Sketch Abstract Artist from Dorchester, Boston (MA) Joins Facebook’s Foreigner-Filled ‘Pencil/Sketch Art Group’
“No, I’m not in any art groups, not yet,” said the talented artist from Dorchester, Massachusetts, Mr. Kenyatta Wilson. “There are a few around here in Boston, I’m sure. But, I was hoping you could help me to find a few more, because I want to get around some people who are practicing the same craft as I am.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” I told him. “It’s the same for us writers and editors…it’s so much more fun when I get around others who have cool ideas for stories, writing craft insight, etc. That’s why I moved to Boston — because there are a lot more freelance writers up here to meet in person, to mingle with, and to simply have some normal writer’s shop talk with!”
Kenyatta nodded in agreement. “I hear that,” he said. “And, yes, I need that in my life, being that I do my work alone most of the time. Being an abstract artist doesn’t automatically provide the same kind of people-filled environment that allows us to regularly chat about our artwork in the same way as, say, someone working side by side with another roofer on top of someone’s house, or doctors, who can talk all day about different patients at the hospital where they work. Or, folks who work in restaurants and cafes, who can have fun helping each other critique and create recipes and such on a daily basis. What I mean is, no matter how good you are, it can get lonely as an artist in Massachusetts if there are no other ones around you to, like you said, “talk shop” with.”
“Well then, there’s only one thing to do…” I responded.
“What’s that?”
“We gotta find you some company!”
Boston’s Pencilled Abstract Drawer Meets Sketch Artists from Foreign Countries
Mr. Wilson and I decided to not only look in Boston for artist groups, but in some other places as well. And, I don’t mean only in the United States!
For example, here are some of the artists in Facebook’s Pencil/Sketch Art Group from overseas:
Patrick Purcell: From Chiang Mai, Thailand Mr. Purcell has a knack for doing wonderful sketch work, including the funny one below!
Vicki McGuren: Ms. McGuren is from Alpha Queensland Australia, and has some pictures that could be either in your home kitchen or hanging somewhere else in your residence, such as the one below!
Social Media Groups for Boston Contemporary Artists Are Necessary, But Sometimes Picky
According to Exploding Topics, a website that, as it reads on their ‘About’ page, “helps companies find exploding trends before they take off” (Howarth, Sept 2024), Facebook is the social media platform that’s used most in the whole world with over 3 billion users every month. So, it was imperative that I set up this emerging Suffolk County abstract artist a page there.
We started looking around for contemporary artwork groups for him to join, and ran into a few that seemed cool. But, the thing was, many of them ended up not letting potential members from Massachusetts (like Kenyatta) share links from their online portfolios and/or Boston art galleries, or whatever the name of the city was where the person trying to become an art group member was located, whether that city was in the U.S. or abroad.
“I will never understand that,” I told Mr. Wilson. “That’s happened to me a lot of times on social media sites with writer’s groups, too! They seem to want you to join, but, when you want to share a link to your best work, they won’t let you.”
“Well, that’s silly!” Kenyatta responded. “What do the administrators of those kinds of groups want…to only show their own art? To me, that defeats the purpose of calling it a ‘group’, don’t you think? I mean, if I were to start a group for, say, sketch artists in Boston, or multiple other types of artists from all around Massachusetts, I would welcome anyone who loved to draw or paint to share their best-quality work within the group’s community. Running an art group in any other way just doesn’t make sense to me.”
Other Sketch and Abstract Art Groups That Bostonians Can Potentially Join
There was one group called Sketching (a private group that’s made up of about 24,500 paint, sketch and abstract artists from New England and across the world) that made us wait to post our first interview article entitled The Unknown Abstract Artist from Boston’s Dorchester Neighborhood.
The request to join them is still pending but, I just peeked at Facebook as I was typing this article, and saw that another good group for artists called Sketch Society just accepted my request to join. Mr. Wilson has also been invited, and I’ll keep you updated in the next article about whether his work has been accepted for display there or not.
In the meantime, if you are interested in connecting with this talented Dorchester, Massachusetts abstract sketch artist, Kenyatta Wilson can be easily reached at wkenyatta26@gmail.com.
