
By Dawayne Hill
Baltimore Watchdog Staff Writer
Most people merely admire events and nature – popular characters that flash across the TV screen or animals that scurry across green grass – but 19-year-old Cullen Battle seeks to recreate what he sees with a unique spin that he calls “spontaneous art-making.”
“I was always good with a pencil in my hand ever since I can remember,” said Battle, a Towson University sophomore majoring in Graphic Design. “I loved to draw big block letters and cartoons. Everything I looked at I wanted to draw it or re-create it.”
One of his goals is to create smiles with his graphic designs, photography and art.
“I remember one time I was commissioned to do a mural for a fire house in Virginia with some other artists,” said Battle, an African American who agreed to a wide-ranging interview in his apartment crammed with his creations.
“It was so inspiring to see the look of shock and awe on the people’s faces in the community and how excited they got about something that I had a part in creating,” he said. “That made me smile.”
Putting a smile on customers’ faces and amazing them are the reasons Battle said he continues to be an artist. His work also puts money in his pocket. He charges $10 to $300 for his creations.

“If I see them [customers] get as excited as I am when they see what I have created for them it makes it worthwhile,” Battle said. “I just hope they see my direction and passion within the piece, and I hope they show it off.”
Cordae Dunston, a 20-year-old Towson resident vouched for Battle’s work.
“He’s a great artist and he works fast,” Dunston said. “I asked for a custom painting and got it within a week, and it was everything I expected.”
The creativity and energy that Battle generates contradict the environment of his youth. He grew up on Darrington Street, a part of Southeast Washington, DC that, at the time, was known for rampant crime and frequent murders. Battle was barely affected.
“Life was pretty good,” he said. “My parents did a wonderful job of providing for the family, so I didn’t have to worry about much, just play sports, you know… normal kid stuff.”
After attending elementary and middle school in the nation’s capital, he moved with his family to Waldorf, Md., where he attended West Lake High School. Sports did not lure him to the basketball courts or football fields. He said it was his creativity that continued to grow. The more passionate Battle became about art, the more he saw himself wanting and longing to create, in any way, shape or form.
“I go through different phases where I’ll paint a week and then focus on drawing the next,” he said. “I also have weeks dedicated to photography, sculpting, digital art – you name it I’m on it. Honestly, I look to create something every day. It keeps the tools sharp.”
Battle said that whenever he is out in any surrounding, he sees things that inspire creation. He describes the process as “spontaneous art-making.” For him that means that when he gets certain images in his mind from a random glimpse during the day, he mentally re-creates that image. However that image plays out in his mind, he then gathers the proper materials to study it and plan out how to create it. That is when the composition begins, he said.
“Being an artist can be tough for some,” said Battle, “especially artists in college.”
With the constant pressure of school work and going to class on time every day, Battle admitted that creating sometimes get lost in the mix. Somehow, he said he finds a way to juggle all of these responsibilities.
“For me, they [school and art] both go hand in hand,” said Battle. “School sharpens my skills, everything I learn there I bring back to use in my personal work.”
Battle said that majoring in Art and Design at Towson has allowed him to participate in group projects. Learning and incorporating instructions from his professors have helped him continue to build his love for art.
“My dad was sort of an artist too,” said Battle. “He liked to draw posters and diagrams, which is where I got my inspiration to be an artist. He always encouraged me to create; and his words mean a lot to me so I always listen.”
Battle said that as soon as he graduates from college in two years, his goal is to work for a graphic design company and eventually start his own art company that incorporates graphic design, painting, drawing, and any type of art that can be thought of.