Pepper Pepper: Spicing Up the Art Scene

Local artist Pepper Pepper is many things; he is a painter, photographer, craftsman, jewelry-maker, marketer, philanthropist, teacher, public speaker and a free spirit … just to name a few.

He was born and raised in Miami, Fla., where he lived the first 12 years of his life sightless. After 10 operations, Pepper finally gained what he calls “pure sight” as an adolescent and began his love affair with creating art.

He would use anything he could find to create art. “My dad always said there was nothing in our house that I had not altered. He would bring home a Kleenex box, and I would take out all the tissues, turn the box inside out, and paint, decorate it and put all the tissue back in,” Pepper said.

When Pepper began to create art, he did so with great passion. “I always thought to myself, ‘What if I lose my sight again?’ I knew that was scientifically impossible after I had the lensectomy, but the thought of losing my sight motivated me to create as much as possible.”

Pepper dabbled in a wide range of media including jewelry making, painting, photography and even clock making at a young age. In college, he decided to take a year off to attend art school. “My experience at art school was so powerful and liberating. I began to really understand all of these things I had been dabbling in; however, I decided to finish my degree in psychology,” Pepper said.

He then worked as a psychological social rehabilitator in a mental institution and continued with his art on the side. He gained increased recognition and became more involved in the art community. He soon made a career change, working at a local gallery, and from then on, Pepper’s life has been consumed by art.

Pepper became a marketing consultant, a job that has taken him from city to city throughout the country until he landed in Little Rock, Ark., nine years ago. “I was only supposed to be in Little Rock for six months. I was so worried. When I thought of art in Arkansas, I thought doilies and wooden ducks, but within a month I had met and been embraced by a wonderful art community. I have been so amazed by the art community here; I think a lot of people really take it for granted.”

Pepper has found his niche in the Little Rock art scene not only with his talent but also with his strong skills in marketing, which he stressed, is one of the most important elements of being an artist.

“Most artists lack the promotional and business element. I give lectures and workshops on how to market yourself as an artist. I begin them by saying ‘Yes, you want to be an artist … so what?’ Being an artist is only 10 percent of it, the rest of being a success is learning to take an item and market it.”

Pepper shows his work in six galleries in the United States, Canada and Italy and sells to local corporations, including Centennial Bank. He works in acrylics, oils, jewelry and is most known for his mixed media botanicals, which are in high demand by his galleries.

“I have always created nature scenery. A friend of mine turned me on to botanicals. I look at myself as a ‘re-interpreter of nature.’”

Pepper’s botanicals are intriguing pieces, often close up fragments of flowers. They have a realistic, photographic feel yet retain a mysterious element of surrealism with their vivid colors and interesting “re-interpretations.”

“When I paint the botanicals I look at [the flower] and if there is something like a petal that’s not in the right place or not enough leaves I change it so that it looks the way I think it should.”

“Art is all about communication. It touches people in four different ways: spiritually, physically, politically and emotionally,” Pepper said. He has been a professional artist for 26 years. He aspires to build his business, which he calls Pepper and Company, into one that incorporates representation of other artists.

Pepper values helping others, a quality he learned from his father who always told him, “You don’t have enough until you have enough to give,” a quote that has stuck with Pepper throughout his life. He is a supporter of Helen Keller International and Guide Dogs of America. “I really value these organizations because [the people they benefit] easily could have been me. I can’t imagine a life where I couldn’t have seen all these vibrant colors or been able to enjoy creating art.”