User:Uncommonart/Varnette Honeywood

Artistic style and themes
Honeywood is well known for her vibrant figurative works depicting African American life. Her figures, composed of flat simplified shapes are influenced by William H. Johnson. She often showed her figures in profile and exaggerated their features. Honeywood worked with acrylic paint and in collage, her collage works are reminiscent of Romare Bearden. She drew inspiration from her own community to create images of everyday African American life, with subjects ranging from family and social gatherings to church settings. Honeywood used bright colors to reflect the vibrancy and colorfulness found in African American communities.

In the 1970s, her and her sister Stephanie established the greeting-card company Black Lifestyles. They produced posters, prints, and cards featuring images of Varnette's work, making it the first such company specializing in Black themes. The Honeywood sisters hoped to make Varnette's work more accessible through their company.