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About the artist

Clifford Etienne

American

b. 1970

Lafayette, Louisiana, native Clifford “The Black Rhino” Etienne is a former professional boxer who seriously took up painting after being sentenced to prison. He had begun studying light and shading at age 15, copying other images, and training himself as an artist.

“Painting to me is drawing with color,” Etienne says. “And color has everything to do with painting. … Painting is what I intend to do when I regain my freedom. I go at it like I did boxing. … Put it all in there! … Since I don’t box anymore, painting has taken over my life and future. It soothes my soul.”
Image of artist