Local graffiti artist Randy Heart combats negativity through what he calls, ‘love art.’
If you’re wondering if his last name is really Heart, no it isn't.
“The reason why I say heart is because that’s what I want to give the people. I feel like I have a beautiful heart,” he explained. “I feel like that’s just a gift and I just really wanted to put in my artwork.”
Heart began drawing at the age of 6, but doesn't remember taking art serious until his preteen years.
During those earlier years, he launched his first art business.
“My mom bought me these squeeze bottle paints and these t-shirts. I’ve been doing t-shirts for a long time. I genuinely love t-shirt designing.” Heart added. "I started taking it serious when I was 9 or 11, it was a business. I was selling t-shirts $10 for kids, $20 for adults. I was just playing you know, but it was the messages that I would put on it… I always wanted to uplift.”
After graduating in 2007 from American University in Georgia, Heart moved to New York.
“I graduated from college and moved to New York because I wanted to get a job in fashion. My mother was doing her last three years in the Navy, but then she suffered from a rare disease call Malignoma,” Heart said.
”So, she had to get brain surgery. Me being a mama’s boy, I wanted to be able to tend to my mom. So, I left New York to Florida where she was. She was doing three more months in Florida then she was moving to Maryland.”
While caring for his recovering mom in Maryland, Heart gave birth to a creative project that is now known as ‘Parker Cloud.’
Parker Cloud is a fictional character created to inspire youth to believe in their dreams and follow their hearts.
“My character’s name is Parker Cloud. I am a fan of clouds. That’s why I named him Parker Cloud. He is what I remember of myself,” he said. “Parker is me, which is charismatic. I feel like I’m very charismatic. He’s caring, which is me. I feel like he’s very creative, which is me. He is also what I wanted to be more of, where I’m at now and where I work to be more of.”
“Even with all these great attributes, he’s [Parker Cloud] still an underdog. Nobody really pays him any attention because the world is so busy. It’s so easy to be like, he’s just dreaming again…but the clouds are such fans of this kid,” he added.
"If you look at how I’m trying to set it up in the spiritual realm. The clouds are up and they’re looking down. These clouds have these great aspirations about this kid. They’re like “Parker Cloud can do it! Parker Cloud is the man! They’re like team parker!”
Heart and Parker Cloud regularly visit elementary schools and afterschool programs around the city, inspiring hundreds of kids to dream limitlessly.
If he’s not teaching art classes, giving lectures, hosting art shows or selling branded merchandise; Heart can be found spray painting cloud and heart murals around popular D.C. and Maryland hangout spots.
“I want us to love each other. I want us to take time to just absorb all the good energy that we have to offer,” Heart said.
For more information on Randy Heart or Parker Cloud, click here.
