Reader Tats
Justin Wadlington - Passionate Art
"No mother, no father, and pretty much no real family to count on when times were bad. All I had back then was a pencil and a pad." - Justin "JWadGallery" Wadlington
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Now that he's 28 years of age, poet and portrait artist, Justin Wadlingtons outlook on life as well as his artwork has totally shifted. Back when he was just getting started in the art world, Justin barely had any direction. "Usually, my artwork consisted of drawing cartoon characters and things of that nature. This method changed when I drew my first non-cartoon character and received boatloads of positive reviews from my friends and family. Thats when it hit me like a boxer with his guard down!" he recalls.
The idea came swift and without hesitation to the Philly, PA resident. Drawing cartoons was fun, but it was not the type of work that Justin wanted to do for the rest of his life. "I would forever live in the original creators shadow," Justin expressed.
Luckily for Justin, he picked up on this at an early age. That's when began teaching himself how to draw portraits of real people. "The tricks that I picked up while relentlessly drawing cartoon characters such as The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and X-Men, as well as a few others, helped the transition go smoothly. Not to mention that creative DNA imprinted in my mind and genes by two great artists--my lovely late mother, Linda, and the all-seeing creator, otherwise known as God," the young artist told us in a grateful tone.
"Formal training for me came as frequent as snow in California, and because of this, I had to rely on my eye to pick up techniques and styles that would eventually form my own," Justin stated. Ironically, Justin's right eye is literally what he has to rely on due to a severe accident that took place when he was only five-years-old. Justin recalled the fateful event that caused him to lose sight from his left eye, "I, a coat hanger, and just plain old bad timing are the reasons why my left eye is no longer useful when trying to draw detailed portraits."
However, Justin doesn't let that deter him from his passion for art. "All that accident did was ignite my passion to be that much greater--to be what most people would deem impossible--and that is an all-time great 'one eyed' artist," he said.
His love for the arts attracted Justin to body art. Although he doesnt tattoo himself, Justin has lent his body as a canvas to his trusted tattoo artist, Brad, from Philadelphia Eddies Chinatown Tattoos (philadelphiaeddieschinatowntattoo.com). Justins body is marked with his passion for portraiture and symbols that have inspired him to persevere despite the challenges life throws his way.
Over the years, Justin's pain has taken his imagination to heights previously thought impossible to him. Now, twenty-some-odd years from the time of his accident, with no college education and no formal training, not only does he draw, but he also writes poetry. "To me, an artist is at his best when he can hone in on true emotion and passion," Justin states.
IMAGINE
By Justin Wadlington
Imagine if you were born, only to be raised by your grandmother,
Imagine that she took you in, so that you wouldn't suffer.
Imagine if your mother suffered the pain of losing her two kids,
Imagine if your mother had schizophrenia and she would never take her meds.
Imagine if your father joined the army and became a solider,
But what if he couldn't bare the weight of the world on his shoulder.
Imagine your father killing himself when you were only two,
Can you imagine this kind of pain?
Oh yeah?
What would you do?
How about this!
Imagine if you were five and lost most of the vision in your left eye,
Can you Imagine the pain,
Can you Imagine the anger,
Can you Imagine half your sight being lost because of a hanger!
Have you yet to fathom this pain?
Countless days of tears so big, you'd mistake it for rain.
Imagine your heart getting harder,
Imagine your grandmother being your mom and your uncle your father.
Imagine being young and losing your home,
Imagine living everyday like a rolling stone.
Imagine trying to escape for a day, maybe two, maybe three,
Imagine never getting what you wanted under the Christmas tree.
Imagine trying to fit in like the normal kids,
Imagine that your new parents are child services.
Imagine being a teen and separated from your only sister,
Imagine moving far away and not knowing the next time you'll see her.
Imagine growing up around guns, drugs and sexpeer pressure and such,
All I want to know is could you handle that rush?
Imagine living with ya uncle, ya man, ya homie,
Imagine that man stealing most of ya money.
What if I said it was the value of one hundred thousand sneakers
What if I told you that my uncle is a preacher!!!
Then could you begin to imagine my pain?
Or shall I continue and let you get soaked in the rain.
Imagine being an intelligent and a creative mind,
Imagine being an artist
Imagine living my life, yet trying to get into college.
Imagine losing hope in your talents,
Imagine if you felt that you had no balance.
Imagine finding a love that you thought was too good to be true,
Imagine your first love cheating on you.
Imagine coming home from the gig,
Imagine your grandmother telling you that your mom was just found dead.
I sit in this four-cornered room and I wonder
Wonder where I would be if I let all this take me under.
Instead I harnessed the pain,
And used it for gain....
For more on Justin check out:
YOUTUBE.COM/JWADGALLERY
FACEBOOK.COM/JWADGALLERY
WWW.JWADGALLERY.COM
Twitter.com/JWADGALLERY
Photography by Lucijana Jyoti (facebook.com/ljfoto)
Article by Clive Young
The idea came swift and without hesitation to the Philly, PA resident. Drawing cartoons was fun, but it was not the type of work that Justin wanted to do for the rest of his life. "I would forever live in the original creators shadow," Justin expressed.
Luckily for Justin, he picked up on this at an early age. That's when began teaching himself how to draw portraits of real people. "The tricks that I picked up while relentlessly drawing cartoon characters such as The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and X-Men, as well as a few others, helped the transition go smoothly. Not to mention that creative DNA imprinted in my mind and genes by two great artists--my lovely late mother, Linda, and the all-seeing creator, otherwise known as God," the young artist told us in a grateful tone.
"Formal training for me came as frequent as snow in California, and because of this, I had to rely on my eye to pick up techniques and styles that would eventually form my own," Justin stated. Ironically, Justin's right eye is literally what he has to rely on due to a severe accident that took place when he was only five-years-old. Justin recalled the fateful event that caused him to lose sight from his left eye, "I, a coat hanger, and just plain old bad timing are the reasons why my left eye is no longer useful when trying to draw detailed portraits."
However, Justin doesn't let that deter him from his passion for art. "All that accident did was ignite my passion to be that much greater--to be what most people would deem impossible--and that is an all-time great 'one eyed' artist," he said.
His love for the arts attracted Justin to body art. Although he doesnt tattoo himself, Justin has lent his body as a canvas to his trusted tattoo artist, Brad, from Philadelphia Eddies Chinatown Tattoos (philadelphiaeddieschinatowntattoo.com). Justins body is marked with his passion for portraiture and symbols that have inspired him to persevere despite the challenges life throws his way.
Over the years, Justin's pain has taken his imagination to heights previously thought impossible to him. Now, twenty-some-odd years from the time of his accident, with no college education and no formal training, not only does he draw, but he also writes poetry. "To me, an artist is at his best when he can hone in on true emotion and passion," Justin states.
IMAGINE
By Justin Wadlington
Imagine if you were born, only to be raised by your grandmother,
Imagine that she took you in, so that you wouldn't suffer.
Imagine if your mother suffered the pain of losing her two kids,
Imagine if your mother had schizophrenia and she would never take her meds.
Imagine if your father joined the army and became a solider,
But what if he couldn't bare the weight of the world on his shoulder.
Imagine your father killing himself when you were only two,
Can you imagine this kind of pain?
Oh yeah?
What would you do?
How about this!
Imagine if you were five and lost most of the vision in your left eye,
Can you Imagine the pain,
Can you Imagine the anger,
Can you Imagine half your sight being lost because of a hanger!
Have you yet to fathom this pain?
Countless days of tears so big, you'd mistake it for rain.
Imagine your heart getting harder,
Imagine your grandmother being your mom and your uncle your father.
Imagine being young and losing your home,
Imagine living everyday like a rolling stone.
Imagine trying to escape for a day, maybe two, maybe three,
Imagine never getting what you wanted under the Christmas tree.
Imagine trying to fit in like the normal kids,
Imagine that your new parents are child services.
Imagine being a teen and separated from your only sister,
Imagine moving far away and not knowing the next time you'll see her.
Imagine growing up around guns, drugs and sexpeer pressure and such,
All I want to know is could you handle that rush?
Imagine living with ya uncle, ya man, ya homie,
Imagine that man stealing most of ya money.
What if I said it was the value of one hundred thousand sneakers
What if I told you that my uncle is a preacher!!!
Then could you begin to imagine my pain?
Or shall I continue and let you get soaked in the rain.
Imagine being an intelligent and a creative mind,
Imagine being an artist
Imagine living my life, yet trying to get into college.
Imagine losing hope in your talents,
Imagine if you felt that you had no balance.
Imagine finding a love that you thought was too good to be true,
Imagine your first love cheating on you.
Imagine coming home from the gig,
Imagine your grandmother telling you that your mom was just found dead.
I sit in this four-cornered room and I wonder
Wonder where I would be if I let all this take me under.
Instead I harnessed the pain,
And used it for gain....
For more on Justin check out:
YOUTUBE.COM/JWADGALLERY
FACEBOOK.COM/JWADGALLERY
WWW.JWADGALLERY.COM
Twitter.com/JWADGALLERY
Photography by Lucijana Jyoti (facebook.com/ljfoto)
Article by Clive Young
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