Faison with his commissioned piece of the Durham Rams Negro League baseball team.
                                 Courtesy Photo | Delveccio Faison

Faison with his commissioned piece of the Durham Rams Negro League baseball team.

Courtesy Photo | Delveccio Faison

<p>Some of Faison’s art hanging in 810 Studios on Vance Street.</p>
                                 <p>India K. Autry | Sampson Independent</p>

Some of Faison’s art hanging in 810 Studios on Vance Street.

India K. Autry | Sampson Independent

Delveccio Faison is a Clinton-born artist with several pieces hanging in the downtown business of his former classmate Tomeka Robinson, owner of 810 Studios. Faison, now teaching art in D.C. public schools, has navigated the practical hurdles to his artistic success, which has its basis of support in Sampson County.

Late last year, Faison was commissioned by the Durham Bulls baseball team for a painting to be auctioned. The contact came from a representative of the club through Twitter where the artist had fewer than 100 followers, and at first he was incredulous. “I was like I don’t believe this dude. If you’re real, what’s your number?”

A piece he created eight years earlier had made an impression on the Durham Bulls. One of his friends had a father who played for the Negro League Durham Rams team, and she commissioned Faison to recreate a club photograph.

Much of Faison’s work these days is commissioned. “Since I don’t really give myself the time and energy to just create from my spirit,” he shared.

Much of his time is spent teaching and illustrating children’s books, but the challenge of balancing money-making ventures with more creative outlets is not a new one to him. “Being an artist as your main source of income is very tough unless you know how to market yourself well and find the right type of clientele to invest in your work,” he commented.

After graduating from UNC-Greensboro in 2000 with an art degree, he hustled up gigs making art for tattoo parlors, landing him in Raleigh. He used the money he earned in a five-week arts and sciences camp post-graduation to fund his move. “To be young and just try to figure out how to wing it, and I was winging it,” Faison mused.

From there he started working in print shops, using his design concentration, while getting his artwork placed in coffee shops, public libraries and small art galleries.

He often visited the studio of an accomplished artist he admired, and finally one of his friends suggested he befriend him and pick his brain. “I was kind of shy in that regard,” Faison admitted.

But the nudge worked and soon Faison was assisting his new mentor after work and doing underdrawings for him.

Faison also credits one of Sampson County’s own as an early inspiration for him. “Robert Hall, growing up, he was another guy who was a role model for me,” Faison declared. “Sampson County, for what it’s worth, it definitely was a good place to grow up in the 80s and 90s. I don’t have that story to say I’ve never seen a black artist.”

He used to go see Hall’s work at Sampson Community College as a child and ran into him a few years ago at the state fair.

Faison, 46, has always known he wanted to be an artist. He started drawing as a hobby at the age of four. His aunt encouraged him to take summer watercolor painting classes at age eight. By the eighth grade, he had made Sampson Independent fame for winning an art contest.

Now, Faison seeks to endear artistic expression to the high school students he teaches. He decided to leave his day job at the print shops and go back to school to get his license to teach from N.C. Central. “A lot of people who pursue arts are art teachers. Being a teacher is something that I shied away from because of that stigma, but then I embraced it,” he pointed out. “I encourage other folks who have that skillset to pursue it.”

He finds that many of his students are receptive to the world of art. “There are folks who naturally have that talent, and they gravitate towards me as far as picking my brain, having conversations, things of that nature,” he said. “And for the ones who feel like art who isn’t their forte, one thing for students like that, I want them to have an appreciation of the process and not just take the product for granted.”

To go back to school to be able to inspire young minds, Faison left behind his apartment and stable income to live with four roommates and work piecemeal jobs — at a gym, on the college yearbook staff and as a part-time teaching assistant. “I just sacrificed everything. I humbled myself. I had my car repossessed because it was either rent or make the car payment. It was just humble times where I don’t have to worry about those things anymore.”

Faison does still make time for his creative pursuits. Along with drawing and painting, Faison loves graphic design with computers. “I’ll draw it out, go over in a pen and ink, scan it, and then I’ll color it using this software called Adobe Photoshop,” he explained.

He also has a passion project in the works. “I have a little project where I’m slowly illustrating a comic book, something I’ve been wanting to do for the past two years,” he revealed. “Once I get that monkey off my back, I definitely will be going back into the painting aspect of my artistic abilities.”

The summer months are an ideal time for him to create larger bodies of paintings. He often posts pictures of his new works to social media. In particular, his painting of ballerina Misty Copeland created quite a stir, as multiple people were vying to purchase it.

Shop owner Robinson’s mother bought Faison’s painting of Michelle Obama.

Faison’s artistic sensibilities have sharpened to designate themes for his bodies of work. He has done paintings honoring dancers, female athletes and period pieces recalling the Harlem Renaissance.

India K. Autry can be reached at 910-249-4617.