Jerrard Polk

Jerrard K. Polk has been drawing all of his life.  His natural desire to pick up a drawing utensil started with his mother buying JUMBO coloring books which he would quickly fill. Polk won his first art contest in kindergarten at Derita Elementary, in his hometown of Charlotte, NC. The "Principal's Pal" art contest in which he won 1st place for his crayon drawing of race cars was the first recognition he received for his natural talent and ability.  His skills were honed and encouraged by numerous art teachers during his youth in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg School System.

At the age of 15 Polk wanted to obtain a summer job. Naturally he desired to work at the local supermarket bagging groceries as his brother and sister had.  Yet, his father Vincent insisted he use his talent in whatever summer job he chose. Polk wondered how he would do that at just 15 years of age.  He remembered that there were caricature artists at Carowinds, an amusement park situated on the border of North and South Carolina. He was hired to work during the summer of 1997. After honing his skills over a long hot summer, he decided to start his own business called Polk's Pop Arts.

Since 1997, Polk has drawn thousands of people at malls, parties, and corporate events in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Bermuda. First he opened Polk's Pop Arts in Midtown Square Mall near downtown Charlotte by renting a kiosk where he sketched patrons.  His strong entrepreneurial spirit was noticed by the media when, at the age of 16
a front page article was written about him in The Charlotte Observer entitled "This Teen Really Draws His Pay".  Polk used the good press to graduate to a larger mall kiosk at the Eastland Mall in east Charlotte.

While attending Z.B. Vance High School, Polk got his first taste of illustration as the award winning Staff Artist of "The Village Voice". He was constantly called on to paint backdrops for plays, to lead the National Art Honor Society Chapter, and was even asked to produce the illustration of the school building for the diploma.  It is still in use today. After graduation from high school he attended the Art Institute of Charlotte on the Evelyn Keedy Memorial Scholarship. He obtained an Associate's degree in Graphic Design.

While Polk possesses a love for design, he has cultivated a passion for illustration. Recently Polk was awarded an emerging artists grant by the Bermuda Arts Council to attend The 2009 Illustration Academy at the Ringling College of Art & Design in Sarasota, FL.  The experience gave Polk the tools and knowledge necessary to keep growing as an
artist and to ultimately become a published professional illustrator. It also lit a fire under him that will keep his passion for illustration burning for many years to come.  Polk credits the academy for making his three years in Bemuda to be the most productive. He sites Bermudian cartoonist Peter Woolcock, Miguel Covarrubias, Jim Davis, Sebastian Krueger, Al Hirschfeld, Steve Brodner, Bill Gallo, and  Kadir Nelson as a few of his artistic inspirations.

Polk is poised to take his place among the best illustrators in the
business.  As he does,keep your eyes open, so that his caricatures can POLKFUN INTO YOUR LIFE!