This is a book about how he became a painter. Throughout his life he was always very interested in art but was forced to do football. He played in the NFL but eventually became an artist. ( )

This book is so beautifully written and illustrated. While non-fiction is sometimes overlooked by young readers, the presentation of this book is very inviting for readers. They present the biography of Ernie Barnes in a fun, insightful way. ( )

Ernest Eugene Barnes Jr., born in 1938, was an American artist as well as a professional football player.

Ernie grew up in North Carolina in the 1940s and loved to draw with a stick when the rain turned the mud around his house into a medium he could use. He always wanted to be an artist, but as a black person in the South, he was not even welcome in an art museum.

Although Ernie had no interest in sports, the football coach at his high school convinced Ernie’s mother he should play. Ernie was so good at the position of offensive lineman, he was offered twenty-six scholarships to colleges that allowed blacks. (Segregation prevented him from attending nearby Duke University or the University of North Carolina.) Ernie chose the college closest to home, and majored in art. Ernie didn’t know what to paint, however, and his art teacher encouraged him to “use what you see.” What was all around Ernie was football, and so that is what he began to paint.

Ernie was recruited by the pros, but painting remained his first love. He had a new problem though: his hands were so swollen from blocking in games that he couldn’t paint. When one of his hands broke in a game, he was dropped from the Colt’s team.

Ernie went to work as a door-to-door salesman, but there wasn’t much money in that job, so he got back into football with another team when his hand healed. He used time-outs to draw, but every time the coach caught him at it, he was fined fifty dollars. Finally Ernie could resist his true calling no more, and at the end of the season in 1964 he quit football for good in order to paint.

Ernie went to the 1965 NFL owners meeting asking them to hire him as the Official Artist for the American Football League. Only the owner of the New York Jets, Sonny Werblin, was interested. Werblin hired Ernie as a salaried player with the stipulation that he paint rather than be on the field. Werblin also hosted a solo exhibition in 1966 in New York City featuring Ernie’s art work, and all of his paintings were purchased.

Award winning illustrator Bryan Collier does his own artwork, but employs trademark features of Barnes' work such as his frequent depiction of subjects with their eyes closed. Barnes explained in a 1990 interview:

“I began to see, observe, how blind we are to one another's humanity. Blinded by a lot of things that have, perhaps, initiated feelings in that light. We don't see into the depths of our interconnection. The gifts, the strength and potential within other human beings. We stop at color quite often. So one of the things we have to be aware of is who we are in order to have the capacity to like others. But when you cannot visualize the offerings of another human being you're obviously not looking at the human being with open eyes."

In the early 1970s, Barnes also came to realize that there was little documentation of life in the African American community, so he wanted to remedy that. In 1971 he created the painting “The Sugar Shack,” which gained international exposure when it was used as the cover for the 1976 Marvin Gaye album "I Want You."

He recalled that while the phrase “Black is Beautiful” had come into fashion, there was no indication of what that actually meant:

"But when it was said, 'I'm Black and I'm Proud,' I said, 'proud of what?' And that question of 'proud of what' led to a series of paintings that became The Beauty of the Ghetto.'"

"The Beauty of the Ghetto" exhibition, consisting of 35 paintings, toured major American cities from 1972 to 1979.

In 1984 Barnes was named “Sports Artist of the 1984 Olympic Games.” The next year, he was named the first "Sports Artist of the Year" by the United States Sports Academy. In 2004, Barnes was named "America's Best Painter of Sports" by the American Sport Art Museum & Archives.

Barnes died in 2009 at age 70 from myeloid leukemia. In the author’s Historical Note she points out that today, “Ernie’s work hangs in museums in Philadelphia; Los Angeles; New York City; Washington, DC; and Daphne, Alabama.” The little boy who was sad because he was not allowed in art museums is now a permanent part of them.

Bryan Collier adds an Illustrator’s Note, in which he explains his thoughts on illustrating a book about an artist:

“This book’s art is painted in watercolor and collage and there are areas where I show you the actual art of Ernie Barnes with his signature exaggerated figures in expressive motion that lives on to inspire the world. I chose not to re-create this book in Ernie’s style because it is so original and unique that it shines so proudly on its own. It speaks for itself.”

Evaluation: Both the author and illustrator were moved by the dedication and optimism of Ernie Barnes, and his perseverance in both doing what he loved, and in trying to change people’s points of view through art. It’s a stirring story, and children who want to learn more about Barnes will benefit from a long list of resources, including videos and a film, at the end of the book. ( )

In my opinion, this is a rich and complex book that tells the biography of an artist and athelete who grew up during the civil rights movement here in the U.S. For example, it shares that when Ernie was finally allowed access to viewing an art musem, he was informed that his people did not express themselves in that manner. However, “Ernest knew they did. His teacher had shown slides of artword by Henry O. Tanner, Edmonia Lewis, and Palmer Hayden,” which are names I wish I was more familiar with. This book provided information from the view point of a black man who was trying to find his voice through art in a time when society had not acknowledged them yet. I enjoyed reading this book as it allowed me to get to know the main character, Ernie Barnes in a story format along with beautiful illustrations. Not only were the words and cotext of the story rich, but the illustrations assisted in decpicting the story in a magnificent way with a mixture of watercolor and highly detailed collage work. Overall, this book would be an incredible read for upper elementary (4th/5th), middle school, and possible high school as it discusses several complex messages: racism, societal views, self-expression, and career choice. ( )

I enjoyed the book “Between the Lines” for a multitude of reasons. First, the book I personally relate to because of my love for football. The book is based on Ernie Barnes, a football player who played for the Baltimore Colts. I played football since I was 9 years old. I also enjoy the book because of the recognition of the lack of representation on Ernie’s end when he went into the art museum and realized that there were not any African American painters. He wanted to change that and follow his passion for art. Next, I love the fact that Ernie was able to combine two passions and make them into one. He loved art and grew to love football so he created a painting called “The Bench” which represented his teammates sitting on the bench watching the football game unfold in front of them. Ernie is also an intellectual man who sought opportunity when it would arise. In the book, Ernie attended a meeting for the owners of the American Football League and he brought his paintings with him and said “I want to become the official artist for the American Football League.” Which ended up becoming a job for him. His art was able to be published in New York which gave him the representative aspect he was seeking for. Overall, the book tended to blend passion with talent and how it is possible to love multiple occupations in life and make them coexist. ( )