Holiday Recap

This was one of my most productive holiday breaks ever. All I did was kick it, eat, and paint. Here's a lil visual recap:

I met Kurupt in the JFK airport! Helluva a way to start the trip.

Delivered my favorite painting, Rescusitation, to the church fam Kelley. Thanks for the love and support!

Merry Christmas Mom. New piece entitled 'The Last Supper'. Explains why my siblings are so much bigger than I.

Proud mom displaying the two new pieces I finished while at the crib

Up with Hope! Up with Dope!

I'd like to start this post by saying "WEST SIDE!" Thats right, I made it back to Cali for the holidays and I had to do the dang thang in the parental's living room. This goes out to one of my best friends from Stockton, CA, Ant, who made growing up in Stockton a dope experience.

The piece is entitled "The Dopeness." Life is constantly changing (represented by the motions in the painting) and its up to us to realize the positivity in our situation instead of being taken aback by the negative. Simply put- just find the dopeness in life. "Up With Hope and Up with Dope!"

Also, I must credit the movie 'The Wackness' for inspiring me to paint the philosophy of dopeness. See the movie, I found it hella tight.

Skateboards. Yes, I design them.

So I design skate decks. I guess not many people knew that. But I do. These are the ones I've done so far. Most were done during my senior year at Howard University. Click on the decks below to see them enlarged.

Spike Lee speaks at Howard University!

So early last week I found out that Spike Lee was speaking at Howard University, for the free! So what do I do? I hop on the bus and take my paintings with me. Being able to hear him speak in person and view some of his work was an awesome experience! I told him to choose a painting and he chose 'Life on Mars'. My favorite story from the afternoon- The movie 'City of God' would not have been possible if it wasn't for Michael Jackson.

Also, much appreciation to Emmit and Erik at Civilian Renaissance for passing along the photos. Thanks brothas.

Real Dreams

This goes out to the homie Yolanda in Greensboro, NC. I was having a hard time coming up with a solid concept to paint for her. Then, while I was on a random google search I found this inspiring quote by none other than are beloved poet, Tupac: "Reality is Wrong. Dreams Are Real." It's so true because this time last year my reality was being a failure in Corporate America and not having enough talent/schooling to be an artist or graphic designer. But reality is WRONG! haha!

Paint Love. Get Love.

Dang I'm a lame photographer. But trust, the paintings came out well. These two go out to my homie and former work colleague, Edmond. I got the chance to drop it off to him at the office. Thats right people, I make deliveries.

Untitled (I need a title)

"I tell em, You know what's gonna happen with Hip-Hop?
Whatever's happening with us
If we smoked out, Hip-Hop is gonna be smoked out
If we doin alright, Hip-Hop is gonna be doin alright
People talk about Hip-Hop like it's some giant livin in the hillside
comin down to visit the townspeople
We +are+ Hip-Hop
Me, you, everybody, we are Hip-Hop
So Hip-Hop is goin where we goin
So the next time you ask yourself where Hip-Hop is goin
ask yourself.. where am I goin? How am I doin?
Til you get a clear idea
So.. if Hip-Hop is about the people
and the.. Hip-Hop won't get better until the people get better
then how do people get better? (Hmmmm...)
Well, from my understanding people get better
when they start to understand that, they are valuable
And they not valuable because they got a whole lot of money
or cause somebody, think they sexy
but they valuable caause they been created by God
And God, makes you valuable"

-"Fear Not of Man" Mos Def

Who Killed Christ? Answer: His own people. Who's killing Hip Hop? Answer: Us! But like Christ, Hip Hop never died to those who believed in its message. The end result of the piece didn't quite come out the way I would've liked so I'll be revisiting the subject till I can get an outcome that I like. Let me know what you think. Give me a title. And of course, its for sale. Just holla at me with an offer.

and oh: the silver lining in the back spells out "Who Did It?"

Spread Love!

Sweden stand up! The homies Betiel and Senait are proud owners of their very own, custom, 'Pistola' paintings. I'm glad I could share my work with them and that its going to be hanging in their crib- spreading love to all their friends as well.

Dont Bug Out in the Chi

I was in DC this past weekend celebrating Howard Homecoming with my fellow Bison. And I was still able to crank out a new piece for my fellow alumni and Chicago Native, Jeremy. This piece speaks to the violence and chaos that our community suffers from. Check it out and let me know what you think- entitled, "Dont Bug Out in the Chi," Acrylic, 18x24.

The Colored Dreams Show

Below is the Colored Dreams' Show- my first experiment into

the world of painting. Let me know what you think. They're

for sale. I'm working on prints for the more popular paintings now.

The Colored Dreams Show

Thank you everybody for showing love and support even if you weren't physically able to make it. Here are some memories from the night:

beautiful crowd

Atomic Wings

employee of the month

thank you for the encouragement!

some of the colored dreams

so much going on in the crowd

raffling "Pistola pt. 2"

crowd shot

raffling "pistola pt. 1"

crowd shot

some of the homies and some of the dreams

such a great turn out!

"pistola pt.1"

I loved those lights

Featured in THE SMUGGER (.com)!

Big thank you to the homies at The Smugger magazine (thesmugger.com) for featuring me on their site this weekend!

Please check out the feature and their website as its pretty dope!

Sneak Peak

So here's a preview of what to expect on the

10th of October. I'll have 15 pieces total.

Come through and show some love!

Colored Dreams Art Show

That's right guys. It's finally going down. All summer I've been getting busy on the canvas preparing for my very first art show- "Colored Dreams." Its going down on Saturday, October 10th, at Atomic Wings. What better way to enjoy art then with dope people, music, and bomb wings. Stay tuned for more updates to come.