Ambitious Artist Showcased at the Prudential Center

A successful artist is equal parts talent, desire and good fortune. With these attributes, one would count himself or herself lucky to gain recognition by the end of a career. But not for Anthony Boone.

Boone, who began painting just six years ago and whose work was recently on display at the Prudential Center in Newark, is farther along than most artists. It was then, in 2005, that Boone and his wife looked at their walls and realized that they needed something.

"At the time, we couldn't afford any (artwork), so that's why I started painting on my own," said Boone, a Montclair native. He and his wife decided, on a whim, that he should make something.

"I told her I would like to do my own painting, do my own art," Boone recalled. "So she said, 'Yeah, let's go to Jerry’s art supply.' We went there and bought my first ... 5-foot canvas. I'm holding it at one side of the car, she's holding the other, we had a two-seater, and we’re driving down the street from West Orange to Montclair."

Boone's paintings came out so well that his friends had doubts as to who really did the work. When he said they were his own originals. Boone's friends encouraged him to continue. That same year he had his first show and sold his first painting. Boone was hooked.

When asked where his artistry came from (he was never formally trained), Boone credits his seamstress mother for his eye for beauty.

"I would go to different material stores and see her pick out different patterns and look at different textures and colors," he said.

But he gets his motivation from his father.

"My father was a contractor so I would always see the before and after of a project," said Boone, who works as a freight conductor.

His most recent "after" (a collection of paintings that included a tribute to the New Jersey Devil's hockey team) was on special display at The Rock Friday. Linwood Oglesby, executive director of the Newark Arts Council, explained that after working with Boone for only a short time on another project, he was already looking ahead.

"He came and said, 'What do you think the chances are that I would be able to exhibit in the Prudential Center?' I said, 'Look let's try it,'" Oglesby said.

Boone was overwhelmed to see what he has been able to accomplish in so little time. "This is something I didn’t expect to happen this soon," he said. "I knew it was going to happen but I am just glad to have the opportunity to be here to show my work at a great place like the Prudential Center."

Boone even plans on passing on his love to the next generation. Through his "Abstract City Project," Boone and a child will together create a piece that will be acutioned off for a scholarship for the child.

"This is my passion. I love it," he said. "I even love the smell of paint."