"Make Milwaukee": Week 8 | Reggie Baylor

By Radio Milwaukee

Published March 16, 2010 at 9:53 PM CDT

Listen: From the cab of a truck to the basement of a building repurposed as an art-hive, painter Reginald Baylor has come a long way in the past couple years. And while those two vocations might not have a lot in common on the surface, Reggie has managed to glide from one profession to the next with continuity and grace. Listen, as Reggie discusses his transition from the road to the canvas:

When Mary Louise and I arrived at Reggie's studio, he was busy banging away at the drums. Turns out he's quite musical -- Reggie was gracious enough to perform a song for us on his guitar:

Reggie's colorful, intriguing, and multi-dimensional personality is more than reflected in his art. While you get a peek into that parallel in this post's photographs, there's nothing like the real thing.

Out takes! In the past year, Reggie's style has exploded and taken his potential to a whole new level. Reggie talks about how his work has evolved since he's become a full time painter: -We sat in front of the unfinished canvas above (and below) and Reggie discussed how a painting with such a complex composition comes together: -Reggie's art is incredibly time-intensive and requires a huge amount of time to complete. In this piece of tape, Reggie discusses the work that goes into one of his paintings: If you think Reggie's story is fascinating, you really ought to check out his art. Check out some of his work on his personal site, or go down to the basement of the Marshall Building in the Third Ward and see it yourself.

P r o duced by: Adam Carr