Paul Goodnight - First Art Source

Paul Goodnight
Paul Goodnight was born Chicago, but raised in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Grew up in a loving foster home, but had trouble with authority and avoiding school. He served in Vietnam, where traumatic experiences caused him to lose his ability to speak. Goodnight credits art with helping him cope with this experience. Goodnight's influences include Alan Crite and John Biggers, as well as his international travels and studies, spending time living in Russia, China, Haiti, Nicaragua, Africa, and Brazil. Despite great difficulty due to his academic inexperience, he graduated from Massachusetts College of Art in 1976. Goodnight's goal in his artwork is to “document Black people around the world." His success allowed him to establish his own art publishing company, Color Circle Art Publishing, in 1991. He was commissioned to do a ceramic mural for the entrance of the Orlando Airport as well as a poster for the World Cup in 1998.	Photo by Hoami Trinh