Page 15 - Florida Sentinel 7-20-18

Local
Retired Architect Launches New Career As Artist
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
Ronald Harden re- members starting to draw as a child. After entering school, Harden developed a love of basketball, drawing, and art. He became a professional Ar- chitect and spent 36 years in the field before retiring in 2017.
Since retiring, Harden has turned his attention to painting. He has created a se- ries of 6 paintings he refers to as the North American Bird Series. They are entitled: “The Cardinals,” “The Singing Mocking Bird,” “The Baltimore Oriole,” “The Bullock’s Oriole,” “A Blue Jay In Autumn,” and “The Sparrow.”
In March 2018, Harden contacted William O. De- Witt, Jr., owner of the St. Louis Cardinals. He offered his signed painting entitled “The Cardinals,” and De- Witt purchased it.
RONALD L. HARDEN
Harden said, “Art has al- ways been something that I had the desire to do at an early age.” Now, at the age of 66, he is free to launch a new career as an artist.
A Tampa native, Harden attended the public schools of Hillsborough County. When he reached Blake High School, he enrolled in a draft- ing class. He initially in-
THE CARDINALS
Technology.
Harden was the only
African American in that class. And, on many occa- sions, he was the only African American in the office.
Harden said that during his tenure his work spoke for itself and he has left his blue- print on many buildings in the Tampa Bay Area. One of the projects that he is most proud of was having worked on the Performing Arts Cen- ter. “That was my biggest challenge and a once in a life- time opportunity.”
There was a point in Harden’s career that he found himself without work. In 2009, Harden experi- enced a layoff because of the economy. No one was hiring, so he took the time to write a book, entitled, “Untold Ar- chitectural Black His- tory Of Tampa, Florida.” The book was published in 2010 and is now on the shelves of libraries in the Tampa Bay area.
tended to become a carpenter when he graduated in 1969.
But, when he entered Hillsborough Community College, he enrolled in an Ar-
chitect Program. And that set the stage for his future. He graduated in 1972 with an As- sociate of Science Degree in Architectural Construction
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