But looking at "Portraits of Life and Landscapes: the Art of Frank Kelley, Jr." at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the visitor could be forgiven for reading that trauma into the eyes of almost all the elderly country folk who were his recent subjects. 
The work inspired by Katrina, Kelley says, was "Before and After the Storm," featuring an old man with a lined face and searching eyes.
Exhaustion and disbelief may be written all over the man's face; but -- as with most of Kelley's subjects -- there's no suggestion of defeat, just a tired persistence in the face of life's inexplicable demands.
"I painted that for people who live out on the bayous," says the 48-year-old from Monroe, La., "and have been destroyed by storms many times."
Most portraits in the show are of African-Americans, with the exception of the woman outside the ramshackle house in "America."
"She is white," says Kelley, who worked in auto sales until he turned to painting full time in 2000. "But like everyone, she's mixed with something. She's a little bit Indian and a little bit Creole. She's America to me."
Kelley paints from dark to light, laying down the deepest shade all across the canvas that he will then layer with "25 to 40" other hues.
The result is color that's rich and deep, as with "Man of Substance," whose subject stands in emerald fields beneath a turquoise sky. The show is up through Dec. 12.
Also on display, outside the room housing Kelley's show, is a collection of paintings by fourth-graders at Detroit's Chrysler Elementary School, whom Kelley coached on a visit in March.
For a real visual treat, look for the midnight-gray seascape topped with rainbow-colored buildings by Kyndall Crenshaw and Gary Jones III.
mhodges@detnews.com (313) 222-6021
