{"id":217148,"date":"2022-08-19T12:00:39","date_gmt":"2022-08-19T17:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cupsespressocafe.com\/?p=217148"},"modified":"2023-05-31T12:15:12","modified_gmt":"2023-05-31T17:15:12","slug":"staying-creative-with-cups-an-interview-with-roger-leonard-long","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cupsespressocafe.com\/staying-creative-with-cups-an-interview-with-roger-leonard-long\/","title":{"rendered":"Staying Creative With Cups: An Interview with Roger Leonard Long"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Artist Roger Leonard Long in front of his portraits<\/p><\/div>\n

For Ridgeland-based artist Roger Leonard Long, Cups is where he got his start.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy first exhibit was with Cups Fondren, when I was 18,\u201d he said. \u201cThey were the first ones to allow me to exhibit, and I really appreciated them giving me the opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roger began drawing as a child and was recognized in school for his artistic abilities. He developed a love and skill for dance in middle school, and since then, has used choreography and portraiture in his life as creative outlets. However, despite his years of artistic skill, Roger\u2019s first exhibit made him realize that he still had a lot to learn about the art world.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a self-taught artist and didn\u2019t know much about framing,\u201d he said about that first exhibit, \u201cBut, through my exhibit, I was able to meet other artists\u2026 and I learned more about framing, matting, and presentation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roger started his business, Portrait Phenomenon Studios<\/a>, that same year with his wife Tena Long to provide space and time for him to take on commissioned pieces. Ironically, it was Cups, and not the pressure to meet commission deadlines, that motivated Roger to push his creative boundaries.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause Cups regularly allowed me to exhibit,\u201d he said, \u201cit motivated me to have new work\u2013because I knew it would be seen.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also appreciated the audience at Cups and felt confident that his work would be well received by the public\u2013something that is not always guaranteed when exhibiting at museums.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe good thing about Cups is that I can display my Tupac, Biggie, and Kurt Cobain and I know they will be appreciated,\u201d he said. \u201cMuseums will often curtail what you can put on display. I don\u2019t have to worry about that with Cups.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

A man admires Roger Leonard Long’s series of portraits.<\/p><\/div>\n

Roger\u2019s latest exhibit is ongoing at Cups Fondren and features pieces, like a photorealistic portrait of Tupac, that were displayed during Roger\u2019s first Cups exhibit all those years ago. Other pieces, like \u201cThis is Mississippi\u201d, are more recent and display Roger\u2019s growth as an artist.<\/p>\n

\"This<\/a>

“This is Mississippi” by Roger Leonard Long<\/p><\/div>\n

During his opening night, Roger answered many questions posed by exhibit-goers about his creative process and sources of inspiration. It is this connection between art, artist, and audience that is so important in maintaining a local artist community.<\/p>\n

\u201c…It helps people see what\u2019s going on around the city. It\u2019s good for Mississippians to see that artists can survive here,\u201d he said. \u201cIt also gives the public a chance to support their local artists and show that as a community, we support the arts.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Roger discusses his art with exhibit-goers.<\/p><\/div>\n

To any local artists wanting to have their art displayed at Cups, Roger had this advice to share:<\/p>\n

\u201cGo to other artist\u2019s exhibits. Meet other artists and make that connection. Artists know the struggle and are willing to connect to uplift other artists. When you have your exhibit, invite other local artists and be open to constructive criticism. That advice that you get from artists is priceless.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roger continues to create photorealistic portraits and prints, sometimes while enjoying his go-to White Mocha from Cups. His artwork is available to view at Cups Fondren all summer. Be sure to follow him on Instagram (@portraitphenomenastudio<\/a>) for updates on his latest work!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Ridgeland-based artist Roger Leonard Long, Cups is where he got his start. \u201cMy first exhibit was with Cups Fondren, when I was 18,\u201d he said. \u201cThey were the first ones to allow me to exhibit, and I really appreciated them giving me the opportunity.\u201d Roger began drawing as a child and was recognized in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2171,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-217148","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupsespressocafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217148","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupsespressocafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupsespressocafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupsespressocafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2171"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupsespressocafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=217148"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/cupsespressocafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217148\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":218943,"href":"https:\/\/cupsespressocafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/217148\/revisions\/218943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cupsespressocafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=217148"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupsespressocafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=217148"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cupsespressocafe.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=217148"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}