Chelsea Art Center is latest addition to Ocala's fine arts scene

Florida Highwayman Al Black is coming to the Chelsea Art Center (CAC) to paint the town — sort of. And the CAC is inviting the community to help him do it.

On Sept. 9 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., the renowned artist and painter will lead participants through creating a classic Florida 16x20 landscape in acrylic. It’s a unique opportunity to meet and work with a legend in American art, hosted by the Chelsea Art Center.

“We’re so excited to have him,” says Barbara Fife, owner/director of CAC. “It’s going to be such an incredible experience.”

About the Highwaymen

The Florida Highwaymen were originally an informal group of African American artists who started painting Florida landscapes from the 1950s to the 1980s. In a time when the odds were decidedly against them in a segregated country, the 26 Highwaymen determined to create their own future through the arts.

Al Black was instrumental in the Highwaymen’s success; the former laborer and later salesman for the Fort Pierce Typewriter Company was tapped to sell the group’s artwork up and down the East Coast when they first started out.

At the beginning, they sold their work to private offices, motels and businesses along the East Coast.

“I went all up and down the highways selling paintings,” he said in an interview with the podcast "Highwaymen Paintings: A History of Florida." “If I had 30 paintings that day, I would sell 30 paintings that day. We couldn’t sell our paintings in galleries at all; we’d have to sell them out of the trunk of our car.”

Today the over 150,000 paintings they produced sell for thousands and show in galleries worldwide.

Black developed his own interest in painting, first out of necessity — he would often find himself restoring damaged paintings along the sales route — and then out of passion.

He began creating and selling his own pieces along with the rest of the group. Later, during a 1980s stint in prison that he credits for saving his life and helping him kick an addiction to crack cocaine, he produced more than 100 murals within the Florida State Prison system, along with hundreds of individual canvases.

He was inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 2004, and is one of the last of the original Highwaymen continuing to paint today.

Fife had seen and admired much of the Highwaymen’s work, and was excited to learn there were still some members who taught classes, which is the heartbeat and mission of CAC. Bringing Black to give a workshop and do a collaborative painting project would be perfect for them —– and, as it happened, she knew someone who knew someone.

“One of my instructors, Sean Mullins, has known Al Black for years,” she explained. “He said, ‘We need to get him over here. I’ll arrange that,’ and the next thing I knew, he said yes.”

Chelsea Art Center is just getting started

It’s a big deal for CAC to host the acclaimed artist; the center just opened a little over two months ago.

Fife, who is a watercolorist and calligraphy artist in her own right, got the idea to start a place where people could learn about and experience art and discover their own creativity.

Ocala has a vibrant and supportive arts community, and she was looking for the right location where she could offer classes, workshops, and seminars to the community, led by local artists and artisans giving instruction.

“I had been looking for a place for a while, but oddly, I hadn’t considered Chelsea Square,” she recalls.

Then, suddenly, it was right there in front of her: A “For Lease” sign in the window for 4,700 square feet, nestled alongside neighbors CC Fine Art Gallery, Designs By Daniel, Peacock Cottage, and Chelsea Coffee and Tea Company. Chelsea Square is at 3305 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala.

“It was perfect. It was kismet,” she marvels. She snapped it up and began getting the space ready for visual arts, painting and craft classes. Astonishingly, she opened the doors within a year, although she laughs, “It felt like longer.”

Already, Chelsea Art Center has a fast-populating calendar of events, classes, seminars and workshops; it also is signed up for Ocala’s First Saturday Gallery and Studio tour, as well as the First Friday Art Walk that runs September through May.

The center recently its grand opening on Aug. 22, with local artist Vicki Carroll demonstrating an original acrylic watercolor. More events are being planned and added almost weekly.

Fife herself is an instructor at CAC, and hopes to do more of that now that the center is up, running and already thriving. She isn’t consumed with the preparations of the past year and has more flexibility to do what she loves. “I’ll be making time to teach more now,” she says.

Registration is required for the class with Al Black; supplies and lunch are provided for participants. Visit chelseaartcenter.com for more information and to book your space, or call 352-804-1272.

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Chelsea Square is home to Chelsea Art Center: painting and more