Don Howard Celebrity Caricatures

Saturday Morning with Don Howard, Caricature Artist

2011-04-23T16:41:00.000-05:00

Our day began early with a trip Across The Pond to tweak the newly installed Sports Poster Stand featuring 18x24-in color posters of your favorite team--ALABAMA or AUBURN. But, before we got started, we had to check out the fish!

The fish were really jumping Across The Pond today

Mr. Howard Tweaking the newly installed Sports Poster Stand

The next leg of our Saturday morning finds us at Hobby Lobby--need to lay in a supply of paper (we're partial to Canson USA fine art paper). Per Mr. Howard, "it makes the colors JUMP".

Don Howard with his "supply of Canson" (bag on the left)

After all that fishing, tweaking and Canson paper shopping, we're feeling a little hungry--especially since we skipped breakfast. Since we were in the neighborhood, we headed for one of Don's favorite burger joints--Steak 'n Shake for a bit of refueling.

Don preparing to enjoy a delecious Strawberry Milkshake

Refueled and refreshed, we head for the last leg of our journey—The Home Depot. No, we’re not buying art supplies today— just looking. Believe it or not, we’re spark plug shopping—no, not for the truck—the lawnmower.

Don Howard at The Home Depot

So ends our journey- - check back often for "Saturday Mornings" with Mr. Howard.

Don Howard Celebrity Caricatures - Testimonials

2011-03-08T12:01:00.000-06:00

I would like to share this story with the artist, Mr. Howard. Four years ago my son John passed away from cancer. He left five children. John's greatest love second to his family was snowboarding. He loved music and grew up listening to Ray Charles (my favorite). When he was sick I used to take his six year old son for rides, and the first thing he did in the car was press the button to hear Ray Charles sing "America the Beautiful" and sang along with it. His fourteen year old son was always playing Louis Armstrong's "It's a Wonderful World". After asking them what their Dad's favorite song was, they unanimously yelled out "Pink Houses" by Mellencamp. I got these three artists prints a year ago, had them framed and gave them as birthday gifts. They loved them! John was buried on a little island in Maine, and at graveside, among others, these three songs were played. Thanks to Mr. Howard's talent and affordable prices, I was able to give my grandsons a meaningful gift they will always treasure. Thank you again Mr. Howard.
Sincerely
Susan Hunnewell

Don Howard Celebrity Caricature Print - BB King

2011-03-08T09:43:00.000-06:00

Hey Don received my B.B. King today in perfect condition. It is wonderful and I also visited your site on E. Bay, I didn't see any Sammy Hagar. Can you do that and if you can how soon can I get it. Thanks again, Teresa

BB King

Don Howard - Sammy Hagar with Barb & Ron Nowacki

2011-03-07T01:30:00.005-06:00

Don, here is a picture of me, my husband Ron and Sammy Hagar backstage last August at one of his concerts. My friends and I follow him all over (USA and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico) seeing him at various concerts. I'm heading to Lake Tahoe in May for 2 concerts. Barb

Don Howard Art Exhibit

2011-02-28T12:24:00.001-06:00

This exhibit was sponsored by the State Black Archives Research Center and Museum, Alabama A&M University.

Don Howard Salutes Black History Month - Bessie Smith

2011-02-27T00:24:00.001-06:00

Bessie Smith

Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer.Sometimes referred to as The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s. She is often regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era and, along with Louis Armstrong, a major influence on subsequent jazz vocalists.

Smith became the highest-paid black entertainer of her day. Columbia nicknamed her "Queen of the Blues," but a PR-minded press soon upgraded her title to "Empress". She made some 160 recordings for Columbia, often accompanied by the finest musicians of the day, most notably Louis Armstrong, James P. Johnson, Joe Smith, Charlie Green and Fletcher Henderson.

Recordings of Bessie Smith were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. This special Grammy Award was established in 1973 to honor recordings that are at least 25 years old and that have "qualitative or historical significance."

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard Salutes Black History Month - Billie Holiday

2011-02-26T05:11:00.002-06:00

Billie Holiday

Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan, April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday was a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo.

Critic John Bush wrote that Holiday "changed the art of American pop vocals forever." She co-wrote only a few songs, but several of them have become jazz standards, notably "God Bless the Child," "Don't Explain," "Fine and Mellow," and "Lady Sings the Blues." She also became famous for singing "Easy Living," "Good Morning Heartache," and "Strange Fruit", a protest song which became one of her standards and made famous with her 1939 recording.

In 1946, Holiday recorded one of her most covered and critically acclaimed songs, "Good Morning Heartache". The song was played in Louis Jordon's 1946 film Beware. Diana Ross' rendering of the song reached the top 40 on the pop charts in 1971. Although the song failed to chart under Holiday, it remained a staple in her live shows with three known live recordings of the song.

Holiday's late recordings on Verve constitute about a third of her commercial recorded legacy and are as popular as her earlier work for the Columbia, Commodore and Decca labels. In later years, her voice became more fragile, but it never lost the edge that had always made it so distinctive.

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard Salutes Black History Month - Nat King Cole

2011-02-25T06:07:00.001-06:00

Nathaniel Adams Cole

Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American musician who first came to prominence as a leading jazz pianist. Although an accomplished pianist, he owes most of his popular musical fame to his soft baritone voice, which he used to perform in big band and jazz genres. He was one of the first black Americans to host a television variety show, and has maintained worldwide popularity since his death.

Cole's first mainstream vocal hit was his 1943 recording of one of his compositions, "Straighten Up and Fly Right", based on a black folk tale that his father had used as a theme for a sermon. Johnny Mercer invited him to record it for the fledgling Capitol Records label. It sold over 500,000 copies, proving that folk-based material could appeal to a wide audience. Although Cole would never be considered a rocker, the song can be seen as anticipating the first rock and roll records. Indeed, Bo Diddley, who performed similar transformations of folk material, counted Cole as an influence.

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard Salutes Black History Month - Richard Wright

2011-02-24T01:30:00.003-06:00

Richard Wright

Richard Nathaniel Wright (September 4, 1908 – November 28, 1960) was an American author of powerful, sometimes controversial novels, short stories and non-fiction. Much of his literature concerns racial themes. His work helped redefine discussions of race relations in America in the mid-20th century.

Wright’s novel, Native Son, was selected by the Book of the Month Club as its first book by an African-American author. The lead character, Bigger Thomas, represented limitations that society placed on African Americans. He could only gain his own agency and self-knowledge by committing heinous acts. Wright was criticized for his works' concentration on violence. In the case of Native Son people complained that he portrayed a black man in ways that seemed to confirm whites' worst fears.

In April 2009, Wright was featured on a U.S. Postage Stamp. The 61 cent, two ounce rate stamp is the 25th installment of the literary arts series and features a portrait of Richard Wright in front of snow–swept tenements on the South Side of Chicago, a scene that recalls the setting of Native Son.

Wright received several different literary awards during his lifetime including the Spingarn Medal in 1941, the Guggenheim Fellowship in 1939, and the Story Magazine Award.

Works of fiction included Uncle Tom's Children, The Man Who Was Almost a Man, Native Son and The Outsider; non-fiction included Black Boy.

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard Salutes Black History Month - Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.

2011-02-23T06:50:00.003-06:00

Adam Clayton Powell, Jr.

Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., (November 29, 1908 - April 4, 1972) was an American politician and pastor who represented Harlem, New York City, in the United States House of Representatives (1945–71). He was the first person of African-American descent elected to Congress from New York. In 1961, after sixteen years in the House, he became chairman of the Education and Labor Committee. As Chairman, he supported the passage of important social legislation but was removed from his seat by Democratic Representatives-elect of the 90th Congress following allegations of corruption.

During the Great Depression in the 1930s, Powell, a handsome and charismatic figure, became a prominent civil rights leader in Harlem, New York. He developed a formidable public following in the Harlem community through his crusades for jobs and housing. As chairman of the Coordinating Committee for Employment, he organized mass meetings, rent strikes, and public campaigns forcing companies and utilities and Harlem Hospital to hire black workers. During the 1939 New York World's Fair, Powell organized a picket line at the Fair's offices in the Empire State Building; as a result, the number of black employees was increased from about 200 to 732. In 1941, a bus boycott led to the hiring of 200 black workers by the Transit Authority, and Powell led a fight to have drugstores in Harlem hire black pharmacists.

In 1937, he succeeded his father as Pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church. In 1941, with the aid of New York City's use of the Single Transferable Vote, he was elected to the New York City Council as the city's first Black Council representative. He received 65,736 votes, the third best total among the six successful Council candidates.

"Mass action is the most powerful force on earth," Powell once said, adding, "As long as it is within the law, it's not wrong; if the law is wrong, change the law." He was elected to Congress in 1944.

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard Salutes Black History Month - Mary McLeod Bethune

2011-02-22T00:53:00.003-06:00

Mary McLeod Bethune

Mary Jane McLeod Bethune (July 10, 1875 – May 18, 1955) was an American educator and civil rights leader best known for starting a school for African-American students in Daytona Beach, Florida, that eventually became Bethune-Cookman University and for being an advisor to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Born in South Carolina to parents who had been slaves and having to work in fields at age five, she took an early interest in her own education. With the help of benefactors, Bethune attended college hoping to become a missionary in Africa. When that did not materialize, she started a school for black girls in Daytona Beach. From six students it grew and merged with an institute for black boys and eventually became the Bethune-Cookman School. Its quality far surpassed the standards of education for black students, and rivaled those of white schools. Bethune worked tirelessly to ensure funding for the school, and used it as a showcase for tourists and donors, to exhibit what educated black people could do. She was president of the college from 1923 to 1942 and 1946 to 1947, one of the few women in the world who served as a college president at that time.

Bethune was also active in women's clubs, and her leadership in them allowed her to become nationally prominent. She worked for the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, and became a member of Roosevelt's Black Cabinet, sharing the concerns of black people with the Roosevelt administration while spreading Roosevelt's message to blacks, who had been traditionally Republican voters. Upon her death, columnist Louis E. Martin said, "She gave out faith and hope as if they were pills and she some sort of doctor." Her home in Daytona Beach is a National Historic Landmark, her house in Washington, D.C. in Logan Circle is preserved by the National Park Service as a National Historic Site, and a sculpture of her is located in Lincoln Park in Washington, D.C.

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard Salutes Black History Month - Gordon Parks

2011-02-21T00:45:00.001-06:00

Gordon Parks

Gordon Roger Alexander Buchanan Parks (November 30, 1912 – March 7, 2006) was a groundbreaking American photographer, musician, poet, novelist, journalist, activist and film director. He is best remembered for his photo essays for Life magazine and as the director of the 1971 film Shaft.

A 1948 photo essay on a young Harlem gang leader won Parks a staff job as a photographer and writer with Life magazine. For 20 years, Parks produced photos on subjects including fashion, sports, Broadway, poverty, racial segregation, and portraits of Malcolm X, Stokely Carmichael, Muhammad Ali, and Barbra Streisand. His 1961 photo essay on a poor Brazilian boy named Flavio da Silva, who was dying from bronchial pneumonia and malnutrition, brought donations that saved the boy's life and paid for a new home for his family

Parks is remembered for his activism, filmmaking, photography, and writings. He was the first African American to work at Life magazine, and the first to write, direct, and score a Hollywood film. He was profiled in the 1967 documentary "Weapons of Gordon Parks" by American filmmaker Warren Forma. Parks was a co-founder of Essence magazine and one of the early contributors to the blaxploitation genre.

Parks himself said that freedom was the theme of all of his work, Not allowing anyone to set boundaries, cutting loose the imagination and then making the new horizons.

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard Salutes Black History Month - Sojourner Truth

2011-02-20T00:33:00.006-06:00

Sojourner Truth

Sojourner Truth (c. 1797 – November 26, 1883) was the self-given name, from 1843 onward, of Isabella Baumfree, an African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist. Truth was born into slavery in Swartekill, New York, but escaped with her infant daughter to freedom in 1826. After going to court to recover her son, she became the first black woman to win such a case against a white man. Her best-known extemporaneous speech on racial inequalities, Ain't I a Woman?, was delivered in 1851 at the Ohio Women's Rights Convention in Akron, Ohio. During the Civil War, Truth helped recruit black troops for the Union Army; after the war, Truth tried unsuccessfully to secure land grants from the federal government for former slaves.

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard Salutes Black History Month - Barbara Jordan

2011-02-19T00:27:00.000-06:00

Barbara Jordan

Barbara Charline Jordan (February 21, 1936 – January 17, 1996) was an American politician who was both a product, and a leader, of the Civil Rights movement. She was the first African-American elected to the Texas Senate after reconstruction and the first Southern black woman ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. She was an inspirational figure in the Progressive movement through her powerful public speaking and her triumphant refusal to be defined by disability.

She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among numerous other honors. On her death she became the first African-American Woman to be interred in the Texas State Cemetery. The main terminal of Austin-Bergstrom Airport is named for her.

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard Salutes Black History Month - Rosa Parks

2011-02-18T00:21:00.010-06:00

Rosa Parks

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an African-American civil rights activist, whom the U.S. Congress called "the first lady of civil rights", and "the mother of the freedom movement".

On December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama, Parks, age 42, refused to obey bus driver James Blake's order that she give up her seat to make room for a white passenger. Her action was not the first of its kind. Irene Morgan in 1946, and Sarah Louise Keys in 1955, had won rulings before the U.S. Supreme Court, and the Interstate Commerce Commission, respectively, in the area of interstate bus travel. Nine months before Parks refused to give up her seat, 15-year-old Claudette Colvin refused to move from her seat on the same bus system. In New York City, in 1854, Lizzie Jennings engaged in similar activity, leading to the desegregation of the horsecars and horse-drawn omnibuses of that city. But unlike these previous individual actions of civil disobedience, Parks' action sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

Parks' act of defiance became an important symbol of the modern Civil Rights Movement and Parks became an international icon of resistance to racial segregation. She organized and collaborated with civil rights leaders, including boycott leader Martin Luther King, Jr., helping to launch him to national prominence in the civil rights movement.

At the time of her action, Parks was secretary of the Montgomery chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and had recently attended the Highlander Folk School, a Tennessee center for workers' rights and racial equality. Nonetheless, she took her action as a private citizen "tired of giving in". Although widely honored in later years for her action, she suffered for it, losing her job as a seamstress in a local department store. Eventually, she moved to Detroit, Michigan, where she found similar work. From 1965 to 1988 she served as secretary and receptionist to African-American U.S. Representative John Conyers. After retirement from this position, she wrote an autobiography and lived a largely private life in Detroit. In her final years she suffered from dementia and became involved in a lawsuit filed on her behalf against American hip-hop duo OutKast.

Parks eventually received many honors ranging from the 1979 Spingarn Medal to the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Gold Medal and a posthumous statue in the United States Capitol's National Statuary Hall. Her death in 2005 was a major story in the United States' leading newspapers. She was granted the posthumous honor of lying in honor at the Capitol Rotunda.

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard Art Exhibition -The Last Ten Years

2011-02-17T11:58:00.000-06:00

Artist Don Howard of Huntsville, AL is currently having an art exhibition, sponsored by the State Black Archives Research Center and Museum, Alabama A&M University(Wilson Building). The exhibit is housed in two wings and features Celebrity Caricatures as well as Biblical Characters. GALLERY HOURS

Don Howard Salutes Black History Month - Alice Walker

2011-02-17T00:13:00.007-06:00

Alice Walker

Alice Malsenior Walker (born February 9, 1944) is an African American author and poet. She has written at length on issues of race and gender, and is most famous for the critically acclaimed novel The Color Purple for which she won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Alice Walker met Martin Luther King Jr. when she was a student at Spelman College in Atlanta in the early 1960s. Walker credits King for her decision to return to the American South as an activist for the Civil Rights Movement. She attended the famous 1963 March on Washington. As a young adult she volunteered her time registering voters in Georgia and Mississippi.

Walker's first book of poetry was written while she was still a senior at Sarah Lawrence, and she took a brief sabbatical from writing when she was in Mississippi working in the civil rights movement. Walker resumed her writing career when she joined Ms. magazine as an editor before moving to northern California in the late 1970s.

In addition to her collected short stories and poetry, Walker's first novel, The Third Life of Grange Copeland, was published in 1970. In 1976, Walker's second novel, Meridian, was published. The novel dealt with activist workers in the South during the civil rights movement, and closely paralleled some of Walker's own experiences.

In 1982, Walker would publish what has become her best-known work, the novel The Color Purple. About a young ugly black woman fighting her way through not only racist white culture but also patriarchal black culture, it was a resounding commercial success. The book became a bestseller and was subsequently adapted into a critically acclaimed 1985 movie as well as a 2005 Broadway musical play.

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard Salutes Black History Monty - Justice Thurgood Marshall

2011-02-16T00:04:00.007-06:00

Justice Thurgood Marshall

Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American jurist and the first African American to serve on the Supreme Court of the United States. Before becoming a judge, he was a lawyer who was best remembered for his high success rate in arguing before the Supreme Court and for the victory in Brown v. Board of Education. He was nominated to the court by President Lyndon Johnson in 1967. Marshall retired from the Supreme Court in 1991, and was reportedly unhappy that it would fall to President George H. W. Bush to name his replacement. Bush nominated Clarence Thomas to replace Marshall.

President John F. Kennedy appointed Marshall to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in 1961. A group of Democratic Party Senators, led by Mississippi's James Eastland, held up his confirmation, so he served for the first several months under a recess appointment. Marshall remained on that court until 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him Solicitor General, the first African American to hold the office.

On November 30, 1993, Justice Marshall was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Bill Clinton.

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard Salute to Black History Month - Mae Jemison

2011-02-15T00:59:00.002-06:00

Mae Carol Jemison

Mae Carol Jemison (born October 17, 1956) is an American physician and NASA astronaut. She became the first African American woman to travel in space when she went into orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour on September 12, 1992.

After the flight of Sally Ride in 1983, Jemison felt the astronaut program had opened up and applied. Jemison's inspiration for joining NASA was African-American actress Nichelle Nichols, who portrayed Lieutenant Uhura on Star Trek. Jemsion was turned down on her first application to NASA, but in 1987 Jemison was accepted on her second application.

Her work with NASA before her shuttle launch included launch support activities at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and verification of Shuttle computer software in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory (SAIL). Jemison flew her only space mission from September 12 to 20, 1992 as a Mission Specialist on STS-47. STS-47 was a cooperative mission between the United States and Japan that included 44 Japanese and United States life science and materials processing experiments. Jemison logged 190 hours, 30 minutes, 23 seconds in space.

Jemison resigned from NASA in March 1993. Although Jemison's departure from NASA was amicable, NASA was not thrilled to see her leave. "NASA had spent a lot of money training her; she also filled a niche, obviously, being a woman of color," says Homer Hickam, a training manager for NASA’s space station efforts. In an interview with the Des Moines Register on October 16, 2008 Jemison said that she was not driven to be the "first black woman to go into space." "I wouldn't have cared less if 2,000 people had gone up before me ... I would still have had my hand up, 'I want to do this.'"

In 1993, Jemison appeared on an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. LeVar Burton found out, from a friend that Jemison was a big Star Trek fan and asked her if she'd be interested in being on the show, and she said, "Yeah!!" The result was an appearance as Lieutenant Palmer in the episode "Second Chances". Jemison has the distinction of being the first real astronaut ever to appear on Star Trek.

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard Salutes Black History Month - Booker T. Washington

2011-02-14T12:39:00.010-06:00

Booker T. Washington

Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856 – November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915. Representative of the last generation of black leaders born in slavery, he spoke on behalf of blacks living in the South. In his last 25 years, Washington maintained his standing because of the sponsorship of powerful whites, substantial support within the black community, his ability to raise educational funds from both groups, and his accommodation to the social realities of the age of Jim Crow segregation.

Washington was born into slavery to a slave mother and white father in a rural area in southwestern Virginia. After emancipation, he worked in West Virginia in a variety of manual labor jobs before making his way to Hampton Roads seeking an education. He worked his way through Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (now Hampton University) and attended college at Wayland Seminary (now Virginia Union University). After returning to Hampton as a teacher, in 1881 he was named as the first leader of the new Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.

Washington attained national prominence for his Atlanta Address of 1895, which attracted the attention of politicians and the public, making him a popular spokesperson for African-American citizens. He built a nationwide network of supporters in many black communities, with black ministers, educators and businessmen composing his core supporters. Washington played a dominant role in black politics, winning wide support in the black community and among more liberal whites (especially rich Northern whites). He gained access to top national leaders in politics, philanthropy and education. Washington's efforts included cooperating with white people and enlisting the support of wealthy philanthropists, helping to raise funds to establish and operate thousands of small community schools and institutions of higher education for the betterment of blacks throughout the South. This work continued for many years after his death.

In addition to his contributions in education, Washington wrote 14 books; his autobiography, Up From Slavery, first published in 1901, is still widely read today. During a difficult period of transition, he did much to improve the working relationship between the races. His work greatly helped blacks to achieve higher education, financial power and understanding of the U.S. legal system. This led to a foundation of the skill set needed to support the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and further adoption of important federal civil rights laws.

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard Salutes Black History Month - Condoleezza Rice

2011-02-13T00:02:00.001-06:00

Condoleezza Rice

Condoleezza Rice (born November 14, 1954) is an American political scientist and diplomat. She served as the 66th United States Secretary of State, and was the second person to hold that office in the administration of President George W. Bush. Rice was the first African-American woman secretary of state, as well as the second African American (after Colin Powell), and the second woman (after Madeleine Albright). Rice was President Bush's National Security Advisor during his first term, making her the first woman and first African American to serve in that position. Before joining the Bush administration, she was a professor of political science at Stanford University where she served as Provost from 1993 to 1999. Rice also served on the National Security Council as the Soviet and East European Affairs Advisor to President George H.W. Bush during the dissolution of the Soviet Union and German reunification.

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard Salutes Black History Month - General Colin Powell

2011-02-12T00:57:00.005-06:00

General Colin Powell

Colin Luther Powell (born April 5, 1937) is a United States statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State (2001–2005), serving under President George W. Bush. He was the first African American appointed to that position. During his military career, Powell also served as National Security Advisor (1987–1989), as Commander of the U.S. Army Forces Command (1989) and as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1989–1993), holding the latter position during the Gulf War.

He was the first, and so far the only, African American to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard Salutes Black History Month - Booker T. Washington

2011-02-11T08:08:00.000-06:00

Booker T. Washington

Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856 – November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915. Representative of the last generation of black leaders born in slavery, he spoke on behalf of blacks living in the South. In his last 25 years, Washington maintained his standing because of the sponsorship of powerful whites, substantial support within the black community, his ability to raise educational funds from both groups, and his accommodation to the social realities of the age of Jim Crow segregation.

Washington was born into slavery to a slave mother and white father in a rural area in southwestern Virginia. After emancipation, he worked in West Virginia in a variety of manual labor jobs before making his way to Hampton Roads seeking an education. He worked his way through Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (now Hampton University) and attended college at Wayland Seminary (now Virginia Union University). After returning to Hampton as a teacher, in 1881 he was named as the first leader of the new Tuskegee Institute in Alabama.

Washington attained national prominence for his Atlanta Address of 1895, which attracted the attention of politicians and the public, making him a popular spokesperson for African-American citizens. He built a nationwide network of supporters in many black communities, with black ministers, educators and businessmen composing his core supporters. Washington played a dominant role in black politics, winning wide support in the black community and among more liberal whites (especially rich Northern whites). He gained access to top national leaders in politics, philanthropy and education. Washington's efforts included cooperating with white people and enlisting the support of wealthy philanthropists, helping to raise funds to establish and operate thousands of small community schools and institutions of higher education for the betterment of blacks throughout the South. This work continued for many years after his death.

In addition to his contributions in education, Washington wrote 14 books; his autobiography, Up From Slavery, first published in 1901, is still widely read today. During a difficult period of transition, he did much to improve the working relationship between the races. His work greatly helped blacks to achieve higher education, financial power and understanding of the U.S. legal system. This led to a foundation of the skill set needed to support the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s and further adoption of important federal civil rights laws.

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard Salutes Black History Month - BB King

2011-02-10T00:53:00.006-06:00

BB King

Riley B. King (born September 16, 1925), known by the stage name B.B. King, is an American blues guitarist and singer-songwriter acclaimed for his expressive singing and guitar playing.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked him at #3 on its list of the "100 greatest guitarists of all time". According to Edward M. Komara, King "introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending and shimmering vibrato that would influence virtually every electric blues guitarist that followed." King has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Initially he worked at the local R&B radio station WDIA as a singer and disc jockey, where he gained the nickname "Beale Street Blues Boy", later shortened to "B.B." It was there that he first met T-Bone Walker. "Once I'd heard him for the first time, I knew I'd have to have [an electric guitar] myself. 'Had' to have one, short of stealing!", he said.

King was given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987. As of 2009, he has won 15 Grammy Awards, of which ten have been the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album

SOURCE: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard Salutes Black History Month - Sammy Davis, Jr.

2011-02-09T07:28:00.017-06:00

Sammy Davis, Jr. as "Mr. BoJangles"

Samuel George "Sammy" Davis, Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American entertainer.

Primarily a dancer and singer, Davis was a childhood vaudevillian who became known for his performances on Broadway and in Las Vegas, as a recording artist, television and film star, and as a member of Frank Sinatra's "Rat Pack".

At the age of three Davis began his career in vaudeville with his father and "uncle" as the Will Mastin Trio, toured nationally, and after military service, returned to the trio. Davis became an overnight sensation following a nightclub performance at Ciro's after the 1951 Academy Awards, with the trio, became a recording artist, and made his first film performances as an adult later that decade. Losing his left eye in a car accident in 1954, he converted to Judaism and appeared in the first Rat Pack movie, Ocean's 11, in 1960. After a starring role on Broadway in 1956's Mr Wonderful, Davis returned to the stage in 1964's Golden Boy, and in 1966 had his own TV variety show, The Sammy Davis Jr. Show. Davis's career slowed in the late sixties, but he had a hit record with "The Candy Man", in 1972, and became a star in Las Vegas.

As an African American, Davis was the victim of racism throughout his life, and was a large financial supporter of civil rights causes. Davis had a complex relationship with the black community, and attracted criticism after physically embracing Richard Nixon in 1970. One day on a golf course with Jack Benny, he was asked what his handicap was. "Handicap?" he asked. "Talk about handicap — I'm a one-eyed Negro Jew." This was to become a signature comment, recounted in his autobiography, and in countless articles.

After reuniting with Sinatra and Dean Martin in 1987, Davis toured with them and Liza Minnelli internationally, before dying of throat cancer in 1990.

Davis was awarded the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP, and was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award for his television performances. He was the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 1987, and in 2001, he was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

SOURCE: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard's Salute to Black History Month - Big Maybelle

2011-02-08T00:28:00.002-06:00

Mabel Louise Smith

Mabel Louise Smith (May 1, 1924 – January 23, 1972), known professionally as Big Maybelle, was an American R&B singer and pianist. Her 1956 hit single "Candy" received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999.

Born in Jackson, Tennessee, Big Maybelle sang gospel as a child and by her teens had switched to rhythm and blues. She began her professional career with Dave Clark's Memphis Band in 1936, and also toured with the all female International Sweethearts of Rhythm. She then joined Christine Chatman's Orchestra as pianist, and made her first recordings with Chatman in 1944, and with the Tiny Bradshaw’s Orchestra from 1947 to 1950.
Her debut solo recordings, as Mabel Smith, came for King Records in 1947, backed by Oran "Hot Lips" Page, but she had little initial success. However, in 1952 she was signed by Okeh Records, whose record producer Fred Mendelsohn gave her the stage name Big Maybelle. Her first recording for Okeh, "Gabbin' Blues", was a number 3 hit on the Billboard R&B chart, and was followed up by both "Way Back Home" and "My Country Man" in 1953. In 1955 she recorded "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin On", produced by Quincy Jones, two years before Jerry Lee Lewis' version. More hits followed throughout the 1950s, mainly for Savoy Records, including "Candy" (1956), one of her biggest sellers.

She made the stage of the Apollo Theater in New York City; the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival; and she appeared in Jazz on a Summer's Day (1960), filmed at the Newport Jazz Festival, along with Mahalia Jackson and Dinah Washington. After 1959 she recorded for a variety of labels but the hits largely dried up. She continued to perform in person into the early 1960s, when drug addiction and health problems took their toll on her. Her last hit single was in 1967 with a cover of "96 Tears" by Question Mark & the Mysterians.

Big Maybelle died in a diabetic coma in 1972, in Cleveland, Ohio. Her final album, Last of Big Maybelle, was released posthumously in 1973.

The album The Okeh Sessions on the Epic label, won the 1983 W. C. Handy Award, for "Vintage or Reissue Album of the Year (U.S.)".

SOURCE: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

NOTE: This piece, along with numerous others by Don Howard, is currently on exhibit in the State Black Archives Research Center and Museum (Wilson Building) on the campus of Alabama A&M University. The exhibit is scheduled to end on March 4.

Don Howard's Salute to Black History Month - Leontyne Price

2011-02-07T00:00:00.001-06:00

Leontyne Price

Mary Violet Leontyne Price (born February 10, 1927) is an American soprano. Born and raised in the segregated Deep South, she rose to international fame during a period of racial change in the 1950s and 60s, and was the first African-American to become a leading prima donna at the Metropolitan Opera.

Price's voice was noted for its brilliant upper register, "smoky" middle and lower registers, flowing phrasing, and wide dynamic range. A lirico spinto (Italian for "pushed lyric", or middleweight), she was well suited to the roles of Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini, as well as several in operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Her voice ranged from A flat below Middle C to the E above High C. (She said she reached high Fs "in the shower.")

After her retirement from the opera stage in 1985, she continued to appear in recitals and orchestral concerts for another 12 years.

Among her many honors are the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1964), the Kennedy Center Honors (1980), the National Medal of Arts (1985), numerous honorary degrees, and nineteen Grammy Awards, including a special Lifetime Achievement Award in 1989, more than any other classical singer. In October 2008, she was one of the recipients of the first Opera Honors given by the National Endowment for the Arts.

SOURCE: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard Art Exhibit at Alabama A&M University

2011-02-06T18:19:00.000-06:00

Don Howard entertaining guests (Leadbelly, Billie Holiday and Lightnin' Hopkins) at "The Mini Bar". The exhibit is housed in the State Black Archives Research Center and Museum (Wilson Building) on the campus of Alabama A&M University, February 4 through March 4 2011

Don Howard's Salute to Black History Month - Martin Luther King, Jr.

2011-02-06T17:05:00.002-06:00

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African American civil rights movement. He is best known for being an iconic figure in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the teachings of Mahatma Gandhi. King is often presented as a heroic leader in the history of modern American liberalism.

A Baptist minister, King became a civil rights activist early in his career. He led the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott and helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. King's efforts led to the 1963 March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. There, he expanded American values to include the vision of a color blind society, and established his reputation as one of the greatest orators in American history.

In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination through civil disobedience and other nonviolent means. By the time of his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and stopping the Vietnam War.

King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004; Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. federal holiday in 1986.

SOURCE: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard's Salute to Black History Month - Ella Fitzgerald

2011-02-05T00:04:00.001-06:00

Ella Fitzgerald

Ella Jane Fitzgerald (April 25, 1917 – June 15, 1996), also known as the "First Lady of Song" and "Lady Ella," was an American jazz and song vocalist. With a vocal range spanning three octaves (Db3 to Db6), she was noted for her purity of tone, impeccable diction, phrasing and intonation, and a "horn-like" improvisational ability, particularly in her scat singing.

She is considered to be a notable interpreter of the Great American Songbook. Over a recording career that lasted 59 years, she was the winner of 14 Grammy Awards and was awarded the National Medal of Art by Ronald Reagan and the Presidential Medal of Freedom by George H. W. Bush.

There is a statue of Fitzgerald in Yonkers, the city in which she grew up. It is located southeast of the main entrance to the Amtrak/Metro-North Railroad station.

On January 10, 2007, the United States Postal Service announced that Fitzgerald would be honored with her own 39-cent postage stamp. The stamp was released in April 2007 as part of the Postal Service's Black Heritage series.

SOURCE: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard's Salute to Black History Month - Sidney Poitier

2011-02-04T00:50:00.002-06:00

Sidney Poitier, Actor

Sidney Poitier (born February 20, 1927) is a Bahamian American actor, film director, author, and diplomat.

In 1963, Poitier became the first black person to win an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Lilies of the Field. The significance of this achievement was later bolstered in 1967 when he starred in three well-received films—To Sir, with Love; In the Heat of the Night; and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner—making him the top box office star of that year.

In 1999, the American Film Institute named Poitier among the Greatest Male Stars of All Time, ranking 22nd on the list of 25.

Poitier has directed a number of popular movies such as A Piece of the Action; Uptown Saturday Night, and Let's Do It Again (with friend Bill Cosby), and Stir Crazy (starring Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder). In 2002, 38 years after receiving the Best Actor Award, Poitier was chosen by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to receive an Honorary Award, designated "To Sidney Poitier in recognition of his remarkable accomplishments as an artist and as a human being." Since 1997 he has been the Bahamian ambassador to Japan. On August 12, 2009, Sidney Poitier was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the United States of America's highest civilian honor, by President Barack Obama.

SOURCE: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard's Salute to Black History Month - Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton

2011-02-03T00:38:00.000-06:00

Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton

Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton (December 11, 1926 – July 25, 1984) was an American rhythm and blues singer and songwriter. She was was born in Ariton, Alabama. Her introduction to music started in a Baptist church, where her father was a minister and her mother a church singer.

She was the first to record the hit song "Hound Dog" in 1952. The song was #1 on the Billboard R&B charts for seven weeks. The B-side was "They Call Me Big Mama," and the single sold almost two million copies. Three years later, Elvis Presley recorded his version, based on a version performed by Freddie Bell and the Bellboys. In a similar occurrence, she wrote and recorded "Ball 'n' Chain," which became a hit for her. Janis Joplin later recorded "Ball and Chain," and was a huge success in the late 1960s.

Thornton performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1966 and 1968, and at the San Francisco Blues Festival in 1979. In 1965 she performed with the American Folk Blues Festival package in Europe. While in England that year, she recorded Big Mama Thornton in Europe and followed it up the next year in San Francisco with Big Mama Thornton with the Chicago Blues Band. Both albums came out on the Arhoolie label. Thornton continued to record for Vanguard, Mercury, and other small labels in the 1970s and to work the blues festival circuit until her death in 1984, the same year she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

During her career, she appeared on stages from New York City's Apollo Theater in 1952 to the Newport Jazz Festival in 1980, and was nominated for the Blues Music Awards six times. In addition to "Ball 'n' Chain" and "They Call Me Big Mama," Thornton wrote twenty other blues songs.

SOURCE: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard's Tribute to Black History Month - Louie Armstrong

2011-02-02T00:00:00.000-06:00

Louie Armstrong

Louis Daniel Armstrong (August 4, 1901 – July 6, 1971), nicknamed Satchmo or Pops, was an American jazz trumpeter and singer from New Orleans, Louisiana.

Coming to prominence in the 1920s as an "inventive" cornet and trumpet player, Armstrong was a foundational influence in jazz, shifting the music's focus from collective improvisation to solo performance. With his instantly recognizable deep and distinctive gravelly voice, Armstrong was also an influential singer, demonstrating great dexterity as an improviser, bending the lyrics and melody of a song for expressive purposes. He was also greatly skilled at scat singing, vocalizing using sounds and syllables instead of actual lyrics.

Renowned for his charismatic stage presence and voice almost as much as for his trumpet-playing, Armstrong's influence extends well beyond jazz music, and by the end of his career in the 1960s, he was widely regarded as a profound influence on popular music in general.

Armstrong was one of the first truly popular African-American entertainers to "cross-over," whose skin-color was secondary to his amazing talent in an America that was severely racially divided. It allowed him socially-acceptable access to the upper echelons of American society that were highly restricted for a person of color. While he rarely publicly politicized his race, often to the dismay of fellow African-Americans, he was privately a huge supporter of the Civil Right movement in America.

SOURCE: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard Art Exhibition at Alabama A&M University in February

2011-02-01T08:30:00.006-06:00

Don's work will be on exhibit at Alabama A&M University (February 4th through March 4th) to coinside with Black History Month. The exhibit will be featured in the State Black Archives Research Center and Museum located in the Wilson Building.

Don Howard's Tribute to Black History Month - DeFord Bailey

2011-02-01T02:08:00.001-06:00

DeFord Bailey

DeFord Bailey (December 14, 1899 – July 2, 1982) was an early country music star and the first African American performer on the Grand Ole Opry. Bailey played several instruments but is best known for his harmonica tunes. He was one of the few notable African-American stars in country music.

A grandson of slaves, Bailey was born near the Bellwood community in rural Smith County, Tennessee, and learned to play the harmonica at the age of three. He contracted polio (or as it was called at the time 'infantile paralysis'). During his year-long confinement to bed he developed his distinctive style of playing. In 1918, he moved to Nashville performing locally. His first documented radio appearance was June 19, 1926 on WSM in Nashville. On December 10, 1927, he performed his most famous piece "Pan American Blues" for the first time. Upon Bailey's debut performance of the "Pan American Blues," WSM Barn Dance George D. Hay is quoted as having said: "From now on we will present the Grand Ole Opry." The radio show has been known by that name ever since.

Bailey was a pioneer member of the WSM Grand Ole Opry, and one of its most popular performers, appearing on the program from 1927 to 1941. During this period he toured with many major country stars, including Uncle Dave Macon, Bill Monroe, and Roy Acuff. Like other black stars of his day traveling in the South and West, he faced many difficulties in finding food and accommodation because of the discriminatory Jim Crow laws.

In 2005, Nashville Public Television produced the documentary "DeFord Bailey: A Legend Lost". The documentary was broadcast nationally through PBS. Later that year, thanks to his pioneering efforts, Bailey was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on November 15, 2005. On June 27, 2007, the DeFord Bailey Tribute Garden was dedicated at the George Washington Carver Food Park in Nashville.

SOURCE: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard at Calhoun Community College Black History Month Celebration

Don Howard's Tribute to Black History Month - In Caricature

2011-01-31T15:07:00.002-06:00

Have you ever wondered why we celebrate Black History Month?

Black History Month

Dr. Carter Godwin Woodson worked to preserve the history of African Americans and accumulated a collection of thousands of artifacts and publications. He noted that African American contributions "were overlooked, ignored, and even suppressed by the writers of history textbooks and the teachers who use them." Race prejudice, he concluded, "is merely the logical result of tradition, the inevitable outcome of thorough instruction to the effect that the Negro has never contributed anything to the progress of mankind."

In 1926, Woodson single-handedly pioneered the celebration of "Negro History Week", for the second week in February, to coincide with marking the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass. The week was later extended to the full month of February and renamed Black History Month.

SOURCE: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Don Howard Celebrity Caricatures - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

2011-01-17T09:38:00.000-06:00

Martin Luther King, Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) – Prominent African American civil rights leader.

1955 - Led the Montgomery Bus Boycott
1957 - Helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference
1963- March on Washington, where King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech
1964 - Nobel Peace Prize 1968 - Assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee
1977 - Posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom
1986 - Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established as a U.S. federal holiday
2004 - Posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal

The following is an excerpt from Dr. King’s “I Have A Dream Speech”, which was delivered during the 1963 March on Washington, DC.

"I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!""

Mount, Steve. "Constitutional Topic: The I Have A Dream Speech." http://www.usconstitution.net/dream.html

Don Howard Celebrity Caricature Print - Sammy Hagar

2011-01-16T14:43:00.003-06:00

Hi Don, just received the Sammy print! WOW! It is AWESOME!! My husband said we have to get a few more of those for friends birthdays and Christmas gifts. This is going to be a big hit with our Sammy friend. I can't wait to show this off next Tuesday when we see Sammy Hagar! You made my week Thanks!!

Barb & Ron Nowacki

Sammy Hagar Print

Don Howard Celebrity Caricatures - A Blast From The Past

2011-01-12T14:40:00.000-06:00

Don Howard was commissioned to refurbish the R. E. Nelms Elks Lodge No. 977 on Pulaski Pike, Huntsville, AL, in 2000. The following are excerpts from an article by Ben Johnson for The Huntsville Times:

The lodge walls feature scenes from Egypt. Pillars, sconces and other decorative touches enhance the look. Howard hand-painted the walls, doors and other areas to give them a three-dimensional look. The simulated wall blocks are the same size as in Egyptian pyramids, he says. His meticulous research yielded the proper dimensions and look. The artwork of the ancient Egyptians has been a favorite of his since he was a child.
“I want to do this project in this manner because I love the style, and the building and the organization lend themselves to the style,” says Howard. “I am satisfied with the illusion I have completed. When you come into the lodge, you have the sense that you’re in Egypt. The interior represents not just one huge canvas, but a representation of three-dimensional structures done in classical Egyptian style.”
The Lodge’s new look seems to please Elks members and patrons alike. . . It’s wonderful, beautiful, marvelous, fantastic,” said the DJ- - - “Those are the only words I know. I’m a country boy. If I knew more, I would use them, too.”

Don Howard Custom Caricatures - Auburn Tigers

2011-01-11T19:06:00.001-06:00

Don Howard MC FDCOC Bible Bowl

2010-12-18T17:44:00.002-06:00

Mr. Howard takes time out of his busy schedule to MC the Bible Bowl at his Church (Farriss Drive Church of Christ) where he also teaches the Teen Sunday School Class.

Don Howard MC's Bible Bowl

Don Howard's Tribute to George"Hound Dog" Lorenz

2010-11-10T11:03:00.022-06:00

This tribute to George "Hound Dog Lorenz" is courtesy of our good friends, Dave and Martha Schnell (seen in the window--"Hound Town.” ) who live in NEW YORK CITY! Goerge “Hound Dog”Lorenz was instrumental in promoting then unknown Rock Stars such as Elvis, Fats Domino and Sam Cooke, just to name a few. Prints available at celebrity-caricature-art.com.

Goerge “Hound Dog”Lorenz

The Hound and Fats Domino

The Hound and Elvis

Don Howard's Dogs (Missy and Maggie Mae)

2010-11-06T13:38:00.000-05:00

Missy, October 2010

Missy & Maggie Mae, October 2010

Maggie Mae, October 2010

Don Howard Voted Today--Did U?

2010-11-02T13:15:00.003-05:00

The Candidates - Then

How did Kenny Rogers put it--ah yes,"Life was so much easier then. . ."
Please visit: our Celebrity Caricature Store for a real treat!

Don Howard - Beloved Dog Missy Dies Suddenly

2010-10-29T13:24:00.000-05:00

Don's beloved Missy was tragically killed on 10/26/2010.

Don Howard and Cully Hamner

2010-10-13T18:46:00.001-05:00

Don was recently asked to comment on his former student, Cully Hamner, who recently passed through The Rocket City on his way to the premiere of the movie "REDS".

What's Don's opinion of Cully: “He’s got mad skills, one of the best drawers out there. That fellow can draw.” Check it out!

We've watched the trailers and it looks hallarious--can't wait to see it. d/fd

Don Howard, Across The Pond for "Back To Bama" Print Signing

2010-09-12T17:30:00.002-05:00

Artist Don Howard Signing a "Back-To-Bama" Print for Dee Dee from Star 99

Don Howard “went Across The Pond” Saturday to sign copies of his limited edition poster “Back to Bama”. The folks Across The Pond had a Tailgate Party and Don & Company was only too happy to join in the festivities. Don is pictured above signing a print for Dee Dee, WAHR 99.1 FM radio show host.

Don Howard Presents Waylon Jennings "The Highwaymen"

2010-09-03T18:42:00.000-05:00

Waylon Arnold Jennings is the first in the series of The Highwaymen by Artist Don Howard with promise to follow with Willie, Johnny and Kris.

This rendition of Waylon is done in a style that is just a bit different from Don’s usual offerings (let me know your thoughts on this style), but we like it and I am encouraging him to create other Celebrity Caricature Greats in this style and “I” made a special trip to Hobby Lobby to buy “that good paper” so he can get started—he prefers Michaels—I like Hobby Lobby. I guess it paid off because he has recently started on a series of Blues Greats (Memphis Slim; remake of Bessie Smith; and Junior Wells who worked with the great Buddy Guy—maybe I can put Buddy and Junior together) that will make their “grand debut” in an art show that Don has scheduled with a local university in February 2011—more about that later. But I digress—back to Waylon.

As I said earlier, this Waylon will be followed by the other Highwaymen, so you’ll want to collect all four. Waylon has always been a favorite of mine and I loved him as the narrator of The Dukes of Hazards .

Waylon Jennings Print

Sizes 8x10 and 11x14.

Although we’re offering them in two different sizes—trust me’ You’ll want to collect ALL OF THE HIGHWAYMEN in the 11x14 size! [posted by Dorothy]

Jimmy Buffett Celebrity Caricature Print by Don Howard

2010-07-27T21:03:00.004-05:00

Mr. Howard's latest Tribute To Jimmy Buffett
Size 11x14 - $29.95--includes free shipping!

Jimmy Buffett was born in Pascagoula, Mississippi, a real southern boy. I understand that he also lived in Mobile, AL as a child. I love his music and he has had a number of wonderful hits— “Cheeseburger in Paradise” and “Margaritaville” to name a few, although I am torn between “that frozen concoction that helps me hang on” or “that big warm bun and a huge hunk of meat”. Anyway, he is one of my earlier celebrities. I thought the caricature was pretty neat, however, it appears that a few “parrot heads” felt that it could stand a little improvement. I know what you’re thinking, but I don’t have a problem with a little constructive criticism of my celebrity caricatures—the operative word here is CONSTRUCTIVE! I took their suggestions to heart, grabbed the old pen and paper and created an illustration that amazed even me! [second Jimmy Buffett Caricature] I guess everyone liked this one because he was an instant hit! Thank you Parrot Heads.

This new rendition is my special tribute to Jimmy—I really admire/appreciate his efforts to get more tourists to come back to the Alabama beaches following the BP oil spill with the Jimmy Buffett and Friends Free Concert

Don Howard Attends Memphis In May BBQ Cooking Contest - 2010

2010-05-20T20:32:00.000-05:00

Don Howard and Company was asked to design a T-Shirt for the Ques Brothers BBQ team (like the Blues Brothers) for the Memphis in May's World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, which was held May 13-15, 2010 in Tom Lee Park in downtown Memphis. The theme was “International Salute to Tunisia”. Although it rained, it didn't seem to dampen the spirits of the “BBQuers”.

Don Howard's Back To Bama Print

2010-05-03T14:30:00.002-05:00

In commemoration of the Tide’s 2009 national football championship, I created the “Back To Bama” Print! Believe it or not, this print was actually created prior to the game!!!!. This fantastic souvenir (stocking stuffer) is printed on the finest 80-lb cardstock in brilliant full color. The actual size of the print is 18x24-inches. This is truly a great gift for any Tide Fan!

If you're wondering where you can get one, I'll be signing prints at Across The Pond on 09/11/2010 from 1 until 3 PM. Yall come on by and get one. As I understand it, there'll also be a celebration of "The Bear's" Birthday!! Lots of free food.

Don Howard Relaxing With Family

2010-04-10T19:21:00.001-05:00

Picture this, a nice sunny Sunday afternoon in April at my brother Andy’s house. He and his lovely wife, Lady Di, invited us over for a “mess of catfish” with instructions not to bring anything but a hearty appetite! I asked the wife if she thought Andy had been fishing and her money was on Costco (our favorite shopping place)—as usual, she was right. Anyway, Andy, who fancies himself as a chef extraordinaire, didn’t use one of those Bayou Classic Fish Fryers and Fish Cookers, but his contraption got the job done just fine. Let Andy tell it, "I'm The Best Catfish Cooker in the South!" When he finished with that fish it reminded me of that poem by Edwina Reizer: "A mess of catfish on his plate, they were crispy as he ate." Yea—we had sides to, of particular note were the brownies, moist in the middle with a crunchy crispy top, Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines—who cares, they were DELICIOUS! There's nothing like chilaxing with FAM on a Sunday Afternoon.

Our Dog Missy - Missy Howard at Two Months

2010-03-12T17:45:00.000-06:00

While rummaging, digitally, through some old photos, I came across this one of our dog Missy. This is Missy at 2 months. She is a border collie/Aussie cattle dog mix. When Missy was first presented to us, we thought she was a male, don’t ask, so we named him “Dawg Howard”. Don promptly brought her in and gave her a bowl of milk. From that moment on, s/he was his dawg. When Don took her to the vet the next day, was he surprised to find out he did not have a son but a daughter! So, Dawg Howard quickly became “Missy Dawg Howard”! Missy spent her formative months in Don’s studio eating Purina Puppy Chow and pooping on everything—those terrible “training days”—Denzel, where were you when I needed you! Can anybody tell me why someone like Denzel Washington would star in a trashy movie like that or even better yet, why would he be given an award for it? WHY?? Taking a deep breath and moving on. . .Anyway, after a couple of months “on the paper” in Don’s Studio, Missy was ready for prime time. Missy, as pictured above, was the sweetest, cutest, big legged puppy you’ve ever seen. More to come. . .

Don Howard Celebrity Caricature Print - Buddy Holly

2010-02-28T17:57:00.000-06:00

Buddy Holly Print

I want to thank you very much for the prompt service and personalized signature on the Buddy Holly print that I recently purchased for one of my clients. He was absolutely thrilled with the poster, and immediately had it framed. As soon as he pays for the two new guitars in his collection (he owns more than 40), he wants to order two additional caricatures of his favorite rock legends to complement his guitar collection.

Don is a very talented artist, and we look forward to working with you again in the near future.

Sincerely,
Milburn Taylor

Don Howard - Missy Being Missy--Saga of Missy The Dog

2010-01-13T00:59:00.000-06:00

Missy, wondering “when did you say we were going to the Dog Park?”, which is her all time favorite outing. This activity was initially started to "teach Miss Missy some manners". Lately, I'm beginning to wonder who is being taught! It has gotten to the point where Mr. Howard was reluctant to use the words “Dog Park” so he started referring to it as “the DP”, which worked for a minute! He notes that Missy is content to lie outside his studio door most of the time, basking in the knowledge that sooner or later, he will emerge and she will hear those long awaited for words “DP Missy?”, knowing that if she was good (or not), there would be a treat from the local market (Beggin’ Strips; Beef Jerkey) or the like.

Don in Orlando at I/ITSEC 2009

2009-12-04T17:30:00.001-06:00

Mr. Howard made a "PERSONAL APPEARANCE" at this year's I/ITSEC conference in Orlando.

The NEW Rod Stewart

2009-11-15T09:43:00.001-06:00

The fans asked for it---HERE IT IS!

http://celebrity-caricature-art.com/

Professor Longhair (Henry Roeland Byrd)

2009-10-06T11:01:00.001-05:00

Dave from Amherst, NY writes:

WOW!!!! What more can I say ? This one is another Homerun....a beautiful print that captures him perfectly, It exceeded my highest expectations, The green in the shades, the hair, you nailed him exactly. I am so happy with this one I can't say enough. Thank You for capturing a very unique and special caricature who might would otherwise been lost forever. Anyone who is a fan of his music is going to want this one.

Thank You and God Bless....Dave Schnell

Rod Stewart Caricature--Fan Comment

2009-09-26T19:23:00.001-05:00

The following was received from Vickie--a True Rod Stewart Fan

Hi Artist, I appreciate your depiction of Rod Stewart, but he's not nearly rock and roll enough, he needs short spikey blonde hair, and black leather clothes, or jeans with black or gray shirt. The only time he's ever worn green clothing was for a video about 10 years ago.

He does wear alot of jackets in yellow or pink with black slacks.
Thanks for your talent!

Vickie

We heard you, and "The Artist" is collecting material to create another rendering of our beloved ROD.

NOTE: This caricature of ROD was created approximately ten years ago.

Rod Stewart Print

View from the Pews

2009-09-21T14:28:00.001-05:00

No monolog necessary—in this case, a picture is worth a thousand words. Only Caricature Artist, Don Howard, could capture the shenanigans and goings-on taking place in the pews on Sunday Mornings! If you’re familiar with Don’s work, you know he has an uncanny way of hiding obscure details in each of his prints.

This offering, affectionately called “Harmony Street Church of Christ” is the first in a series of limited edition prints that will be offered by Don Howard Studios.

[Larger View]

Buddy Guy Print

2009-09-16T15:11:00.001-05:00

Hey guys,

Don recently completed this NEW print of Buddy Guy..CHECK IT OUT!

http://celebrity-caricature-art.com/

Don Howard's Caricature Art Print of Rufus Thomas

2009-09-12T13:38:00.000-05:00

The "Clown Prince" of Blues, Rufus Thomas

DeFord Bailey Caricature

2009-02-02T12:54:00.000-06:00

Don’s caricature of harmonica legend DeFord Baily is on permanent displayin the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville, TN.

[Huntsville Times Article]

Don Howard's Louie Armstrong Oil Painting

2008-08-27T13:30:00.000-05:00

http://howardstudiosltd.com/

Original is oil on wood. Size is roughly 24 x 24.

Don Howard Celebrates With Homer Hickam

2008-07-01T12:52:00.006-05:00

Don joins Homer in celebrating the release of his new book "the Far Reaches"

Don and Bunzo Seafood

2008-06-27T17:00:00.000-05:00

Believe it or not, this project is in the last phases of this project. The entire interior was designed/installed by Don Howard Studios.

http://www.donhoward.org/images/Bunzo_Seafood_PDF.pdf

The Doors of Willowbrook

2008-05-15T12:42:00.000-05:00

After completing the sanctuary at Farriss Drive Church of Christ, we didn’t give the paint on the brushes time to dry before embarking on another mammoth undertaking—the doors of Willowbrook. The good folks at Willowbrook commissioned Don Howard Studios (yours truly)to paint NINE murals depicting nine countries (USA, Israel, Egypt, Kenya, Japan, Germany, Russia, Mexico, Brazil) surrounding the doors of their new and expanded facility that was officially opened in April 2008.
http://www.donhoward.org/images/Doors_of_Willowbrook.pdf

Baptistry Murals - Madkin's Chapel, Huntsville, AL

2008-04-30T15:00:00.000-05:00

We recently completed mural in the sanctuary of Madkins Chapel in Huntsville, AL. The majority of the work was done in the studio.
http://www.donhoward.org/images/Madkins_Chapel.pdf

Don Howard and Kenny Neal

2007-06-03T17:15:00.001-05:00

Don and Kenny - Gadsden 2005

Don Howard's Sketch of Kenny Neal - 2007
Kenny Neal

Don Howard with Kenny Neal and Company, Louisiana 2007

Kenny Neal Caricature Art Print by Don Howard
Kenny Neal Caricature Art Print