http://www.coreybarksdale.com - Atlanta artist Corey Barksdale uses art to capture African American history, through color and emotion, saying, “A lot of my images are representative of the experiences that I have had and how I identify myself. These subjects reflect my community. The bold colors that I use have been with me since the beginning. Initially I focused on a few primary colors. Now I am blending them in different ways to create my secondary colors. I give the colors a different value or tone. Examples: blue is a darker tone, then red a mid-tone, orange is light, yellow even lighter, and white I use for highlights. So there is actually a system, and I use certain colors over and over. Using bright colors is part of my makeup. Much art from Africa utilizes some of the same color combinations that I use. So, it’s part of my DNA that I use these colors; it’s what seems natural.”