Artist Steve Skipper Signing Copies of His Memoir April 11 at Powderly Library

What: Author Visit and Book Signing with Steve R. Skipper
When: April 11, 5:00 p.m.
Where: Powderly Branch Library

Steve R. Skipper, a Homewood native and artist whose celebrity clients include University of Alabama head coach Nick Saban, will be signing copies of his new memoir on April 11 at the Powderly Library.

The book, Dream On: A Journey to Deliverance, is an amazingly true story many can identify with and draw strength from as they struggle to break through their own personal, professional, and spiritual barriers. Skipper, 58, talks about his growth from an impoverished childhood as a teenaged gang member to become one of America’s most prolific and honored painters and sketch artists. Throughout the book, Skipper shares his spiritual faith and how God transformed his life.

A self-taught artist, Skipper credits encouragement from his brother for pursing his chosen career. His works have hung in the Professional Football Hall of Fame, the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, the U.S. Capitol, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, and the Paul W. “Bear” Bryant Museum as well as in the National Art Museum of Sport, in NCAA headquarters, and in many other venues nationwide. They also grace the walls of private collectors and sports notables worldwide.

A year ago, Skipper released an artwork called DNA Ingrained that includes scenes of the attack on civil rights marchers crossing Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, and pays tribute to heroes in the movement and trailblazers including President Barack Obama. He donated a copy of the painting, one of only 250 prints being made, to the Powderly Library. The painting also hangs in President Lyndon B. Johnson’s Presidential Library in Austin, Texas.

DNA Ingrained has received many endorsements, including U.S. Rep. John Lewis, who suffered severe head injuries when attacked on Bloody Sunday, and comedian Bill Cosby. Skipper, who has pieces among Cosby’s personal art collection, said Cosby, is the one who gave him the painting title, which means “The DNA of our ancestors is engrained in the concrete on Edmund Pettus Bridge."