Kieth Harring

In high school he was loved by all of his art instructors. Many agreed that he was born with a special gift of drawing. His instructors noticed that he had a strong since and love for line. They later said that he worked so intricately, creating patterns that would carry through out and around a piece. It was then that he realized he wanted to be an artist. He was also heavily influenced by cartoonists like Walt Disney, Dr. Seuss, and Charles Schultz. He always wanted to create abstract drawings.

Part of Keith’s journey as an artist and as a man was coming to terms with his homosexuality. In his younger years he was very uncomfortable with his feelings, but as he accepted himself for what he is he felt extremely liberated.

After the School of Visual Arts Keith himself began to “tag” on walls. His first signature or “tag” was a little animal. The more he drew it the more it began to look like a dog, so he named it “the dog”. He then began to draw another figure which became his famous “baby”.

One day while in a subway station he noticed some black panels that were covering up old advertisements. He knew they were a perfect place to leave his tag. So he ran and got some white chalk and drew all over these black panels. Every two weeks or so he would go back and add a little bit to each drawing. People started recognizing his art at all the subway stations but had no idea who was doing them.

After his dazzling show in SoHo he was immediately invited for exhibitions all over the world. With his gaining popularity he began to paint huge on-site murals all over the world, and designing very large out-door sculptures that resembled children’s toys.

In his later years Keith gave art classes for kids. He always said how he loved the children’s innocence and their abi

Some topics in this essay:
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