Photography – Baltimore
Photography is my passion. I enjoy the beauty that the world provides from the tiny baby to the infinite horizon. Each photograph is a love note from me to the world in celebration of this glorious life.
I give thanks to the wonderful people in my life that formed me as a Photographer and Artist. My grandmother, Ruth Elizabeth Jackson (RUJA) and my grandfather, Lorenzo Edward Hill, are the most influential people in my life. Both contributed to my curiosity about the art of Photography and art in general. Both of them were photographers during a time when the majority of minorities were taking jobs as janitors, busboys and maids. I grew up in a household where bathrooms became instant dark rooms, and earthen paints were made from the pigments of flowers, mud and grass. I spent many hours studying my grandmother’s brush work in oil and acrylics, as well as my grandmother’s pastel and charcoal techniques. I got a good sense of the depth of the many facets of my grandmother’s talent as an artist and photographer during those years I worked with my grandmother in her photography studio, and helping set up the family booth for art shows. My grandfather always had cameras around the house and took a lot of family pictures. One of his cardinal rules was that no one could touch his camera. And now, that he’s gone his library of photography books are like gold to me. I once spent an entire summer reading and digesting the knowledge in those books. I also gives a good deal of credit to my talented mother, LaSondra Lomax. My mother sewed and created many fashions and kept me and my sister busy with crafts and other projects. So it was no surprise when many years later I declared I wanted to follow in the footsteps of my grandmother and grandfather as a photographer.
My art and photography have always been there for me. When I was younger, I was diagnosed with Asthma. We thought for a while I had “grown out of it”, a common misconception. Asthma can seemingly go into remission, when it is controlled either naturally or with prescription medications, but you never grow out of the disease. It is a lifelong and life threatening disease. My life has been spent in and out of hospitals. When I have episodes, I use my art and photography as a sort of therapy to help me stay focused on getting through my episodes and other life changing events. Before I could even graduate college, I started having Asthma episodes again intermittently. When I got married, I became extremely ill and I have been battling my Asthma off and on for almost 17 years. I have been hospitalized numerous times and even spent time in the hospital in a coma for about a week. I know the seriousness of the disease, as it has claimed the life of a close friend in 2010. With each of my hospitalizations, my family supplied me with art supplies and materials to draw. When I got back into my photography, my god daughter’s family, gave me a computer loaded with photo editing software, to help me edit my photos.
My work has been shown successfully, to great reviews, in several notable shows, as well as at Gallery 788. For two years I have participated in Baltimore's Fun-A-Day annual event 2012 & 2014. My first book "Baltimore In Instgrams" was published in March 2013. I am a RAW: natural born artist. I participated in my first RAW Showcase, May 2013. In the Summer of 2013, I had my first solo showing at Sheba, Ethiopian Restaurant, in Canton, MD. In 2010, my work was shown at various events throughout Baltimore and Maryland. From July to November of 2010, I had work displayed at Gallery 788. I was also sponsored at several one night shows. Some work has been published in print publications and used for websites and artist’s portfolios. Currently, I have extensive galleries on Instagram and Flickr. Privately, I work with various clients on photography projects. Most recently, my book, a compilation of photos of Baltimore, "Baltimore In Instagrams" was published on Blurb. My work is also featured on http://www.cultgoddessmagazine.com.
Fun Fact: You can Google me by my first name only.