I sent this picture to Jay Cru last night. 
He said “Is that Saul Williams?”

I said “Nah” but thought “Damn. I should draw Saul….”

In actuality, that is the homey Kuasi N Imara from the Oakland side of things.

I have been rocking w/ Kuas for years. He’s an avid supporter of Stolen Outfitters (our legacy brand) and has reached out to me for work in the past.

Certain projects we had in cue asked that I grow as an artist to complete. To illustrate what that means, I would loosely quote Brooklyn MC Ka when he said it took 40 years to write his first album and he has to live some more to write some more. I am like that w/ art. It is why I challenge myself and don’t wait to be challenged. Life doesn’t stutter step when presenting an obstacle. Why would I trip when I should be overcoming?

We had a build session last night where I picked his brain about his book writing process. I’m putting one foot in front of the other on that project and all applicable advice is welcome. He instructed me to keep a journal and refer to it religiously. I agreed. Then we spoke about possible illustrations for his book. I felt they would compliment his writing style which is haiku-like. He agreed.

Afterwards, I submitted the pieces I had been working on for him. Without giving an approximate time, I will say he has more patience than any client I have ever dealt with in 17 years. Patience and understanding for the artistic process. I would apologize periodically about the wait and he would assure me that the time being taken was to guarantee the highest quality outcome and he accepted that.

I believe I delivered on my promises b/c I have gotten considerably better since the projects commenced. So much so, that I was able to gift him this piece as a token of my appreciation for his patience, understanding and patronage. It will go in my portfolio and become the 4th blog post due to nature of the back story and the depth of the illustration.

Every year at this time of year, some people get tax returns. Every year at this time of year, some people waste an opportunity to multiply those returns and, instead, opt out to buy what they could not the year prior. I do not want to say many people do this because I KNOW many people use those returns to pay down bills that they could not the year prior but I do know the latter described as well and very well. They both exist. The conditions they base their decisions on exist. Whether they be satiation in the form of instant gratification at the expense of security or the easing of the anxieties associated w/ being in good standing w/ creditors and having another 30 days to run, they exist and should be considered for what they are…which are conditions. Conditions which can change depending on the mind making decisions within them.

In the same fashion that I would like to repurpose Valentines Day to be about Self-Love as opposed to the commercialization of Romance (not love) and all of it’s associated consumables, I would also like to recondition the minds of tax return recipients that are NOT in the investment class to invite themselves into the investment class by using their tax returns as investments. No. You do not need what you were about to buy if it is not going to bring you profit. Yes. You have bills to pay but rushing back to a zero balance will route you back to the same place next month if you do not create a stream of income that wasn’t there last month. It is time to diversify our holdings. Passed time actually. We have to get caught up on catching up and stop trying to keep up w/ trends that lead nowhere. 

• Blind consumerism leads nowhere. 
  
• Working poor leads nowhere. 
  
• Suppressing dreams and talents, ignoring opportunities and not taking chances leads nowhere. 
  

It is a matter of risks and gains. There is no risk in consumerism. You gain what you buy and nothing more. The good or service is the quality it is when it is purchased. That is the exchange. Intent is on the purchaser. If they never intended to cash in on their purchase beyond the attention economy (reactions ), then they will not. Think Luxury SUV vs Work Truck. The Luxury SUV will turn heads, the counter at the gas pump and your bank account’s stomach if obtained prematurely and w/o the benefit of foresight. Between the note, maintenance and the depreciating value…worth becomes questionable. The Work Truck may earn from day 1, pay for itself monthly and eventually in full as well as offset expenses in other areas such as moving out of an apartment into a house purchased using the truck. Afterwards, it may be sold…because ppl who know it’s worth will be willing to pay knowing what they can get out of it. It may not make people stand and stare but it serves a greater purpose as an investment than as eye candy.

I have made good and bad investments throughout my life. Going to school was a decent investment. Training myself to maximize the little I learned in school was the greater of the 2. Learning to define the value I bring clients is what will bring me the return on my investments that I have worked dilligently for. With that said, I have consumed too. A lot. I know all about the feelings that justify the acts as well as the repercussions…which is why I am speaking to you about investing in you and not spoiling yourself before it’s feasible. You deserve. You want. I am not here to argue that. I am here to ask you…urge you…to get what you want by working harder for yourself. I am asking you to look beyond how you consume this digitally streamed and shared moment we exist in and find your market share. It exists as surely as your wants and desires exist. It just need be focused on and brought into fruition. My investments can augment your investments and we can all win.

This month I am offering 15 client slots for design package deals. These will be the ONLY clients I work with for the next 3 months. Although the projects may span more than 3 months, I will not be accepting any new clients until after the 3 months has elapsed. The packages may include any combination of illustrations, ads, web design, graphic design and/or printed apparel bundled and discounted based on the project total. Financing is also available. This is the perfect opportunity to advance on that blog, book, business venture, etc that you have been meaning to start but have managed to keep postponing. It is an opportunity to tighten up your online presence and garner the attention your brand needs to grow it’s following and, consequentially, it’s returns. This is an opportunity to finally get the uniforms for your team to further establish your brand identity or to have garments produced to be resold for profit. Put simply, this is an opportunity to invest in your ideas and seek a return at a discounted rate which amounts to more profit for you in the end.

If you are interested, please use the contact page to leave me a brief description of what you might need and we can begin the conversation.

Offer available for 15 clients. Registrations end Feb 28, 2018. 

February is the shortest month. It could be argued that it is the original last month of the Calendar year…which would explain why the phenomenon known as leap year adds a day to it rather than December (not to mention all the months that begin w/ greek numbers are off by 2 ). It is also Black History Month. 

Carter G. Woodson started Black History Month as a week long celebration/study of historical Black figures that contributed to time but managed to be omitted by history books all the way up to the Collegiate level. After Woodson initiated the observation, the Government commandeered the concept, extended it to a month, enforced it’s observation on the school systems and then gave itself credit for it’s effects on Race Relations. To this day, many people who are not or do not identify w/ being Black do not understand why Black History Month exists or what it serves to undo. Some people who are Black hold the same disposition. I am not here to discuss that b/c of the complexity of the subject and - in all inconvenient honesty- it is tiring enough just existing in the reality. Having to constantly explain it only takes more from the limited time we have here. What I AM here to do is show some love during February in a few ways.

First way is by simply saying I Love you enough to beg you to love yourself. Period. You will treat people no less than you would be treated and want for them what you want for yourself. It is not an ideal. It is a commitment to freedom and love is free. Yes. Love is free and all love starts w/ self.

This is why I decided to repurpose Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to celebrate the importance of Self-Love to all relationships. Community, personal and professional. If love is absent from the situation and those involved in it, the whole will suffer.

I love Adobe Illustrator. It shows every time I step to an artboard. Therefore it was an act of love drawing Kwame Toure and Winnie Mandela.

 If you are not familiar w/ either of those names, do a search, do some research and then come back and analyze these smiles. They are pure. They are expressions of humanity where there should be shattered spirits and huddled masses. Nah. Just beautiful smiles from people in hideous situations. People living life in the crosshairs but still capable of smiling. I can relate. In uncertain times, maneuvering w/ limited resources and against steep odds will weigh your smile down and wear your heart out. Completing these pieces replenishes my grin. Being what I am supposed to be to my Family makes me smile. It is difficult to do either if I do not establish my worth and demand it. That is impossible if I don’t love myself and what I do. This is why I go so hard. This is why this portfolio was conceived months ago but birthed in February.

These pieces dedicated to Self-Love make use of the contours of the subjects. Reflecting the contours onto themselves reveals an inferred heart. I drew the other half of the heart to create something symbolic and piercing. The contrast in background forces the eye to the smiles which are the stars of the show. 

I love hard and as a result I am hard to love. I still need it though. Knowing it starts within me increases the chance that I will attract it and draw it out of others. Not everyone. Just some. I accept that. So I show love through these pieces, the ideation behind them and the cause(s) that motivates them. I do it when life is not lovely to sustain me until it is to remind me what love is. I do it every month but this is me standing tall in the shortest month by sharing what I love from myself to you.