Studio Bootsie presents
Signs of Life
an exhibition of the works of Donnie Carter

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Opening reception Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026, 3:00-6:00
Closing reception, Sunday, March 1, 2026, 3:00-6:00
Studio Bootsie, 4335 S. Lake Park Ave.
(between One-Stop Foods and the Muddy Waters Mojo Museum.)
Gallery hours during exhibition:

Sundays 2:00-5:00 and by appointment.

 

Though never professionally trained, Donnie Carter has been

painting pictures for over 75 years. Along the way, he’s made his

living as a professional sign painter. You can see much of his work

around the city. Born in 1939, growing up in Sunflower, Mississippi, Donnie’s artistic talent was noticed early, and he was encouraged by small jobs and gifts of art supplies from the folks in and around his hometown, including a commission from Sunflower’s mayor.
At the age of 12 Donnie got his first paying job picking cotton at the Refuge Plantation, now an historic landmark. Recognizing Donnie’s artistic skill the plantation owner requested Donnie hand-label the cotton bales, thus giving Donnie his first experience with sign-painting. Two years later, after being ordered to work on Labor Day or he could “get out,” Donnie caught a bus back to Sunflower, stopping with his grandparents and eventually joining relatives in Chicago. He says deep down, he always was a Chicago boy, journeying toward that city ever since he could remember.
Over the years Donnie has painted pictures of anything he likes: jazz musicians, women and children,boyhood country scenes, and in the 1960s nude women on velvet which he says sold pretty well at the time. All along the way he has done professional sign painting which according to him “is just another kind of painting.” These days Donnie is writing a memoir of his early life, tentatively titled The Art of Cotton Picking.
On display at Studio Bootsie is a range of Donnie’s paintings showing a keen and loving observation of the world around him. Also included are some samples of his beautiful and highly skilled sign lettering. Studio Bootsie is thrilled to be able to give Donnie’s work the attention it deserves.

For information on Studio Bootsie see https://tinyurl.com/HeraldArticleBootsie