Written by Emma Roberts, Photographs courtesy of Scott Stanton
One doesn’t have to walk very far in Savannah to see the art of Scott Stanton, better known by his alias Panhandle Slim. His folk art can be spotted over building walls, featuring portraits and quotes from prominent individuals. His choice of subject comes from all over as Panhandle Slim looks at the whole world for inspiration.
“Everything is everything,” Slim said. “Everything I see, read and hear is a potential painting. There is always something going on in the world at the very moment that we are all dealing with. There is always someone who has articulated the present experience we are going through because of their past experience. I spend a lot of time reading and looking for
those words.”
Much of Panhandle Slim’s subject matter comes from the Savannah community who have asked him to paint around the city. “With most of the paintings that go up on walls around Savannah, my friend Beverlee Trotter, who runs Savannah Youth City, asked folks in the community if they want a painting on their wall and they said yes,” Slim said. “I made the painting and we put it up. When people then saw all the paintings going up around town, some folks came to me and asked if they could get a painting on their wall. So in a way, I don’t really choose a location. They choose me.”
Panhandle Slim’s work focuses heavily on social commentary and progressive ideals. Many of the people featured in Slim’s work are progressives throughout history, from Sojourner Truth to Albert Einstein and Barack Obama. He also said he draws inspiration from many different artists. His view: everyone is an artist in their own way.
“Everyone is busy creating something new. It could be the person cutting grass and trimming bushes to the people putting a new roof on a house. It could be the grocery store worker setting up the displays in the store or the sandwich artist at Subway. Everyone is an artist,” Slim said.
Panhandle Slim’s art is located all around Savannah, from churches to coffee shops and he is always finding somewhere new to paint. His work continues to be free-flowing with new works popping up throughout the city. For now, Slim hopes to create work based on what happens throughout the world- something new is always happening.
“I have no plans,” Slim said, “but I hope things keep happening as they have, because someone has a plan for me.”
