User:Footprints Artwork

Lester Kern Artist

Lester Kern is a former political cartoonist turned artist who has produced a litany of paintings over the past two decades, including his most notable work, “Footprints.” Kern’s work is diverse and places an emphasis on the joys and pains of African-American life. His work dons many walls, including one of his pieces that was portrayed in a hit movie, “Phat Girls,” starring Oscar winning actress MoNique.

Kern was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to devout Pentecostal parents. The oldest of three children, who too had an affinity for art, Kern’s talents were recognized by his parents and teachers at an early age.

Kern’s artistic skill was very noticeable and pervasive by the time he reached first grade. His parents bought him a small chalkboard to steer him from drawing on walls and on important papers. Kern shunned the prodding of his aging grandfather, his mother’s father, who wanted him to become a championship boxer like the other men in his family. After a failed attempt at boxing, Kern replaced boxing gloves and punching bags with oil paints, brushes, canvas and easels.

His schoolteachers who challenged him and encouraged him with art assignments that were more difficult than other students honed Kern’s abilities. One teacher recommended that Kern enter a summer art program at the Milwaukee War Memorial Art Center. The young artist experienced a turning point and would go on to attend the three-week camp each year until he became a freshman in high school.

During his high school years, he developed a knack for creating cartoons that appeared in the school’s newspaper. His cartoons were known for making wisecracks at the school’s administration. He managed to secure a job as an intern at a local newspaper after one of his fellow students took a copy of one of his cartoons home to his father, who happened to be a publisher of a small community newspaper. As his fate would have it, Bill Sanders, who was a nationally syndicated columnist at the Milwaukee Journal, saw Kern’s work. Sanders became Kern’s mentor. By the time Kern reached his junior year of high school, he had racked up a host of local awards, including a first place Gold Pallet award in the Milwaukee Journal’s Student Art calendar competition that carried with it a full paid art scholarship through Upward Bound to the University of Wisconsin where he would receive his formal college education.

After spending many years in the art profession, Kern started a series of self-syndicated political cartoons called "Lester's World," which were published in about 45 to 50 African American publications nationally. His cartoons became known for being hard-hitting, dealing with issues that directly effect black people both pro and con from a political point of view. The series ran for four years.

Lester has worked as an art director for several newspapers and magazines as well as design studios and advertising agencies. But his real love was always the fine arts, which he has returned to after many years.

Kern’s work has sold successfully on the open edition fine art print market. Most notably a piece entitled "Footprints." It is a spiritually based piece based on the famous poem by the same name. Although many other artists painted it before, no one has ever interpreted it the way he has, with a translucent image of God actually carrying an individual along the sand of a stormy beach. The first version was that of God with a man, but after its immense popularity and the cries from women questioning why he didn't do a female version, Lester decided to do a Part II, the female version that has proven to be very popular. The work was been converted into figurines, throws and tote bags. And it was featured as a painting on the wall in the MoNique movie hit, "Phat Girls".

Kern now resides in Stone Mountain, GA, a suburb of Atlanta. Kern continues to paint and makes appearances to market his work.