AN ARTIST’S ARTIST

It happens all the time.  When someone passes, it is always the time when many words are spoken about that individual.  He or she is not around to receive the kind, glowing words that are bestowed on them.  So here I sit getting ready to heap a lot of words on someone who is not around to hear me say them to him.

For anyone who knew Carlton B. Ingleton, he was the consummate artist.  Art was an everyday part of his life.  He was a fixture in the New York art community for many years, delving out sidewalk commentaries on art and life in front of, and inside of, his 843 Studio Gallery on East New York Avenue.  This gallery he started with his wife Dulcie Ingleton.  Mr. Ingleton was a family man.

"Carlton B. Ingleton was an artist’s artist," so says his friend and fellow artist, Winston Huggins. "If you had an idea that wasn’t going anywhere, Carlton would twist it and turn it and come up with a whole new spin on things."  His 843 Studio Gallery was often the meeting place for fellow artists to sit, discuss and exhibit their work.  There were always encouraging words from this man.  He projected love and good things for everyone.

Carlton was a recognized sculpture, and painter.  I knew him first by his work, the brightly painted wooden sculptures that he would strategically place on fences around Brooklyn to detract from the empty, unused land space.  His sculptured murals, The Spirit of Love, can be seen at the Juvenile Detention Center, in Brooklyn.  Part of that mural can be seen in the publication, City Art New York’s Percent for Art Program.

Carlton was always working.  Whether he was creating his mini sketches as he ride the train to and from The Art Student League, in Manhattan, inspiring students in his sculpture class at Medgar Evers College, encouraging his family and friends to sit for a portrait, because he felt that it was important to leave a legacy, a day didn’t go by without this artist living art.

Gone is the vast network resource that Carlton was connected to.   If you needed an upholsterer, or the services of a fellow artist, a place to eat or a place to purchase supplies, then Carlton would have such a recommendation for you.

His legacy will live on in his children and grandchildren.  His work will continue his memory.  His sidewalk garden will bloom and maintain the memory of the man and artist who had such a positive impact on those who knew him.  He will be missed.