Sunday, March 15, 2015

Last Night I Met This Princess

Check out how life can confirm itself. So as an offshoot of my Sugar series i'm working on this series of paintings in which the subject matter is that of African royalty, especially from around the late 1800's and early 1900's. I love the stamp in time. I love the international flavor. Some of the flyest photographs I have ever seen. I wonder about the cost(s).. for this level of flyness. They were international people, as in international trade, of all sorts. I wonder If they sold us to them. Did my ancestors' hides pay for that imported cloth so gracefully draped around your torso? And even still I'm drawn to these images. We are a beautiful people. Or is it that we just make any situation look fly? Two nights ago I started this painting. It's still in progress, but the basic expression has been made. The crazy thing is, last night I met a sista who reminded me very much of the princess whose image the painting is based on, the princess of Toro from Uganda. The resemblance went beyond her hairstyle, which was similar, or her eyes, which were similar, but there was something in the way she carried herself that was similar too. Was like the process of painting this princess conjured her up in reality.

This art thing is a trip.

Would love your feedback on the new style. Kind of a neoclassicalafrostreetpop. Check it out...



Wednesday, March 4, 2015

New Work for 2015

Painting really is a discipline. When it's an active practice it can seem to push forward its own evolution. This is a sneak preview of where my practice is pushing my work within the Sugar series. Much of the aesthetic is a rollover from my tee shirt design work, digitally processed work executed in paint on mounted wood panels. I'm excited about the way these techniques can be used to make images that are both photo-realistic and abstract at the same time. All of these are works in progress.




King and Queens, Spray Paint, Latex and Acrylic on Mounted Wood Panel, 32x48"




Burning Cane Field, Latex and Acrylic on Mounted Wood Panel, 32x48"




God Save the Queen, Spray Paint and Acrylic on Mounted Wood Panel, 32x48"




Will the Real Madonna Please Stand, Spray Paint, Latex and Acrylic on Mounted Wood Panel, 32x48"