ABOUT MIKE LOVE

Mike Love isn’t just painting pretty pictures—he’s preserving a crucial piece of Florida art history. As the nephew of Al Black, one of the original Florida Highwaymen, Love carries forward a tradition that revolutionized how Black artists sold their work in the Jim Crow South.

For five years now, Love has been actively creating art, though his education began much earlier, watching his uncle work for years before he ever picked up a brush himself. His approach is intentionally old-school: he builds frames from crown molding and sells paintings straight from his car, sometimes while the paint is still wet—just like the Highwaymen did in the 1950s and 60s.

Working primarily with Whitten oil paints (and occasionally Bob Ross paints), Love has a signature touch: Persian blue tweaked with a hint of purple. “I want people to feel relaxed and calm when they see my work,” he explains. “For me, painting is therapeutic—I get completely immersed in the process.”

Love is part of a vibrant community of legacy artists keeping the Highwaymen aesthetic alive. This includes students of Johnny Daniels (Johnny Stovall, Richard Edwards, and Kevin Hair), nieces and nephews of James Gibson (Vernon and Dominique Tines), sons of Roy McClendon (Ray McClendon and Roy McClendon Jr.), and his cousin Stephanie Denmark, Al Black’s daughter. Together, they actively organize art shows, especially during snowbird season when South Florida’s cultural calendar heats up.

His subjects range from “old Florida” landscapes and seascapes to backwoods scenes and historical landmarks like Eddie’s Place—the site where Alfred Hair, a Highwaymen founder, was murdered. It’s art as documentation, beauty with historical weight.

Beyond the canvas, Love is building a digital presence with a website to promote upcoming shows. He’s also a photographer—a skill that naturally influences his painting—and teaches classes in Fort Pierce. His biggest artistic challenge? Capturing animals with the same fluidity he brings to landscapes.

The legacy continues to the next generation: Love’s son has started painting too. Meanwhile, the Highwaymen story is getting wider recognition. “The Legends of the Highway,” a film told from collector Mary Ann Carroll’s perspective, is set to stream around Thanksgiving (November 25th). Love is also working on a magazine project to share untold stories about the Highwaymen movement.

You can catch Love’s work at the joint gallery he shares with Kevin Hair at 111 Orange Avenue in Fort Pierce, or at This Is It Cafe in North Palm Beach. In a world of digital art and NFTs, Love is proof that there’s still power in oil paint, crown molding frames, and selling art the way it was meant to be sold—directly, personally, and with the paint still wet.