These pieces seemed to have sprouted from the table at the auction house. They looked to be made of plaster and painted in glowing colors, the glaze on them shimmering in the room’s lights. There were so many of them that they nearly covered on end of a table, as if the artist never sold or gave any away.

Two artworks by an artist named Weessocki, ready for auction.

I moved in for a closer look and saw that they were faces carved into flat surfaces – kings, pharaohs, religious figures and masks. Some were a little frightening.

They had been signed “Weessocki.” I Googled and found several references to the name, all attached to pieces of similar art up for sale on eBay. No one was buying, though.

Curious, I asked the co-owner about the artist. He knew little about Weessocki, said they had gotten the pieces at the artist’s estate and this was the second time they had put them up auction. I told him about seeing works on eBay. He surmised that the seller had likely bought them from this auction house the first time around.

Mask-like pieces and more by Weessocki.

The eBay seller described the works as outsider or folk art, and they certainly could qualify for that. I’m sure the seller was also using it as a way to sell an artist no one had heard of.

Some outsider artists have certainly made it big. The name correctly describes the art, some examples of which I have seen in exhibitions and among the collections of major museums. It’s art outside the mainstream – the paintings, sculptures and drawings of self-taught artists who have little or no formal training. They are influenced by their surroundings, their beliefs and their spirituality. A lot of the works have a religious theme, with the artists pouring out their hearts on canvas or in wood or other medium.

When I think of outsider or folk art, several African American artists come to mind: Bill Traylor, Sister Gertrude Morgan, Jimmy Lee Sudduth, Mose Tolliver and Purvis Young. They would be considered the veterans, among the first ones to be given the label.

An unfinished piece of artwork showing Weessocki's technique.

For nearly 20 years, an outsider art fair has been held in New York, recognizing the works of veteran and contemporary folk artists who may have gone unrec0gnized.

I would love to know more about Weessocki, his art and his inspiration.

The artwork was signed "Weessocki."

Related posts:

1. The works of noted African American artists
2. Pyramid Club’s forgotten women artists
3. Frank J. Dillon, one of my “found” black artists

As I strolled through a list of catalog items on the web for a Decorative Arts auction recently, I wandered onto some watercolors that were interesting. The first piece was an African American woman. Next to her were these words: “M C JONES 5 Cent Watercolor Portrait on paper.”

I knew that this was folk art, or what is commonly known as outsider art, because such artists are not art-schooled but life-schooled.  They are considered “outside” the normal art experience.

There were nine pieces by Jones, and they spoke to me of growing up Southern and farming and fields, and the mom-and-pop restaurants and juke joints that fill up on Friday nights with tired bodies after a long week of hard working at miserable jobs.

With a name like 5 Cent, I had to Google him. MC Jones, according to several websites I visited, was a Gilliam, LA, folk artist who was born in 1910 and died in 2003. He was nicknamed 5 Cent because of his small stature. Jones was a ranch and farm hand who painted rural scenes, from Klansmen to religious themes.

You can read more about him and see more of his art here on the Gordon Gallery (Nashville, TN) website, here on the  Robert Cargo Folk Art Gallery website (Paoli, PA), and an obituary on the Ginger Young Gallery (Chapel Hill, NC) website. His artwork is in the Smithsonian’s Museum of American Art.

The nine works in the auction belonged to Clyde Connell, a white female artist who apparently knew and collected him (and whose artwork is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art). Connell died in 1998. I was told that she commissioned Jones to create the “Tree Hunter and Dogs” (above) for her husband who was a hunter.

I decided that I wanted to own one of the watercolors. ”Men Plowing” (above) spoke to me, with its larger-than-life farmers pushing their plows in perfect unison through the soil.

I had to leave early so I left a bid of $100 for the watercolor, and was told that I’d get an email from the auction house that night if I won. I never got the email, and found out later that I was outbidded. Too bad, but I’m sure 5 Cent and I will cross paths again. I was told that most of his artwork went for a little more than $100

I was told that the painting at right is a self-portrait of Jones called “The Cowboy.” The photo below comes from the Ginger Young Gallery website.

Related posts:

1. Ed Jones – an artist whose canvas is his city
2. A painting by artist Henry Bozeman Jones
3. Lois Mailou Jones art exhibit in DC