Dr Julian T Euell

New knowledge found via twitter! Dr. Julian T. Euell was the first African American Assistant Secretary of the Smithsonian, his photographic portrait feels smooth, relaxed, not surprising he was a jazz bassist. For a long time I have incredibly interested in historic jazz posters. Bold abstract color schemes representing this chaotic organized musical composition. 

While producing a free hand line drawing based upon this image, I started to consider how to include more energy into the work. The background of the collage is a printed version of the Smithsonian Torch, November 1973, announcing him to the role. The collage objective was to celebrate his legacy while also capturing the attitude displayed within the portrait.