[3][4] Doyle dropped out of the Penn school in the ninth grade and found employment variously as a store clerk, porter, groundskeeper and finally as a laundry worker.

[2] Doyle continued his art practice in the 1940s, showing his paintings on sheet metal at first in his yard that he called his "Outdoor World-Wide-International Gallery".

[5][13] Doyle was heavily influence by the Gullah culture of St. Helena Island, known for its high levels of African retention.

[14] Doyle documented the strengths, weaknesses, trials, and blunders of his fellow St. Helena residents through painting their portraits.

Legends like Ray Charles, Martin Luther King Jr, and Jackie Robinson were portrayed in Doyle's collection.