Talley is the epitome of a Renaissance man. He uses pencil, paper, paint, plaster and clay to illustrate his cultural, historical and social values, comprising various genres, from realism to abstraction. In his mixed-media pieces like Sophia: I Loves Harpo, and We Came with Creativity, Dr. Talley manipulates acrylics, beads, seeds and nontraditional materials.

His art has earned national and international recognition, securing his name on some of the most prestigious lists: 250 Years of Afro-American Art, Who’s Who in the South and Southwest, Who’s Who Among African Americans, and Who’s Who in Black Houston. He has also authored several notable publications and received numerous awards, including the Johnson-Phillip All Faiths Chapel Campus Ministry Award, the Roanne H. Victor Merit Award and The Texas A&M University System Teaching Excellence Award.

Hailing from Alexandria, Louisiana, Talley discovered his passion for art in the third grade after he saw a classmate, Donald, drawing a picture. The magic of his creativity piqued Talley’s interest, and years later, he recognized this moment as a revelation.

Talley started with comic books, sketching images of superheroes like Batman, Spiderman and Superman. Throughout school, his peers and teachers admired his talents. Encouraged by his art teacher, he began to compete in local and state competitions. After high school, he earned a scholarship to attend Southern University, where he completed his bachelor’s degree in liberal studies. He continued training at Louisiana State University, earning a master’s in fine arts.

Throughout his studies, Talley was repeatedly advised that a career in artistry would lead to poverty. It was a prediction he did not buy into. If art was his calling and God designed Talley to create, God would make a way.

But even as a man of faith, Talley could have never predicted that he would one day have a sculpture of Abner Davis at the center of PVAMU’s campus. He also didn’t know that he would showcase his work in the Corcoran Gallery in Washington D.C., the Black Creativity Exhibit in Chicago, the Biblical Art Center in Dallas, the Harmony Art Gallery in China, or Atlanta’s Apex Museum.

Eventually, his travels as a Fulbright-Hays Scholar to Africa and a Phelps-Stoke Fellow to the Caribbean led to features in photographic essays, exhibitions and exhibit catalogs and journal articles.

His years as an artist have had challenges, but they’ve been rewarding, and he has no regrets. “I am where God ordained me to be, and because that is so, then I am right where I’m supposed to be.”

In addition to working as a successful artist and accomplished educator, he’s the senior pastor at Mount Corinth Missionary Baptist Church. Dr. Talley completed a master of art in theology at the Houston Graduate School of Theology and a doctorate of biblical studies at the Master’s International School of Divinity. Art has been his first love since the third grade, but strengthening his faith solidified his creative drive.

Dr. Talley's children also remind him of the fullness of God and art. His daughter Crystal Ann, a game developer and user experience designer, is a skilled portrait painter. His son Clarence Jr., a PVAMU alum, is a high school architecture teacher at McArthur High School in Houston.

“It’s remarkable how their career choices have taken them in two different directions, yet in the same direction—creativity. Our parental hope is that our children become and do all that God has designed for them. I’m so glad He has imparted to my children what I want to selfishly claim as mine. My genes. My talent. My tree. My fruits. Those two make me feel closer to the Creator.”

Talley knows that God and his gifts are with him in everything he has touched, and his professional maturation at PVAMU is no exception. “I asked the Lord to put me in an HBCU, and He answered my prayers.”

“Art, like many other subjects, can challenge students to dream, to ponder and awaken in them an imagination that they never knew possible. Opening this window allows students to be not only citizens in this multicultural society but also global citizens, as well as active participants in an ever-changing technological world,” said Talley.

African American art is not merely a form of expression for the community but communicates thoughts and emotions, uplifting the race and inspiring social action. Fueled by hope and a rhythmic stride toward change, Black trailblazers, innovators and revolutionaries have harnessed their power in art to explore the intersections of race and gender, economic disparities and political equities.

Art provides the community with a unique voice for the oppressed and silenced. In the words of artist, actor, athlete and activist Paul Robeson, "Black artists are the gatekeepers of truth."

Dr. Talley doesn’t shy away from his responsibility as a change agent. Having attended segregated schools as a child and drawing from his HBCU education at Southern, pieces like Homage to Trayvon #1 and #2, The Youngest Ever and UskillinUs express the dichotomies of justice, civil demonstrations, ancestry, anger, resilience and pride, capturing the spirit of a race of men, women and children.

His instruction highlights the work of Black artists, historians and preachers who influenced his craft. He equips students with the skills to address cultural issues through art, leveraging their and others’ works to encourage open dialogue.

“We are a creative people. Our cultural foundation is that of the arts. The history of African descendants is part of the fabric of human history. Hence, the arts can open the window of the world to young minds trying to find their way,” he said.