Charcoal artist turns devastation into beauty for St. Joseph Center

North Little Rock artist Matthew Billingsley will never forget March 19. 

“My wife works the farmstand (at St. Joseph Center of Arkansas), and she was at home when she got the call. … I drove straight there. … They had most of it blocked off, but from where I was by the entrance, I could see these humongous flames, probably 20-foot tall flames above my studio,” the 40-year-old recalled. “The entire attic and roof were in flames and collapsing. It was hard to see, especially with how much time we’ve spent there.

“St. Joseph’s Center has been like my creative sanctuary, and I have a lot of charcoal drawings and paintings and art materials and multiple easels and instruments in there. So it was hard to see flames around all of that.”

Billingsley had a studio, along with 12 other artists, in the center for more than four years. 

Billingsley has always loved art. He found himself in places like the Arkansas Art Center, the University of Hawaii Manoa and the Honolulu Museum of Fine Art. Throughout his childhood, Billingsley was also comforted by the familiar neighborhood sight of St. Joseph Center. 

As his artistic endeavors grew and he settled in North Little Rock, he looked for more space and soon found a home at St. Joseph Center. His studio on the fourth floor positively influenced his art and creativity. 

“I’ve always loved the space, and I love to show it to people. … I had a good view of downtown and the gardens around. I loved that there was a sanctuary there. I was able to store my art, books. I had all my charcoal drawings. I also converted a bathroom in my studio … into a recording studio. … I’ve recorded several songs in that space as well. ”

Billingsley and others haven’t been allowed inside yet for their safety. But following the fire, winds, firefighting efforts and the torrential rain that followed just two weeks later, Billingsley fears all of his supplies may be destroyed. 

“My entrance to my studio didn’t have doors — it was open to the hallway. … It’s probably a lot lost to water damage … the charcoal drawings, with that amount of heat and humidity and smoke, I imagine they’re all crinkled up, and there’s possibly a mildew or mold issue that might happen.

“One of the hardest parts about this whole thing is, I was in the car the other day and my daughter, she’s 12, started crying, and I asked her what was wrong, and she said, ‘St. Joseph’s.’

“It immediately hit me that that’s been her creative sanctuary. She and her friend … have been playing there for basically two years, running the halls and playing hide and seek and going up to the studio and creating artwork. They’ve done dances and choreographed dance routines, and it’s been her fun, happy place. So that was harder than any thoughts of my stuff being gone or anything like that. That’s probably one of the hardest feelings that I’ve felt about the whole thing.”

Days after the fire, Billingsley knew he had to do something, and art had often been his form of action. But all of his supplies were inside the off-limits building. That’s when something caught the charcoal artist’s eye. 

“I guess I have the artist mindset. I try to always create, and so after the building fire, I was walking around and I saw charcoal on the ground — you know, the burned wood and charcoal. And I’ve worked a lot with charcoal and have done a lot of charcoal drawings. So when I saw the charcoal, I immediately thought of drawing with it. And I was near the (St. Joseph and the Child Jesus) statue when I saw that charcoal, so it just kind of happened.”

Billingsley had no materials — no easels, erasers, not even paper. He went to the store and bought what he could find. He propped a folding table up vertically and clamped his paper to it. With charcoal made from the St. Joseph Center, he began to create. 

“It was deeply emotional, especially the happy memories that were coming up as I was drawing and the happy memories of showing my studio space and all the amazing people that I’ve met at St. Joseph’s,” he said. “There’s so many wonderful people there that are involved. And so I had a lot of emotion.”

Billingsley posted his art on Facebook, and the post went viral locally with 300 shares and 650 likes. He showed his creation to the staff of St. Joseph and offered the artwork as a way of fundraising for St. Joseph Center.

The starting bid was $350. In just two weeks, the auction closed April 7 with a winning bid of $1,700. The proceeds will mostly go to St. Joseph Center, and a small percentage will go to Billingsley to help recoup his art supplies. 

“Matthew’s rendering of the St. Joseph statue in front of the building is very poignant — especially given the medium he chose to create the art — literally beauty from the ashes,” executive director Sandy DeCoursey said. “St. Joseph Center of Arkansas is working with all of the artists to try and help them raise funds for their own recovery. … Michelle Shellabarger has been working hard to help everyone find new studios or space to continue their art. The local art community has also responded with donations of art supplies and more.”