Cherishable Items: Consider Alabama art as a holiday gift

Published On: 12.02.20 |

By: Joseph Allen

Cherishable Items: Consider Alabama art as a holiday gift

ArtFeature

Some of the art that Phil Free has created and collected. (contributed)

You may be struggling with finding that “perfect” gift this holiday season. It just might be art from a local artist.

Not only are you buying local, but you’re supporting a local artist and you could be starting someone on a path to collecting.

Phil Free knows the joy that comes with collecting and creating art. When he’s not overseeing photo content at Alabama Power, he is a professional photographer who has captured images around the world, specializing in dance photos and creative portraits.

Alabama artist Phil Free talks about the joy of creating and collecting art from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

The walls of his home are filled with art from Alabama artists and other artists, including his own works.

“I’ve had some of these things on my wall for 30 years or longer and they’re still on there, on the wall, because I enjoy looking at them still,” Free said. “They still give me joy. I don’t get tired of them. These are things that just touch me deeply emotionally.”

You’ve seen some of Free’s work in Alabama NewsCenter stories such as breast cancer survivors Carla Youngblood, Gloria Buie and Rosalind Griffin and Alabama Music Makers Jessica Meuse, Belinda George Peoples, Bobby Horton, Willie Hightower and Marlowe Shepherd. Alabama Crimson Tide football legend Wilbur Jackson, Reed Books owner Jim Reed, Chef Brian Duffett, Birmingham Ghost Tour leader Edward Wolfgang Poe and Alabama Maker Kathy D’Agostino of Chocolata are others he has captured with his camera.

Brian Duffett of Jefferson State is the nation’s top culinary student. (Phil Free / Alabama NewsCenter)

‘If you’re alive, you’re moving, you’re still breathing, you still have a chance …’ In the fight for her life against breast cancer, Carla Youngblood never lost her joy. In her book, ‘Cancer Ain’t Funny! Laugh Anyway …’ the comedienne and author gives women strategies for fighting the good fight. Meet Youngblood at Little Professor Book Center in Birmingham on Oct. 20. (Phil Free/Alabama NewsCenter)

Edward Wolfgang Poe cooks up the heebie jeebies for those who accompany him on the Birminham Ghost Walk. (Phil Free/Alabama NewsCenter)

Gloria Buie knows that a breast cancer diagnosis can hit a woman ‘like a ton of bricks.’ Eleven years after overcoming the disease, Buie advises women to stand strong and fight. ‘Get your mind prepared,’ she said. As an advocate for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama, everything Buie does – from buying specialized car tags to support the Joy to Life Foundation to taking part in races for the cure – is to help raise awareness and support other women in their battle. (Phil Free / Alabama NewsCenter)

Reed Books and the Museum of Fond Memories is a downtown Birmingham treasure with Jim Reed as its curator/owner/founder/janitor for four decades. (Phil Free / Alabama NewsCenter)

Eight years after undergoing treatment for breast cancer, Rosalind Griffin is living her best life: happy, healthy and busy with her job and family. Counting herself exceptionally blessed, Griffin gives back by serving as a board member for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation of Alabama. She is mindful that some of the life-saving treatments she underwent were developed by UAB researchers and other cancer research centers, thanks to donations from the BCRFA. (Phil Free / Alabama NewsCenter)

A football features the names and signatures of six great Alabama running backs, including Wilbur Jackson. (Phil Free/Powergrams)

Jessica Meuse is an Alabama Music Maker enjoying her post-“American Idol” journey. (Phil Free / Alabama NewsCenter)

Willie Hightower started making records in the 1960s and later sang with the Drifters for years. He lives in Gadsden and released his latest album last fall. (Phil Free/Alabama NewsCenter)

Belinda George Peoples couldn’t have written a better script for the direction her life has taken through singing, acting and teaching. (Phil Free / Alabama NewsCenter)

Bobby Horton has his own music history as a member of Three on a String, but he is also a lover of history and has provided music for a number of documentaries produced by legendary filmmaker Ken Burns, including the upcoming “Country Music.” (Phil Free / Alabama NewsCenter)

Kathy D’Agostino has brought a passion and creativity to inventing new flavors with chocolate at Chocolatá. (Phil Free / Alabama NewsCenter)

Marlowe Shepherd is an Alabama Music Maker bringing old-school cool to his musical style. (Phil Free / Alabama NewsCenter)

Galleries, art collectives and some stores specialize in carrying art from local artists. Large art festivals such as Magic City Art Connection in Birmingham and Kentuck in Northport can be a great place to find art as well. Both are expected to return in a post-COVID world.

Here are some of Free’s favorite galleries: