. I don't have the words to describe the injustice and chaos I have faced, endured and overcome. I have just turned 40. I am still in max. The weight of that, my grannies dying, my mom aging, my son growing up without me, my grand-babies knowin’ me as a face in a picture, the friends who have moved on, the girl friends who have married and have new families and kids of their own going on to college…all of this and I am here taking orders from an 18-year-old white kid that is 5’3” and 90 pounds. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602385059174-7BBTHH71RVA4FBJ974JK/000462-Solitary-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Lenzy December, 2015 24" x 18" Acrylic on Cardboard 000462 When I was in solitary confinement this last time, I was across the hall from a man who is about 6’4”, 240 pounds of muscle. Yet he would shrink down into the persona of a child. He would carve these deep gaping wounds into his arm. I would stand at my door and watch the exchange between this woman, about 5’1” and 120 pounds, as she spoke to this massive man behind that door. It was almost like watching Jessica Lang tame King Kong. She would get him to discuss all his personal issues through the steel door. We could all hear it. Because of this kind of situation, some of the men refuse to talk to the head shrinks – out of fear of everyone knowing their business. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602385034662-0MI4QQRP9K8VC3OYVG7Y/000462-JimiHendrixRockNRollRoyalty%E2%80%93TheTrueKing-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Rock N Roll Royalty - The True King 2015 17 1/5" x 24" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000462 Jimi Hendrix - To listen to all the greatness of his music is to understand the potential of my people when allowed to grow, explore and experience. This man took a feeling and made it electric without ever learning to read music. He understood it naturally. “’Scuse me while I kiss the sky.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602384160138-ZF7Y9AMAMDOFU85FACFR/000451-HandsDown%2CCommunityUp-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Hands Down, Community Up September, 2015 14" x 18" Acrylic on Stretched Canvas 000451 More than ever, in recent years, we, the men and women and young people who live within the low income housing projects, need to redefine our realities. To do this we need to have and feel the safety to play, to grow and to explore the infinite potential of our people. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602384826294-P7OQ3DE5Z3B904BTXZCX/000447-UnknownAsianBeauty-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Unknown Asian Beauty 2015 17" x 18 1/2" Fredrix Soft Canvas on Cardboard 000447 Finally! I love this painting. The look on her face, the slightly parted lips, her hair whipping about. It is sort of based on the Asian looking woman from that TV show, Mistresses. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602384470066-0M7KAGIQ06LSOFJTRLOX/000440-HandsUp-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Hands Up August 17, 2015 14" x 18" Acrylic on Stretched Canvas 000440 The love of a mother can be felt through her hands as she uplifts her seed. The hands of the child reach for its goddess and between them we find the hope that is tomorrow. The child learns to turn her face toward the light of God and dance through the reality and complexity of life, moving from the mindset of a little princess to that of a goddess. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602384155434-NUFR3U0VVRNFNUHC8PS6/000439-HustlasDen-DarRenMorris.jpg WORK - Hustla's Den August, 2015 18" x 14" Acrylic on Stretched Canvas 000439 To Lois https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602384127485-M1PPDIP8CCEG50GE9QCM/000436-TheySayImCrazyAfterParty-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - They Say I'm Crazy After Party August 2, 2015 14" x 18" Acrylic on Stretched Canvas 000436 If you drive past a park on a nice side of town and see young men in hooded sweatshirts, laughing and rough housing, or if you drive past a nightclub with women in short skirts, men dressed in the latest urban fashions, do you have negative thoughts? Did the pictures in your mind, as you thought about the above words, describe young white university athletes or the professional white men and women from your neighborhood out to blow off steam? If Black and Brown lives are to matter, it will matter what you think and feel when you see them. When you think of them. Different doesn't equate to bad…or dangerous. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602384102522-IEBYXMWWIJ6CS06HOUP4/000434-DarRenMorris-BeautifulBlackWoman-WEB.jpg WORK - Beautiful Black Woman August, 2015 18" x 14" Acrylic on Stretched Canvas 000434 I have an obsession with dark skinned women. In this painting, I love how the bluish tone contrasts against the red in her lips and the yellow towel across her shoulder. This was a swimsuit model but the part that my eye kept going to was her lips and neck. The result is this sensual painting. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602383189242-C6JR9WOONPNCJKN4J0NW/000432-GeishaGirl-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Geisha Girl 2015 Acrylic https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602383177691-SABTQQ45G6VM0E7Z24XV/000429-DS2%2CStep3-MyRadio%E2%80%A6IRocked-N-SwayedtheDaysAway-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - DS2, Step 3: My Radio…I Rocked-N-Swayed the Days Away 2015 18" x 14" Acrylic on Stretched Canvas 000429 I was in solitary confinement and as we progress through the levels in the system, we are given more and more property (like radio or TV). I had reached stage 3 and was given my radio. My radio is a Sangean WR 12, the King Kong of radios (at least of what we are allowed to have). I turned it on and every song was soul shaking sounds. I let my dreads down and pulled out my air guitar. As I rocked and swayed, it dawned on me. What if someone seen me. Given my personality, what would it look like to someone to see me in that cell dancing and singing? Being in solitary confinement is tough mentally and emotionally. I’d count down the days to get my “stage 3” which meant I'd get my radio. Plug in and turn up. That first day everything sounded great. But I wondered what would me “rocking” out like that look like to you, so since I don't have a picture of you looking, I created it. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602384737409-LFH949HY4D0HV6ELKMPC/000422-PortraitofMichaelJackson-DarRenMorris-WEB.JPG WORK - Portrait of Michael Jackson May 23, 2015 Acrylic on Cotton 000422 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602391792204-98QET31PNP3VAAMECRK3/000418-TheDayJahDiedontheCross-DarRenMorris-WEB.JPG WORK - The Day Jah Died on the Cross 2015 48" x 36" Acrylic on Canvas with Satin/Gloss Varnish 000418 Donated to Zion City Church I have seen paintings that showed JAH on the cross and in the back I could see the other two men that died with him. But I wondered what did this look like from another perspective so I played around with several sketches until I had a drawing that I liked. Some fathers happily claim their children. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602382879452-YJV9KODZQHR8OSXHELCP/000414-JesusGettingHelpWithHisCross-DarRenMorris-WEB.JPG WORK - Jesus Getting Help to Carry His Cross May 16, 2015 18" x 14" Acrylic on Canvas with Satin/Gloss Varnish 000414 Donated to Zion City Church All the pictures I have seen of this moment have been very beautiful but I always wondered where was the emotion, the blood. They all looked so serene and this garment was clean and pure white. He was beat and tortured. There had to have been some blood. To take away the horror and anguish is to undermine the courage and power of that moment. Take up your cross and follow me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602382871335-Q8R6AACBO99TG3RQX5B9/000411-OntheInsideLookingOut-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - On the Inside Looking Out April 30, 2015 14" x 18" Acrylic on Stretched Canvas 000411 In seg, nearly every time you see another person, it is when looking through a glass that is usually scratched up or peering through some sort of gate. Once a week the officer comes down the hall and opens all of the traps for a sheet exchange. We are to toss out our dirty sheets and get “clean” ones in exchange. It is one of the few times to see the person you are or have been talking to without some sort of obstruction so nearly everyone bends down to peer out at another human face. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602382850523-LHROL7SA4SURP27F53XQ/000409-ManLockedInsideThatAnimal-DarRenMorris-WEB.JPG WORK - Man Locked Inside That Animal 2015 18" x 14" Acrylic 000409 Years ago, I painted a painting that I titled Animal in a Cage. It was a painting of how I looked and felt after one of my many dust ups with the guards. They treated me like an animal and I felt like I was an animal. But what happens when a person gains insight and knowledge of self? I came into full understanding that I am a man and that it was not my natural state to be animal-like. Being placed in an unnatural situation produced an unnatural response. But having this knowledge was not freeing as I had thought it would be. It had an adverse effect. Because here I was a man, being treated with the regards of a child and less respect than an animal, so what did it profit me to know who and what I was if my payment was more subjugation to this animal? The more knowledge of self I gained, the louder it's mighty roar became and at times it is more comforting to turn my back to the light. Inside the animal there is no hiding. It knows my weakness. I feel naked. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602382565922-V7WSBRJ6FK8Q0FUD13L4/000408-WomaninRed-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Woman in Red 2015 18" x 14" Acrylic on Stretched Canvas 000408 This painting was a happy accident. I was suppose to be painting a famous person but she did not want to be painted and this woman kept coming forward. Every attempt to do away with her and bring the other woman back was thwarted. I finally gave up and allowed her to come forward and hopefully, whoever she is, she will see herself in this painting and do whatever it is this painting is meant to inspire her to do. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602382525584-I7XEYPIN65WHVH22FC0R/000407-Tupac-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Tupac April, 2015 24 1/2" x 19" Acrylic on Cardboard 000407 So many of Pac’s songs are like reflections of my thoughts and persona. I remember singing to a woman on the phone, “I wanna be yo ni-g-g-g-a, we can get drunk and smoke weed all day, it don't matter if you're lonely baby, you need a thug in yo life, them bustas ain't lovin’ you right.” https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602382511212-FP7L3UT05KSCHFO0CGW4/000399-StormyDayInside-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Stormy Day Inside September, 2014 18" x 14" Acrylic on Stretched Canvas 000399 This painting was based on someone I know. She had made equally opposing comments – that she felt lonely for me, yet with me when she thought of me. What the hell does that mean? So I tried to envision how she might embrace herself to feel with me and also added a bit of nudity to represent the openness. I made the space behind her reflect chaos and light and used the contrast of warm and cool colors to represent the lonely aspect. Most only pick up on the lonely. One person said it could even be regret. No one thus far has felt warmth of contentment that I imagined was the message that she is with me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602382107156-V6AKN027EZ3TNFB00L3K/000392-SleepTerror-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Sleep Terror 18" x 24" Acrylic on Illustration Panel 000392 Is there such a thing as sleep terror? The night can be rough at times. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602382084072-4KMDNUH36V4Z04Z77P39/000390-BigMouth-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Big Mouth July, 2014 24" x 18" Acrylic on Panel 000390 This used to be my drawing board. I got so much pleasure from this it seemed only right to freeze that pleasure. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602382057342-O5N8AH6XU12LSSE21IOV/000385-VisionofJesus-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Vision of Jesus May 9, 2014 Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000385 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602381765195-XSZGEA6PZXNKFWVGD5OF/000374-SistawithFroPartII-DarRenMorris-WEB.JPG WORK - Sista With a Fro II February, 2014 18" x 14" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000374 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602381760672-I1MDK8UN02K2019RC9II/000367-Bathroom+W%3ACarl-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Bathroom January 6, 2014 18" x 14" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000367 Bound with shame Subdued by guilt Trained in the arts of fear Courage forged in pain A man grew from The tears of this boy. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602381745330-RLTWKL52Z9Z3NILHFGQU/000363-IntheBasementwithCarlBucketTestTrap-DarRenMorris-WEB.JPG WORK - In the Basement with Bucket Test/Trap December, 2013 14" x 18" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000363 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602381737400-CUIW2Q00CQCF4MLHEQTU/000361-JumpinRope-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Jumpin' Rope December, 2013 14" x 18" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000361 There have been many songs and paintings that depict hood life. Tupac made “My Block.” Too Short made “The Ghetto.” Scarface’s whole career depicted hood life, “What do you see” being up there. Geto Boys: “Crooked Officer” or “Ghetto Fantasy.” Common’s “The Corner.” Or N.W.A.’s “F*** the Police.” But none is more widely celebrated or accepted or played every summer at a cookout or family reunion somewhere than the Fresh Prince song, “Summer Time.” This painting, for me, is along those lines. My hood was more than gang shootings, rapes, murders, robberies. My hood was those things. But friendships, family, happiness, joy, creativity and the innocence of a child also existed within my hood. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602381315182-B3VEP39WH09QMD9YY44V/000325-TrayvonMartin-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Trayvon Martin July 22, 2013 24" x 24" Acrylic on Panel 000325 I am Trayvon Martin. He was Trayvon Martin. All my Ninja’s. All my Nephews. WE ARE Trayvon Martin The suns and moons, gods and goddesses, children of Africa. We are no longer slaves. We too have a voice. We too have power. We too have guns. Unite and be heard, be it legally or lawfully. I feel threatened and will stand my ground. It is the law. When we don't vote we are victims of their laws. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602381343280-I9BEZILW9GRTKW2IIQSX/000345-HotBox-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Hot Box September, 2013 7 1/2" x 6" Acrylic on Paper 000345 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602381307465-ZEG3ZSDYT3ND8ILDW7R8/000304-TheWayTheLight-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - The Way, The Light May, 2013 18" x 14" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000304 A very special thanks to Judy Adrian and Rev. Tina Lang for putting together and hosting my first solo exhibit at First United Methodist Church, 203 Wisconsin Avenue, Madison, WI 53703. This painting is my way of saying thank you. As a kid my grandmother use to make us read the Bible and Jah (God) said he made man in his image and likeness. But every picture I seen was depicting Jesus as white (pale skin, blond hair and blue eyes). That did not reflect my image or likeness so was this not my God too? Was I always doomed to be controlled by white men? When I got older I read Rev. 2:18. When I kept reading and learning I questioned how could Jesus be of that land with pale skin and blue eyes. His skin would burn and the sun would damage his eyes. But what if his hair was like wool, like mine? His eyes the color of coal. His skin the color of brass as if it was burned by the fire, like mine? Would whites accept and love a Black Jesus the way Blacks accept and love a white one? What if “I am” means I am what or who I am at the time I am it or them? Would that mean Jesus’ color is the color of the person he wants to reach or connect with at that time. I am all things. I am nothing. All praises be unto H.I.M. Haile Selassie I, Jah Rastafari, the most HIGH God. The image or symbol doesn't matter as long as we understand, embrace and live out the message seeing God as MY God too helps me do that. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602379855530-GWGMAEIAD5UI49KR9HUD/000302-YoungWarrior-DarRenMorris-WEB.JPG WORK - Young Warrior April 16, 2013 7" x 5" Acrylic on Paper 000302 Native Braves aren't the only warriors with brightly colored and meaningful outfits. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602379829957-ONJWECYET6F37ALUS135/000286-GraffitiontheWall-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Graffiti on the Wall February 14, 2013 7" x 5" Acrylic on Card 000286 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602379809007-5FH5G7H7JJ8KVSIT6R16/000284-Reflections-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Reflections February 1, 2013 7" x 5" Acrylic on Paper 000284 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602379626090-5M2N1MN24ODXFNR55K2C/000279-PassionorPain-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Passion or Pain January, 2013 7 1/5" x 5" Acrylic on Cardboard 000279 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602379610433-O5GPBKWJHFFM73RFLXN1/000278-Tu-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Tu 7 3/4" x 5" Acrylic on Cardboard 000278 I wake up stranglin Tangled in my bed sheets I know there is a boogie man. "Tu"" https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602378751987-N0LIB8EC1O6N8O8R7ZIA/000274-K%2CFullBelly%2CSleepin%27-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - K, Full Belly, Sleepin' January 22, 2013 6 1/2" x 5 1/2" Acrylic on Cardboard 000274 When there are other noises or people talking I can't really distinguish words or sound. I'll hear a sound and know that it is a sound being made or someone is talking, but can't understand the words. But I've gotten used to that and under certain situations I can put it together from the shape the mouth is making and the sound…. As I was writing yesterday, a face popped up in the cell window and it was a guy that was sleepin’ on the floor in here not long ago (not enough bunks for everyone). I thought he said, “I'm movin’ in.” Later the officer said, I see you’re in the Easter spirit. Confused? Why? Long story short it was not mandatory that this guy move in here. They were about to put him somewhere else. He didn't want to go there. They said if he found someone, they'll let him go there. I was being asked if he could move in but that is one of the drawbacks to my hearing. I did not catch that inflection in the voice that made it a question. So, now as I write this, he’s on the floor snoring. In the cell, there is common space: sink, toilet, floor and desk. Nearly everyone adheres to the communal rules. When using the sink or toilet, leave it as you found it, clean. And always a courtesy flush for when flushing is essential. Nothing is private. My own body is not private. The toilet is positioned so no matter if I take a piss or shit, I'm looked upon. Adrian, Judith & DarRen Morris (2014) In Warm Blood: Prison & Privilege, Hurt & Heart, p. 189-190" https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602378741817-AN2QMWQEVSOOZDO43Y5H/000265-UnknownFacebookWoman-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Unknown Facebook Woman Fall, 2012 10" x 8" Acrylic on Poster Board 000265 A very pretty woman yet in this mix of beauty and innocence there seems to be this hovering sadness. That is the attraction of such a piece to me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602378734603-EEJ50KFHQRI2HADQ72ZW/000264-PonRocke-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Pon Rock 24" x 18" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000264 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602378512485-GY21NZW8JM7VM7FTJ8HI/000262-ToB.Harriott-DarRenMorris-WEB.JPG WORK - To B. Harriott April, 2014 14 1/2" x 12" Acrylic on Cardboard 000262 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602378494107-HT5AWZKEGSE4WGXRV9PT/000246-June14%2CShattered-DarRen+Morris-WEB.jpg WORK - June 14, Shattered June 14, 2012 17" x 12" Acrylic on Watercolor Paper 000246 The writer Anais Nin once wrote that men sometimes behave like women and when I examine what we men “say” women are some unfortunately believers. What we say is true. But that would mean as I see the part of us that is “woman like” would be the also delicate male ego. This year mine has taken a beating. But no matter how they tried to contain her the saucy little minx hasn't lost her fire. Cracked but still not yet broken. When the pigs put me in seg they attempted to destroy many things with one blow; one sweeping blow. They cut and tore this paper and somehow caused these creases. I decided not to let it go to waste. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602378389593-HKRF0Y23NECDLX3LERG4/000240-StandingTall-DarRenorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Standing Tall May 21, 2012 18" x 24" Acrylic 000240 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602378362333-K8E3CYQLS8VLTDBBP5Z1/000238-Free-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Free May 18, 2012 12" x 6" 000238 This painting is based on a woman I've seen and heard other men judge for her behavior. They consider her to be slut-ish. I don't see her that way. I don't know her and never held a conversation with her. But from afar, she seems to be the contrary. She's comfortable with who she is and therefore is free. Who and what she is...a matter of opinion. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602378282239-ZECMYP0HZTM7R0VDIMF7/000219-LoveShouldn%27tHurt-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Love Shouldn't Hurt March 14, 2012 18" x 12" Acrylic 000219 Those who were suppose to love and protect me beat and bruised my body, my spirit and forever changed who I could have been. Funny how love still hurts. Maybe this is yet one more bruise left by them. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602378211612-ZI7GQVEY0RTUSVK22M6Z/000218-DarRenMorris-+DreadSister-WEB.jpg WORK - Dread Sista March 10, 2012 Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000218 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602312806349-Y1F35IVRE2S2QWT51DL1/000206-Common-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Common Acrylic 000206 How do you spot an angel? What do god’s angels look like? If one walked the earth, would we know it? We prejudge each other and many people have assumed that all things heavenly are white, as if there are no Asian or Black angels. (Based on the face of the rapper, Common.) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602312695420-VG57GNLRY008THNS2C1V/000199-Rip2Pac-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - RIP 2PAC September 11, 2011 20 1/2" x 25" Acrylic on Cardboard 000199 I used this cardboard to paint on and had some paint left over, so I painted a memorial to 2PAC in the center. The 2PAC painting was spur of the moment. I don't have a good drawing board . The tape will not stick to it and they have very stupid rules on what we can have here. So when I know I'll have projects to send out, I snatch up cardboard being discarded and make me a box which then becomes my drawing board. As you’ll notice there are a lot of outlined rectangles or squares made by pieces I tapes to it and painted and the colors spilled off creating the outline. I had a bunch of paint left over I didn't want to go to waste so I took them colors and painted the picture as best I could from a magazine my cell mate at the time had on the desk. 2Pac RIP, on a cardboard box. Chaos…his life before he ever came into existence, was that of a revolutionary. He brung a new flava to Rap music. He done his thing his way; a way that had not been done before. When I painted this it was not planned. I had the colors left over from another project and didn't want them to go to waste. There was a XXL magazine with his picture. I experimented with mixing colors in a way I had never done before and used a palette knife, another first. This painting is what I came out with – a picture on a box bound for Edgewood College. One of my favorite songs by him is Strictly Representin’ because I too have a head and ain’t no screws in it.” The chaos around him was also incidental. See, I do not have a good drawing board and the rules are very stupid about what we can have. So when I am able to and I know I have projects going out soon, I will snatch up card board and build me a box. This time I used it as my drawing board, so I taped pictures to it and that is much of the square/rectangle out lines. Court yard birds was painted while taped to the back…scratch that, my palm trees were painted while strapped to the back of that. Court yard birds, if you look you will see the outlines. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602312585712-Y1WINTXCIEB2TCV98YI8/000184-Evil%2CAKACarl-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Evil 2011 15" x 10" Acrylic on Watercolor Paper 000184 We all have our demons or what or who we label as the boogie man. The devil. This is the face of mine. Almost nightly we are still fighting. I woke up this night with darkness seeping from my bones. I lay here unable to sleep. Running from a devil and chasing evil. Why was I born. Why do I live. Why didn't I die...Death, it seems like water to a man dying of thirst. I already have so much blood on my hands, why not my own. Darkness in my thoughts. Darkness in my bones. There's only one way I'll ever get home. A place where there's no abuser. The fourth letter is D...so dead. He is dead. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602312502725-U7NFQXIJNG33KFXY5KI1/000176-NightWatchmanDarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Night Watchman 9 1/2" x 7" Acrylic on Canvas 000176 In many ways this painting was me making’ peace with Johnny Fish, the innocent victim in my crime. Some things can't be taken back. But I can learn from the experience and use that knowledge to serve others and maybe save someone through the sharing of it. The painting came from a black and white, grainy photo. I liked the pensive stare and so I gave him color. I made him real. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602312317557-2TXJWL3ZZHTDBZMIO0X3/000172-Groundation-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Sugah Shack - After Ernie Barnes October 27, 2010 18” x 24” Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000172 This painting was by Ernie Barnes, and my version is a tribute to him as he is my favorite artist. As a kid I used to go to local galleries and museums and I never seen black artists. The painting was made famous by Marvin Gaye’s album cover and through the TV show, "Good Times." I thought J.J. played by Jimmy Walker was the artist, but either way I was happy to see a black artist who was not doing graffiti. I hope that someday my art will do for some young black person what Barnes’ art did for me. I have survived and thrived because of him. It always struck me how the people in the painting were doing things that are considered fun but that they never looked happy or looked like they were having fun. That was me. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602312224303-5N06VPBUH56ULI7ER16V/000170-JahHealsAllPain-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Jah Heals All Pain 18" x 24" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000170 Remember that if you believe in a higher power, that belief is there for a reason. Maintain it in times of hardship. The representatives of your higher power will show up and clothe you in the armor of that belief. When an inmate sang his song about pain, I envisioned a man that was downtrodden but seeking redemption, hoping that there was something to hope for. I was deeply hurt and hurting in a way I hadn't felt in a long time. But I held hope that Jah was going to heal my pain. The short dreads symbolize the beginning knowledge or recognition that there is a God and that we are connected. INI...The Angel with the flag, Angel of Jah, is there to remind me of Zion. The promise that the god spirit in me is empowered to achieve...and the shield of David to protect INI. I was trying to show hurt, despair and, yet, hopefulness. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602312129487-4FYSVHMQIC0DLWV8CJ2T/000159-TributeParty-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - The Tribute Party to Ernie Barnes 14" x 11" Acrylic 000159 When I painted this I had the sacred chalice and the imperial fivah ablaze. I could see the music and so I added musical notes and a shapely sistah singing from her soul, like them powerful soulful singers of yesterday - Labelle and The Franklins or my girl, Millie Jackson. And it was a party to honor Ernie Barnes, the original painter of the Sugar Shack. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602312060595-UC4QKYTEW2545WCFK3YH/000158-CreationofINIEmpress-DarRenMorris-WEB.JPG WORK - Creation of INI Empress August 3, 2010 14" x 11" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000158 Jah put man asleep and took one of his ribs and gave it to the creation bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh. I love women and I believe that they're among the greatest of Jan creations. In all shades, colors, short, tall, young, mature, slim and robust. It's the personality and spirit of the woman that makes her unattractive. Meanness has never been attractive. But still she is bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602311993347-DI8RV7LOFUMW6EBCNXUD/000156-TreeFromCellWindow-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Tree from Cell Window July 29, 2010 9" x 12" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000156 I resisted the suggestion of my cellmate to paint the fence and bars that separate me from this tree. The cage that contains me does not contain this beauty of nature and if the person looking at the painting did not know that they may think that the tree was caged in. The tree is free and I celebrate its freedom. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602311928330-KK8HZ122K5JAJQ2EQ4LU/000132-TrappedbyFreedom-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Trapped by Freedom June 1, 2010 18" x 14" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000132 Since I first created this painting, my insight into the basic concept of it has grown as I have grown. The man emerging from (being pulled into) the heart. The bittersweet feeling of loving and being loved is tainted by the limits and strains of prison. I was saying that I am trapped by love, the very thing that I claim as my freedom -- the inability to fully explore and express that love. This is the promise of a new day, a wiser (the dreads) stronger version will be born when I look up, metaphorically, placing my thoughts and emotions on a higher plane. I am placing myself in a position to watch the sun rise and find the key in the light I could not find in the dark. Love sets free. Love heals. Love refreshes and love incarcerates. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602311856750-8QK8J73G55TBFK0XN41P/000113-TheActofAffection_DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - The Act of Affection Sets My Love in Motion 16" x 9 1/2" Acrylic on Canvas Paper 000113 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602311781559-XBBWD2RXXXH0B0QALG8O/000109-LionofJudahisRising_DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - The Lion of Judah is Rising April 20, 2011 32" x 20" Acrylic on Canvas Paper 000109 I've had to battle depression my entire life. Painting and the belief that the spirit of God is in me helps. Some days I feel like the Lamb and then I remember the Lion of Judah. My only surrender is the Most High Jah Rastafari. Each day I seek out the spirit of the conquering lion. HIM spirit fills my lungs, starting a fire inna my soul. Its smoke comes from my center, through the pores of my flesh seeping from my high tension wires. This is a self portrait. There is darkness around my eyes. There is sullen sadness in my eyes. I was deeply sad when I painted it but wishing brightness would be in my future to remove me from the darkness. My arms out like that of a crying child wanting to be picked up and held. Peace was not a part of that painting. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602311721837-YD5F7MC5CZ896O6HYSD0/000087-NaturalLove%2CATreeofLife-DarRen+Morris.JPG WORK - Natural Love. Tree of Life 9" x 12" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000087 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602115069401-XWW6BQZLQJANCK6WO5S1/000073-AnimalinaCage-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Animal in a Cage 16" x 12" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000073 Having spent so much time in solitary confinement, I could feel my humanity eroding with the passing of each day. The pounding on the doors reverberated through my bones. The smell of sweat, blood, urine and feces mixed with the pungent odor of desperation. I began my time thinking what was wrong with these people. Soon I was being gassed. I was becoming the animal I was trained to be by the conditions of that environment. There were these moments, between fights with the guards, when the gas mixed with my own sweat caused the hatred that burned in my heart. I could feel it on my skin. Then the clouds would part and the hulk would recede and the broken humanity would peek through. In those moments I would feel tremendous despair. This is reflective of my struggles to deal with segregation in prison. At times I didn't act like a human because I was not being treated like one. After one of many beatings (by the very people who were supposed to help me), I sat in that moment, gas still clinging to my body and burning. Cold and hungry, I sat on that concrete slab and wondered, would it ever end? Why had my life been a constant struggle since day one? See camera in upper left hand corner. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602311501756-3N4NN85A4DJ7LVAT7XDO/000072-BoyinaCloset-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Boy in Closet December, 2009 20" x 16" Acrylic on Canvas Paper 000072 As a boy, my brothers had some unique punishments for me. I’d not recall the first time or what led to it. I remember the house (apartment). I was about 8 when we moved there. When I was about 9, we had both downstairs apartments and that was the first time I was thrown in there. I had developed a fear of the dark. So much happened to me in the dark. I remember being terrified. Once I kicked on that door and it popped open and what I faced outside that door made being inside of it less horrible. How it was set up -- the line down the center of the back of me would be the crack from where the two doors came together. My brother had learned to use tools in shop class and that allowed him to place a pole outside the door and prevented me from opening it. After a while, I made up games to distract me from the heat -- it was really hot. I think there was a boiler in the basement under this closet. I also needed to keep my mind off of the bugs in there with me. This is an image of being locked inside what we, as kids, dubbed the hotbox. In the beginning it was terrifying. Unable to get out. Then I realized why would I want to get out? I was hungry. I was hot. I was alone in the dark. But the boogie man was outside that door. What happened to protecting and nurturing a child? Maybe the hot box was protection and I was nurtured into exactly who and what I was meant to be. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602311373238-ML991TV6JXJ3L2IMBXMJ/000071_DayofRestatHome_DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Day of Rest at Home 2009 18" x 14" Acrylic on Canvas Panel 000071 This painting was based on my memories of my time in Jamaica. A picture on my granny's wall. I am not sure if it was a photo or a professional photo. I was thinking of what it would be like to be at home, sitting there, enjoying a smoke and drawing and to hear my Babe call my name and wonder was I dreaming or if she would have really given it all up for me to hang out with me on this simple rock. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602311209836-ZWT2HJCWA7I93TCR62T1/000038-Bob+Marley%E2%80%99sRedemptionSong-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Redemption Song July 18, 2009 000038 Acrylic I was in solitary confinement. I had not eaten in five days. I was on observation status. I could not imagine living my life like that for the rest of my days. I was about 24 at the time and made a very serious attempt to end my life. That’s how I ended up on observation status. On that status they don't give regular food. They give this loaf that looks like and smells like a log of shit. I would not eat. They took all of my clothes. No sheet. No blanket. Not even a mattress. I drifted in and out of a long slumber, thirsty. My body was sore from the cold hard concrete. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602308288451-RWAEROP9NKXE28WXENRA/image-asset.jpeg WORK - Untitled 14” x 19” Acrylic on Cardboard https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602308381517-REJXVR4QAK4S5G8OZ27E/000-ThirdEye-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg WORK - Third Eye 23” x 17” Acrylic on Cardboard 000 I was reading and learning about centering and grounding when I got the news that my grandmother had died. The tears that dripped from my face landed on my pallet and mixed in with my paint as I dealt with the “loss” of someone so important in my life. To hold on to the dead is to hold on to that suffering. Just as a tree sheds a leaf and moves on with its life, so must we. https://darrenmorris.art/about daily 0.75 2021-12-14 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602121771050-WGB2LNP82JGU5MTMNJ1N/InWarmBloodBookCover.jpg ABOUT https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1469397616931-IXVRGGJ5ZFFJBM2T5YWV/image-asset.jpeg ABOUT Self Portrait of DarRen Morris - March 3, 2016 https://darrenmorris.art/own daily 0.75 2021-12-14 https://darrenmorris.art/connect daily 0.75 2022-09-14 https://darrenmorris.art/exhibition-history daily 0.75 2026-01-07 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1700281605792-U9E7V7HC3U6K2ESHV1ZL/1000006898.jpg EXHIBITION HISTORY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1642918927887-4OJ59SZXTSKJ5MMNDHS3/ArtlessBastard_2022_Cropped_smaller.jpg EXHIBITION HISTORY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1658278855179-OS6JXREGIDANB8D695RR/20220201_182615.jpg EXHIBITION HISTORY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602046617848-AIOAN5PQACAVBMOBDNT5/DarRenExhibitionPhotos-ForWeb-01.jpeg EXHIBITION HISTORY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602046614361-36KNIAOSSL95622G68C3/DarRenExhibitionPhotos-ForWeb-02.jpeg EXHIBITION HISTORY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602046622334-FDGNHPO0NBIN73S6RWGH/DarRenExhibitionPhotos-ForWeb-03.jpeg EXHIBITION HISTORY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602046623654-64C00ZY41USEFZGC6LBC/DarRenExhibitionPhotos-ForWeb-04.jpeg EXHIBITION HISTORY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602046625860-0Y4JS1U669TMSM1MJVTZ/DarRenExhibitionPhotos-ForWeb-05.jpeg EXHIBITION HISTORY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602046630978-ZTK5A088GP4F863TWSI7/DarRenExhibitionPhotos-ForWeb-06.jpeg EXHIBITION HISTORY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602046631452-O7YEYOPKLDJ04XXRF4XI/DarRenExhibitionPhotos-ForWeb-07.jpeg EXHIBITION HISTORY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602046637519-DZI0C6B1SEH3XX94VXNC/DarRenExhibitionPhotos-ForWeb-08.jpeg EXHIBITION HISTORY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602046638589-EDB9BX7YFL8JOTXUZEA8/DarRenExhibitionPhotos-ForWeb-09.jpeg EXHIBITION HISTORY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602046641629-R86RUOLMNN4WMZKW3YAD/DarRenExhibitionPhotos-ForWeb-10.jpeg EXHIBITION HISTORY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1658278855328-7IKTMBNT9TU6MFG36Y3E/20220201_180824.jpg EXHIBITION HISTORY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1658278856412-5HBGZQ763BRPGBPL3J36/20220501_140141.jpg EXHIBITION HISTORY https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1700281605792-2IVZE96DV14NOSX5OG9G/20230930_142613.jpg EXHIBITION HISTORY https://darrenmorris.art/artist-statement daily 0.75 2020-10-21 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602041091078-AB4W1AYFPLCHPQ1XU1ES/000-Painter%27sPortrait-DarRenMorris-Unusable.jpg ARTIST STATEMENT September 23, 2012, 12” x 17 3/4", Graphite Pencil on Paper https://darrenmorris.art/press daily 0.75 2020-10-15 https://darrenmorris.art/support daily 0.75 2022-07-20 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602389397995-Y5OFTTMX16R2ZIQJMI0H/000656-FirstAidKit-DarRenMorris-WEB.jpg SUPPORT First Aid Kit, August 2019 ”I turn my back on this world and embrace my love [my paintbrush]. The comfort of her arms accepts and soothes all my pain. * https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/ff5c04b8-f1cd-4c5e-836a-0b8af1658b76/JAHBoogie_NattyNation.jpg SUPPORT - Make it stand out JAH Boogie of Natty Nation https://darrenmorris.art/tutorial daily 0.75 2020-11-06 https://darrenmorris.art/lrb-4927 daily 0.75 2023-01-23 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/5784160729687fbea458a710/1602387328177-SR5VRRRNOIG84SSJNFGB/000552-MotherTeresa-DarRenMorris.jpg LRB-4927 Mother Teresa (February 2017), Acrylic on Masonite Panel, 18" x 24”