Graphite Portraits by Larry Austin
available at Transmission Gallery

More About the Artists' Showroom

LARRY AUSTIN

Larry Austin was born in San Francisco and has lived in the Bay Area all his life, mostly in the East Bay. He has led a very interesting life and is well known to the neighborhood here on West Grand. As a young man he associated with the Black Panther Party in its early days and at one point was asked to leave the University of San Francisco due to what was considered subversive activity. Through the years he’s worked a wide a variety of jobs, including owning and running his own tow truck service. Today he watches over the corner of Brush St. and West Grand Avenue in Oakland, while essentially living on the streets.

These graphite portraits are just a few of many portraits Larry Austin drew while he was incarcerated for a while. Austin consciously chose to focus on drawing while he was in prison as a way to keep his mind occupied and develop his talent. During this time he became involved with the William James Association and the Prison Arts Project. His work has been shown in several prison art exhibitions including an ongoing exhibition in France.