KEEF CROSS

KEEF CROSS is an Atlanta based fine artist, illustrator and graphic novelist. His artistic talents emerged during his high school years at Tri-Cities Visual and Performing Arts Magnet Program. Upon graduating, KEEF received a full scholarship to attend the Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio, where he initially majored in film,  but later focused his attention on illustration.

 After having his first child senior year, he moved back to Atlanta, where he began teaching art in community centers. He also began to make a name for himself in the Atlanta art scene. From having his work displayed in galleries, to seeing his mural work on the streets of Atlanta, it was from those connections and interactions that led to him attaining a tattoo apprenticeship. 

KEEF thought it was ironic that after studying so many different disciplines in art,  he would finally settle on one that he knew the least about. The combination of taking some one’s ideas and breathing life into them,  while simultaneously leaving them with something that would last them the rest of their lives,  was extremely appealing to KEEF. So much so that.  he would choose this as his profession for the next 20 years.

Towards the end of those years,  KEEF began documenting and chronicling his customers and their stories,  until he finally had enough to start a small comic strip which later evolved into his graphic novel DayBlack. DayBlack was born out of his desire to create a new and fresh story that avoided tired tropes born from stereotypes and assumptions of what black people like to create and consume. As a tattoo artist, KEEF worked with clients from all walks of life. Listening to their stories and perspectives, good and bad, gave him a newfound insight on those he deemed different from himself. KEEF knew he wanted to convey these exchanges in DayBlack and through Merce. KEEF could finally say the things that he normally couldn’t say to his clients. The anonymity was therapeutic. These interactions showed him what he had already suspected which was , we are all not so different from one another, nor are we the same. But in that balance , is where DayBlack resides as a cultural intersection , with its travelers leaving with a little more than they came with. KEEF became obsessed with his new passion for storytelling, so much so that he retired from tattooing,  to focus completely on DayBlack.