An exciting and inspiring documentary, Colors of Character is the story of Steve Skipper, an African American artist who pushed back against almost impossible odds to become a noted painter of sports images before turning his talent to commemorating Civil Rights history. As a boy, Skipper’s broken family and personal trials with forced integration at school left him angry and vulnerable to the tribal appeal of the notorious gang the Crips.
Selling drugs and acting as a Crips enforcer, Skipper became a holy terror until he met a man who converted him to Christianity. Having been encouraged to pursue painting by a teacher who paid for his supplies from her own pocket, Skipper gradually rose to prominence as a sports painter, taking bigger and bigger commissions from elite athletes and universities. At the peak of his success, Skipper says God told him to shift gears and create art about pivotal moments in the Civil Rights struggle.
At this point in the film, there is quite a bit of content about that era in America, though we are never far from Skipper’s personal and artistic evolution once the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is in his thoughts. Skipper is a compelling presence, deeply spiritual, pragmatic, aspirational, and funny. He’s an easy subject to spend some time with, and chances are good a viewer will learn a thing or two about King that is less well known than other major events. Strongly recommended. Aud: E, I, J, H, C, P.