- Thomas Blackshear
Thomas Blackshear is a
United States African American artist, many of whose paintings adorn Evangelicalchurch es, notably theNew Life Church andWorld Prayer Center inColorado Springs, Colorado . He is also a sculptor and a designer offigurine s, often on African American themes.Jeff Sharlet describes his religiously-themed work, such as "The Vessel" (which is in the World Prayer Center) as "…compelling… [in] its unabashed eroticism; it aims to turn you on, and then to turn that passion toward Jesus." [Sharlet, 2005, 46)]Blackshear designed illustrations for numerous postage stamps issued by the
United States Postal Service (USPS), [http://esperstamps.org/25th.htm Biographical notes] , Ebony Society of Philatelic Events and Reflections. Accessed online5 November 2006 .] including four in the Black Heritage stamp series: [ [http://esperstamps.org/black-h1.htm Black Heritage Stamp Issues 1978 to 2002] , Ebony Society of Philatelic Events and Reflections. Accessed online5 November 2006 .]
*Jean Baptiste Pointe du Sable , Scott # 2249, issuedFebruary 20 ,1987
*James W. Johnson , Scott # 2371, issuedFebruary 2 ,1988
*Asa Philip Randolph , Scott # 2402, issuedFebruary 3 ,1989
*Ida B. Wells , Scott # 2442, issuedFebruary 1 ,1990 A touring exhibit of his Black Heritage works premiered in 1992 at the
Smithsonian Institution 'sNational Museum of American History . [ [http://www.greenwichworkshop.com/studio/studio_artist.asp?artistid=7 Thomas Blackshear II] , GreenwichWorkshop.com. Accessed online5 November 2006 .]Other U.S. postage stamps with Blackshear illustrations include portraits of
Joe Louis ,Jelly Roll Morton andThelonious Monk for the Jazz Series, and illustrations for stamps commemoratingJames Cagney , "The Wizard of Oz", "Gone with the Wind", "Beau Geste" and "Stagecoach" for the Classic Hollywood Movies series, as well as several stamps for Classic Movie Monsters. He also illustrated the USPS book "I Have A Dream: A Collection of Black Americans on U.S. Postage Stamps" (1991).Notes and references
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*cite journal | author=Jeff Sharlet | title=Soldiers of Christ: I. Inside America's most powerful megachurch | journal=Harper's | volume=310 | issue=1860 | year=2005 | pages=41–54. The article is illustrated with Blackshear's artwork.External links
* [http://www.g1media.com/presentingThomasBlackshear.html The official Thomas Blackshear website]
* [http://www.blackshearonline.com The Premiere Community of Thomas Blackshear Enthusiasts]
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