{"id":22816,"date":"2020-09-17T18:47:07","date_gmt":"2020-09-17T22:47:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.customink.com\/?page_id=22816"},"modified":"2023-07-27T12:36:00","modified_gmt":"2023-07-27T16:36:00","slug":"robert-boone","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.customink.com\/blog\/robert-boone\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Black Talented Artist"},"content":{"rendered":"

When the Black Lives Matter protests began earlier this year, many took to the streets to show their desire for change. But due to the pandemic, not everyone who wanted to could safely join. One immunocompromised seventeen-year-old picked up his art supplies to show his feelings.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Robert and his mom Marquita Photo: Courtesy of the family<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI was just watching videos and they were testifying their experiences when it comes to Black Lives Matter,\u201d says Robert Boone, a high school senior in Clarksville, Maryland. \u201cWhen I was watching these videos, I got really inspired. Like, to the point where I drew that picture \u2018Why Does Skin Matter\u2019 overnight. I just felt something in that piece. That came out of all my heart and soul to that piece.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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The piece he created is a striking mix of portrait and commentary with words worked into the picture. \u201cDon\u2019t touch my hair\u201d is in her hair, \u201cWhy does our skin matter\u201d is across her face, and \u201cWe will speak\u201d on her lips. More phrases adorn the rest of her face, neck, and shoulders.<\/span><\/p>\n

The next morning, he showed his mom, Marquita Harris, what he had created. \u201cWhen I saw it I said, \u2018Oh my god.\u2019 I was so impressed,\u201d she says. \u201cI said, \u2018Robert, do you know what you just drew? This is a masterpiece. I see it going so far.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

His mom was so inspired, she put it up on social media and the piece started getting positive attention. \u201cThen somebody said \u2018Oh my God, I love it\u2019,\u201d says Marquita. \u201cI said \u2018I love it, too, and I would like to wear it because I like to wear things.\u2019 and I was like \u2018Robert we\u2019re going to get this on a t-shirt.\u2019 And I remember Custom Ink from a long time ago when I had my nonprofit\u2026. I called the 1-800 number and I got it on the market [as a custom t-shirt fundraiser]. And we\u2019ve been selling since he created it in June.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Robert Boone Photo: Courtesy of the family<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cIt was amazing because I could reach the social media, and send the link, and [Custom Ink] would ship everywhere and I didn\u2019t have to worry about it. It\u2019s just the easiest forum to get it out there and it has been wonderful for Robert. It\u2019s just a blessing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Marquita titled their fundraising campaign “Young Black Talented Artist” and included a photo of Robert along with the line “Robert believes in the power of Art.” She decided to do a fundraiser because Robert needed a new laptop and an animation tablet along with other art supplies to prepare for his senior year. Robert is immunocompromised and isn\u2019t able to work outside of the home, so a t-shirt fundraiser was the perfect way for him to earn money\u2014and it meant that he could do it through his art.<\/span><\/p>\n

Robert was diagnosed with Septo-optic Dysplasia and Panhypopituitarism when he was younger. He says, \u201cI\u2019m missing my pituitary gland and I\u2019m missing my optic nerve.\u201d This means that he\u2019s unable to see out of one eye and that his body is very vulnerable to infection. \u201cRobert cannot encounter a fever\u2026 any type of fever at all… or else his body will shut down,\u201d says Marquita.<\/span><\/p>\n

The fundraiser has provided a wonderful opportunity for the family to connect with others and to give them an opportunity to support Robert\u2019s art. Robert is most grateful for his mother\u2019s support, though. \u201cShe wanted to get that out there, and I\u2019m very grateful. And she wanted to do shirts. She wanted to do a whole bunch of things. I really have to thank her for the t-shirt idea because we sold a lot of t-shirts.\u201d Robert was able to buy both the laptop and tablet he needed for school with the proceeds from his t-shirt fundraiser.<\/span><\/p>\n

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After the success of the first piece, he launched a second design, this time depicting a man wearing a mask with phrases written across him like \u201cColor is not a crime,\u201d \u201cI speak through the mask,\u201d and \u201cWe are Black men.\u201d He was inspired by famous Black male YouTubers like Cory Kenshin also known as CoryXKenshin. He watches Cory\u2019s videos and thinks about having his own animation series on YouTube someday. \u201cI want to make my own web series. I have scripts for that. I have characters. Concept art. I really want to make an animation series. I have the plot. Storyline. Everything.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Robert is only getting started, but he\u2019s made great strides finding and using his voice for someone so young. \u201cWhen I try to do art, I think of what should be said? When I think of art I think of a way of protesting and speaking your mind.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\nHis original custom t-shirt fundraisers have since closed, but he\u2019s relaunched Don\u2019t Touch My Hair. The proceeds will go toward more art and animation supplies for Robert and runs through September 25th. <\/span>You can see and support his campaign on his fundraising page.<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When the Black Lives Matter protests began earlier this year, many took to the streets to show their desire for change. But due to the pandemic, not everyone who wanted to could safely join. One immunocompromised seventeen-year-old picked up his art supplies to show his feelings. \u201cI was just watching videos and they were testifying their experiences when it comes to Black Lives Matter,\u201d says Robert Boone, a high school senior in Clarksville, Maryland. \u201cWhen I was watching these videos, I got really inspired. Like, to the point where I drew that picture \u2018Why Does Skin Matter\u2019 overnight. I just […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":58,"featured_media":22821,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-22816","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nYoung Black Talented Artist - Custom Ink Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.customink.com\/blog\/robert-boone\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Young Black Talented Artist - Custom Ink Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When the Black Lives Matter protests began earlier this year, many took to the streets to show their desire for change. But due to the pandemic, not everyone who wanted to could safely join. One immunocompromised seventeen-year-old picked up his art supplies to show his feelings. \u201cI was just watching videos and they were testifying their experiences when it comes to Black Lives Matter,\u201d says Robert Boone, a high school senior in Clarksville, Maryland. \u201cWhen I was watching these videos, I got really inspired. Like, to the point where I drew that picture \u2018Why Does Skin Matter\u2019 overnight. 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