By Cheryl Deloatch

Contributing Writer

MURFREESBORO – Sometimes, small towns produce big talent. Such is the case with artist Stacey Brown.

A native of Murfreesboro, Brown currently lives in Atlanta, Georgia. A telephone interview on Wednesday, August 13, shed some light on the passion and genius of this gifted artist.

“My interest in becoming an artist came from watching my older brother, Michael,” Brown said. “Michael was my source of inspiration, and painting makes me feel fulfilled.

“I started out using watercolors when I was ten years old. This led to using acrylic and later glass,” he added.

Brown said he periodically does a series using broken glass that is entitled “Broken and Beautiful.”

“My favorite piece is ‘The Bus Stop,’ which shows a man standing at a bus stop,” Brown shared. “One can only wonder where he is going.”

This painting exemplifies the sources of inspiration for Brown’s work – everyday life.

“I capture images from everyday life, from the African-American community,” he noted.

Brown said he also gains inspiration from landscapes.

This eclectic artist has a website which showcases his talent. The web address is sbrownart.com, and the site displays the various images which this Murfreesboro native creates. The website opens with this description of the artist: “Visual artist Stacey Brown, currently residing in Atlanta, Georgia, offers an eclectic collection of original paintings for the contemporary art lover.” (sbrownart.com.)

“I do commercial work, and my wife does the social media,” Brown explained.

Not only has Brown’s art appeared in galleries, it has also appeared in a television program.

“I did some work on BET’s show ‘College Hill’,” the artist shared. (“College Hill” was a reality television show on Black Entertainment Television that followed the lives of students at historically black colleges, according to Wikipedia.) Connections which the talented artist made through “College Hill” led to another opportunity. Brown’s work will appear in a new version of “The Odd Couple,” scheduled to air on CBS in 2015.

This accomplished artist is also interested in encouraging the next generation and in seeing his home county prosper. Brown shared this insight when asked for his views on the relatively new Hertford County Mural Project.

“It’s great – it would bring energy to the area,” Brown said. “Start with the schools, and it could be a project with the students.”

Brown indicated he may be interested in helping with this project.

The Hertford County Mural Project is the brainchild of another Hertford County native, Marvin T. Jones, a professional photographer and historian based in Washington, District of Columbia. Jones, who maintains strong ties to his home county, presented this idea to the Ahoskie Chamber of Commerce in July 2014, as reported in the article “Downtown Murals Proposed” by Gene Motley, appearing in the July 10, 2014 edition of the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald.

Brown is also involved in the arts council in Atlanta.

“We received a grant through the City of Atlanta,” he said. “I give watercolor workshops to the elderly at the YMCA.”