Charlotte Riley-Webb, a renowned artist known for her bold figurative artwork, took center stage when her latest exhibition was unveiled for the first time at the Hammond's House Museum Sunday evening.

The Atlanta native is known for the fluidity in her strokes, vibrant color schemes and bold themes; but her latest series Still Lines Running Through My Head is perhaps her most creatively ambitious work to date. In the exhibit, the artist combines the illusory of abstract with the concreteness of the figurative meshing them masterfully together on canvas. "No Crystal Stair," which was unveiled Sunday, is a chapter in the Still Lines Running Through My Head series. 

Riley-Webb said her latest work highlights a simpler time in our history. "They (the pieces) are about survival, struggle and the resilience of a people," she said.

Indeed, growing up reading James Baldwin, Langston Hughes and Richard Wright while also memorizing authors Nikki Giovanni and Ntozake Shange, Riley-Webb adds, "I directly relate to Nikki-Rosa, a poem by Giovanni that said a lot of things to me. She said the things I could not say. I remember the old Motown songs. And Ntozake's For Colored Girls, I remember reading the original book which inspired my piece Now You Water It Your Damn Self."

Riley-Webb explains that the "lines" in her title for the series is a metaphor for the idioms and expressions of the influencers over the course of her life. She believes continual growth as an artist is necessary.

"I have a need and desire to continue to grow while I am creating," Riley-Webb said Sunday. "Often I will seek out people teaching different mediums that I may not have prior experience with to advance my work." Hence her journey began in the abstract arena in 2005 with her first abstract series known as Earth Tunes, based on the natural pastels of the Earth's palette.

With awards such as the Hampton Arts Commission Award of Excellence, The People's Choice Purchase Award, displays at the Smithsonian Museum and earning a 2010 NAACP Image Award for her illustration of "Our Children Can Soar," Riley-Webb has earned her reputation as a pillar in the Atlanta art community.

 "If asked of my legacy," she said, "I want our next generation to hang on and come back to the art form; keep it relevant and not discard or discredit the hard work we have laid as the foundation. When people see my work years from now, they will say I showed they why the caged bird sings. With its' wings clipped and its' feet bound up, it sings as a means of hope – joy comes in the morning. That's what my art means to me."

Until Sunday's exhibit unveiling, The Hammonds House had been closed for about a month due to minor renovations. "Still Running Lines Through My Head" is running Dec 5. to Jan. 30 at the museum, 503 Peeples St. Atlanta, Ga., 30310. For more information call: (404) 612-0500.

About this column: Arts Anyone? is a weekly column about the writer's opinion on theatre, dance, literature, music, poetry and other arts in the greater Cascade community.