Ernest Kirk Jr., better known by the alias Black Folk Artist, has a style that depicts early pioneer America. He draws inspiration from his memories growing up in Louisiana and his journey to California during the Great Migration. 

The Great Migration defines the widespread relocation of Black Americans from the South to the North and West seeking better civil and economic opportunities, according to Britannica.

Nirvana Soul, a Downtown San Jose coffee shop, displayed Kirk’s paintings for the first two weeks of February to honor Black History Month.

“We always knew that Nirvana Soul would be an artistic space,” said Be’Anka Ashaolu, co-owner of Nirvana Soul. “What we were aiming for when we first were opening was creating a space for artwork that would be joyful, healing and celebratory.”

The upstairs area of the coffee shop is filled with local artwork that’s rotated every two weeks. Ashaolu said the shop has various mixed media art pieces ranging from colored pencil illustrations to acrylic paintings and different art styles including hyper realistic work and animated readaptations.

Kirk said his artwork stems from his memories of daily life in Louisiana. He described his muse to be nostalgic artifacts including his grandmother’s sewing machine and wooden wagons made for children.

“My art depicts what I like to call Black pioneers of America, the beginning of America,” Kirk said. “The people who helped build this country, people who built the White House. America is basically built on the backs of Black slaves.”

Kirk, now 82 years old, participated in the Great Migration when he was seven years old, along with his parents and six siblings. 

Kirk and his family moved into his cousin’s garage upon their arrival to San Francisco, then moved to Oakland and finally settled in San Jose in the late ’80s.

He said he always had an interest in art and began checking out art books from Oakland Public Library. Eventually he began taking art classes at the College of San Mateo.

“That’s one thing that I am forever grateful for, looking back and realizing later on in my life, that my father made that decision to pack up his clothes and his family during the Great Migration,” Kirk said. 

Kirk said his specific folk art style began in the ’70s after finding inspiration from Jack Meyers, an artist whose paintings reflected sketches and photographs he took in Louisiana. 

Although Kirk did not have a camera to mimic Meyers’ method of scenery replication, Kirk created his own art based on his childhood nostalgic memories. 

Kirk said folk art creates a sense of identity and storytelling deriving inspiration from traditions, community and cultural aspects. 

His acrylic folk paintings range from people picking cotton, plowing the field and hanging clothes on lines, to children playing with toys made of wood within rows of cotton and greenery in the background.

“Even though there was a lot of negative things going on, I still see beauty in the fact that the sun is coming up, sun is going down,” Kirk said. “The perspective of the illustration, it can tell the story and also be beautiful in the process of rendering its meaning.”

Yana Rose, a co-worker of Kirk’s, said she didn’t know he was an artist until she saw his work displayed at Nirvana Soul. 

“Actually being able to see his work, made me feel so much closer to him. Ernest is a very quiet but kind man,” Rose said. “He has this sort of light that radiates from him and his artwork is no different. It was powerful to see his stories on a wall, I was moved by his work honestly.”

Ashaolu said Kirk’s artwork felt personal and rare to see executed through paintings.

“It’s like I can tap into my own experience through his work and when he’s painting, his grandmother or his mother I can see my family in them,” Ashaolu said. “The feeling that I got was just familiarity and like a pride in how far we’ve come. And this being Black History Month, knowing obviously we still have a very long way to go.”

Kirk is currently working on a new portrait series called “Dead Legends.” This series consists of prominent figures in the Black community including Martin Luther King Jr., Lorraine Hansberry and James Baldwin.

“Taking advantage of Black History Month, to display your art, I consider it a blessing,” Kirk said. “I am happy to share my memories and stories through my art.”