Cannaday Chapman At The Root Cafe

Summer

On Thursday night, I was invited by the Lakewood Observer to review the Cannaday Chapman show at the Root.

The next morning, I walked up and down looking at all the beautiful, colorful prints and drawings. I read the short bio. He studied illustration at the School of Visual Arts in New York. He came to Cleveland for a job at American Greetings and has been here for five years.

By eleven o'clock, I was at Mahall's, where I work as a pin chaser. By one o'clock, there he was, bowling, just by coincidence. I recognized him from the photo in his bio and I said, "Hey. Are you Cannaday Chapman?''

"Well, yes. I am."

Not to waste time, I had my questions ready and conducted the first interview right there at the historic bowling counter at Mahall's.

Cannaday admires Toulouse Lautrec and Rene Gruau. He is motivated by images that come to mind and is relentless in his pursuit of their simple expression. He makes use of photographs, but never drawing directly
from them. He uses digital technology to the fullest, but the drawings are always done by hand in ink.

The painting of Blondie, for example, was drawn from his imagination after studying a lot of images.

The girl eating spaghetti was Lucille Ball.

The girl on the couch was assembled from parts of many photos while the girl behind the couch was wholly imagined.

The artist, Cannaday, heroically volunteered his own body as the body of Prince.

If I could suggest a key for reading this show, it would be to bear in mind that Cannaday loves drawing with pens and pencils and prefers to draw from life.

I suggested that he show his figure drawings at the Root sometime, and you know what?

Maybe he will.

Ralph Hutchison

Ralph Hutchison is a writer, educated at the Ohio State University and the University of Oregon. He has never pursued any other profession.

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Volume 12, Issue 26, Posted 8:36 PM, 12.20.2016