We had the good fortune of connecting with Priscilla Ann Phifer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Priscilla Ann, putting aside the decision to work for yourself, what other decisions were critical to your success?
The single most thing that contributed to my success was allowing myself to intuitively experiment with color and art techniques.

What should our readers know about your business?
What sets me apart from some professional artists is that I am enjoying the journey without always being competitive and having a goal of “being on top” at any cost, I started painting at age 70. As such, this unexpected, late-life career allows me to experiment with techniques and compositions without using a paintbrush, satisfying myself first. Fortunately, collectors throughout the country have shown me that they appreciate my work. My membership and involvement with several organizations also bode well for my art practice in terms of collectors, art-related opportunities, and learning.

It’s been somewhat easy for me, especially the first three years when I had a team of family and friends to strategically market my business and critique the art. I could not have done three solo shows, participated in many exhibits, and met so many local and out-of-state collectors without them.

One challenge I’ve overcome is borderline color-blindness. Additionally, not having taken drawing lessons to properly create figurative or realistic work is the reason I use drip, drag, scratch, and scrape techniques, along with gravity, to allow the hues to blend on their own.

Considering I do not use a paintbrush, two commissioned murals I recently completed this month were created with a brush! Daunting at first, the results are amazing. This was a huge moment of pride for me and the people who commissioned the work.

I want the world to know that eight years into the art business I still have the passion to create, the curiosity to learn, and the willingness to go outside my comfort zone. A self-taught, abstract expressionist, fellow artists and collectors inspire me, and it’s rewarding when others tell me that they are inspired by me. It’s also important for the world to know that I create work with themes of friendship, love, the human spirit or condition, and socio-political-cultural issues which show up in various series and singular paintings: “If Women Ruled,” Perfect Imperfections,” “Black Lines Matter,” “Circles of Love and Friendship,” “Inclusion,” “Whitewashed,” and others dealing with race, gender, discrimination and inequality.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
If my best friends were visiting the area for a week, I would take them to visit art organizations in the Midtown Detroit area: George N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art; Hannan Center, the Detroit Institute of Arts, Southfield, MI, City Hall exhibit and the current exhibits at Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills, MI. Then there are women-owned galleries to visit such as Norwest Gallery, Irwin House Gallery, Sherry Washington Gallery, and Blackbird Gallery. I would probably show them the murals around the Detroit-Metro area. Some places to dine: Seva (Detroit); Bucharest, Beans N Cornbread (Southfield); Uptown Grill in Commerce Twp; Franklin Grill in Franklin; Andiamos and Baobab Restaurant in Detroit. Hangouts for shopping would be at Flo’s in Midtown, Judy Sledge’s fiber works business, Outrages, in Midtown; Deja vu Upscale Resale in Franklin; Council Thrift,

Visits to fellow artists and collectors are a must: Sharon Gamblin, Linda Whitaker, Joan Britton, and Charlene Uresy, to name some. Another must to visit is the Detroit Fine Arts Breakfast Club which meets each Monday at Marygrove College.
There is so much to do in the Detroit Metro area. The last question is summed up in my previous answers.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
It is very important for me to recognize people and organizations that have contributed to my success in the art world. Highlighted in my art book, HUE;;;INTUITION, there are many: my parents, William and Virginia Broughton, who were both creative; my husband Randolph, son and bonus daughter Drake and Monique Parnell Phifer; daughter Tara Blackshear, all who challenged me to go from doing decoupage and floral arranging to transfer these skills to painting on canvas to “earn” an inaugural solo show in 2015. They taught me how to effectively market my business. The success of this show led to two more solos in 2016 and 2018. Others who were mentors and influencers, offering love, support, and encouragement are: George N’Namdi of N’Namdi Center for Contemporary Art; Shirley Woodson; National Conference of Artists Michigan president and artist; Dell Pryor; Dr. Cledi Taylor of Arts Extended Gallery; Richard Reeves of Hannan Center, Ian Grant, Umoja Fine Arts Gallery, Bernard Wilson, Jessica Brown, the Pierans of ‘Detroit; my sorority Delta Sigma Theta, especially Paulette Boggs, Debra DeBose, and Marcia Griffin; the Divine Nine; the Detroit Fine Arts Breakfast Club, where Henry Harper and Harold Braggs are co-founders; Farmington Art Foundation, Peter Gahan, Robbie Best, the late Marlowe Stoudamire; the late Brenda Perryman, Terry Martin of Morning Toast radio show; Tirea Billings of Reflct Media; Munson Steed of Rollingout.com; the Detroit News; the Michigan Chronicle. the Torch of Wisdom Foundation, the Detroit Delta Foundation; Andrea C. Williams, the graphics designer for my book.

Recently, Delores Flagg, Southfield (MI) Public Arts Commission chair, and Ken Siver, Mayor of Southfield, invited me to join the Commission as its liaison to help connect, recommend, and curate art exhibits in Southfield City Hall. Rewarding, I am able to help fellow artists showcase their artistry beyond the reach of Detroit. The Torch of Wisdom Foundation partnered with the DFABC in 2018 to conduct art auction fundraisers that benefit the artists and the foundation. The most recent auction was in October 2023.

Teachers are Laurie Mueller of The Community House in Birmingham Michigan; Clinton Snider of the Birmingham-Bloomfield Art Center of Birmingham, MI; Raymond Wells, and retired art teacher.

Website: Artbyphiferpa.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ArtbtPriscilla and https://www.facebook.com/prizzzi10

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 248.497.8722

Image Credits
May I send you eight images to use instead of the ones here? I would have to send them from my phone which I use and navigate much better than using my laptop infrequently. Thought my phone and laptop were synced, but, apparently, not so. My phone is 248.497.8722. Thank you. Priscilla A Phifer

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