ABOUT

I paint to explore what it means to carry dignity through a fragmented world.

My work begins with a simple but layered idea: "I see you."

It speaks to our desire to be known, understood, and valued. It affirms our worth while also calling us toward wholeness.

Through figurative painting, I explore perception, formation, and the spiritual journey. I am interested in the tension between fragmentation and clarity, and how ordinary people, objects, and moments can reveal deeper truths when we slow down enough to truly see them.

Painting has become both a discipline and a devotion. Each work is an attempt to witness what is enduring, meaningful, and worthy of attention in a culture that often moves too quickly to notice.

Working primarily in oil and acrylic on wood, I create figurative paintings rooted in classical craftsmanship and contemporary life.

My paintings often move between realism and abstraction. Layered surfaces, symbolic imagery, and carefully observed figures work together to explore themes of dignity, perception, endurance, and hope.

Recurring motifs such as cowboys, marching bands, flowers, devotional blue, and everyday objects become visual anchors within larger conversations about identity, formation, and spiritual life.

Influenced by Old Master painting, Black interior life, Christian thought, and contemporary culture, the work seeks to hold reverence and cultural fluency in the same space.

Ultimately, each painting asks viewers to look again, discovering meaning not only in the subject itself, but in the act of paying attention.

Curtis Newkirk Jr. is a Virginia-based artist whose work explores dignity, perception, and the spiritual journey through figurative painting.

A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University, his work has been featured in New American Paintings and the documentary The Builder. His paintings have been exhibited throughout the region and were recently acquired by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts for its permanent collection.

Now based in Richmond, Virginia, Curtis continues to create work that bridges classical technique and contemporary experience, inviting viewers into deeper reflection on what it means to be fully human.

• Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Collection Acquisition

• New American Paintings, South Issue (2020)

• Featured in The Builder Documentary

• BFA, Virginia Commonwealth University

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