Painter Ernie Barnes Dies At 70
Ernie Barnes' painting Sugar Shack was featured on the TV series Good Times and on the cover of a Marvin Gaye album.
Ernie Barnes' painting Sugar Shack was featured on the TV series Good Times and on the cover of a Marvin Gaye album.
Barnes played for the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos.
Renowned painter Ernie Barnes died Monday at age 70.
Barnes came to painting after a career in professional football, as an offensive lineman with the San Diego Chargers and Denver Broncos. Teammates called him "Big Rembrandt."
He could take on a defensive lineman, then commit the encounter to canvas.
Many people would call Barnes a "black painter." He preferred the description "neo-Mannerist."
Barnes never painted his subjects with their eyes open.
"We don't see each other," he said once in an interview. "We are blind to each other's humanity."
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