LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Bryce Oquaye developed a love for comics at a young age.
Gravitating to styles that feel vintage in today's creative world.
“I was always a big fan of any of the 90’s and 80’s animation," Oquaye said.
When he's putting pen to paper, it's as if Oquaye's mind becomes clear.
Topics and ideas that he may not know how to articulate become easier to explain when they come to life on canvas.
“It’s just kind of my way sometimes of meditating," Oquaye said.
"Sometimes I’ll be dwelling on a topic in some way, form or fashion. When I initially started working on this piece it was because I was thinking in these directions but I didn’t have the words.”
Art has become Bryce's own language in a way, crafted over decades.
He's developed a voice he couldn't necessarily have as a young kid growing up in 1990's New York.
“We moved around a lot, until it became more widely accepted it just became another reason to try and pick at people," Oquaye said.
"I’m already dealing with the pinpoint of being new guy and whatever stereotype that comes with being the “black boy” with what you’re supposed to like.”
Since Oquaye moved to Lexington, 16 years ago now, he's been able to develop his craft, his own brand and a deep connection to the local creative community.
Thanks in part to the Lexington Art League.
“Bryce came to us as an artist in residence. We wanted to give some artists who were mixing their advocacy with their arts practice," Lexington Art League executive director Lori Houlihan said.
“It’s great to see those opportunities opening up and people are really thinking in terms of what it really means to be diverse and what it really means to be accessible especially in a rural state like Kentucky.”
It lends to the picture being painted today when it comes to diversity and equity in the arts.
What it appears to be created with much broader strokes than years past.
Oquaye is just happy to be able to pursue his dream without struggles with access or opportunity.
“When you’ve dreamed and pursued something for long enough and you become engulfed in that and you find successes in that, it’s easy to forget that wasn’t a guarantee for anybody including myself. Some people just don’t find the passion and that’s scary," Oquaye said.
Despite the progress that has been made, Oquaye acknowledges there is more to be done.
More conversations to be had about diversity to hopefully get to the point where it no longer needs to be talked about.
“I would like to see people getting to the point of having diversity without having to necessarily even claim it,"
Are we actively shopping for it because we need to speak to it, or is it just something that we do.”
You can take a look at some of Bryce's work by following here.
