Recent Works
Take time to view what I've been working on quietly over the last couple of years, and the stories behind these artworks.
"Vice Grip."
The NOIR Project
The Noir Project centers around the themes of grief, loss, and heartbreak that I dealt with during the loss of my brother Jason. This one is a very honest reality check that highlights the bad habits of Lustful attraction and overindulgence in many senses during a period when I was low. Ultimately these things could not fill up the God-shaped hole in my heart. These are very real things that I struggle with and am continuously battling. The battle against my flesh continues.
"Good Mourning."
The NOIR Project
The Bitter Balance of heartbreak and sadness that comes with premature loss. This is Good Mourning. Without these Tragedies I would have still been living heavily in this world and what it glorifies. God shifted my perspective entirely. Though i would not wish a tragedy like this on anyone, I am grateful it transpired the way it did because i would not want to be the person I was prior to it happening. Thus, the mourning was indeed "good" in all senses.
"Dearly Beloved."
The NOIR Project.
For my dearly beloved. This piece depicts my brother fading away into the darkness, a representation of what have transpired before taking his life. Yet, the picture of him remains completely clear to me. Who he was to me and the beautiful joy that he carried in my years of knowing him. This portrait was taken from one of the last pictures me and him had together. This is how i remember my beautiful friend. Joyful and loving. He carried with him a smile that was priceless.
"This Is Where I Leave You."
The NOIR Project
An Interpretive self-portrait of myself. Dealing with the loss of a brother to suicide I quickly found out that for him his solution only transferred where the heartache goes. This self-portrait in a sense shows how "dead" I felt in front of a range of good and bad emotions throughout this grief period of my life (depicted by these simplified characters that make up the background ranging from dark to light). I lived feeling like this depiction of myself for months to come until God dug me out of my heartache and shifted my perspective. " This is where I leave you" is what I Imagine Jason told me before his passing.
"Its Gotta Be The Shoes."
The NOIR Project
A play on the old Jordan x Spike Lee ad, this in its entirety is a nod to Jason because that boy was a DAWG on the court, and funny enough he used to pullup in just crocs to play and would still bust ass. Thats why Jordan's shoes are blurred out and theres a parody of the Crocs logo on the side along with a quote by ex NBA commissioner David Stern. a fun project that was made to emulate old comic book covers with info regarding the story on the side along with taglines and the price in the corner.
"New Luv"
The NOIR Project
Towards the end of the NOIR period I found my New Luv, this piece sparked the inspiration for a song I made titled the same. She was a much-appreciated blessing in my life. I could only try to encapsulate the beauty I see in her. She has been a conduit for great change in my life, soft in nature, joyful and loving. A true muse. She has aided me greatly in the process of growing as a man of faith. I would do anything for her, no burden too heavy.
"Untitled."
Digital Painting
Untitled, originally painted for a Chicago-based artist, but ended up not being in line with what he envisioned love this piece nonetheless.
"Perfect Balance."
Digitally edited Photograph
The "47" thing comes from an ideology rooted in many Eastern spiritual beliefs, The 4 and the 7 referring to the Heart and the crown "chakras" and having a balance between those. The "47" was coined by late artist, Capital steeze, shouts out the Pro Era. Though I dont align with the belief system the intention behind it and story and parallel's between Joey Bada$$' relationship with Capital Steeze and losing him young because of his mental state, It made for a similar story that makes me feel like at least someone in this world has had to live with losing an "older brother" in a similar way I have. So this is a nod to that.
" The story of the Man that Brought Life to the Party"
Mixed media: spray paints, Acrylic markers, Acrylic paints, and Oil Paints
An idea started two years ago as a project between myself and another to get to know each other better.
We would Write harsh, yet very human truths on a canvas, obscuring the words we wrote in such a way so that even understanding a portion of the text could not convey the full story to the viewer.
Just as the portion of what we see in another cannot convey the weight that their shoulders may bare on a day to day basis.
The pieces of the man are not representative of the person before you.
And the person before you may be living a reality you were unaware existed.
The clown depicted atop of all the scattered symbolism is a portrait of the Late Emmett Kelly a clown around the time of the Great Depression.
Clowns being quite literally “The Life of the party” yet often being depicted with very somber emotions and him being literally in a depression always stood out to me.
with the release of the song “ Life Of The Party”; expressing sentiments of the premature loss of loved ones off the 2021 album “Donda”, made sense to me given I lost my brother around this time.
Losing my best friend Jason to suicide in 2021. He was the life of the party, truly, and had a lot that even I couldn’t see going on behind him. This piece then only really came together two years after with a new life now transforming meaning to t”he story behind the man who once brought life to the party.”
So this is to honor him, love you Jason.
"Family Matters."
"Acrylic on panel board"
Family matters is my take on an illustrative interpretation of those corny family portraits, these are the first painted original characters I spent lots of my highschool years creating, heavily inspired by the Chicago Graffiti and mural art scene. shouts out Hebru Brantley, sentrock and jc rivera.
" Alchemist: The goat... naw fr"
"Water Solvable Oil paints and spraypaint on a customized wooden panel"
A stylized caricature of one of my favorite hip hop producers of all time "the Alchemist." This was a very surreal experience to be able to give one of my favorite artists a painting of himself, its not often you get to be able to not only meet one of your favorite artists, but be able to show and gift him your art so now your creation exists in the same world that his does also. Above is the video of me meeting and gifting it to him.
View Gallery
Gallery of smaller projects that didn't necessarily start with a visual direction.
