The grand ending of Lil' Wayne.

My thoughts overall haven't changed. He's a great cross-over artist who has worked with both pop and r&b artist which makes him globally embraces. I just want to leave everyone with my final thoughts of respect for Lil' Wayne and his craft.

I was watching a documentary of the Fuse network on his artist career. The part that made me go "ah-ha i get it/ see it" is when i his creation process. He decided that he was no longer going to write this lyrics down on paper but just simply freestyle (a process of creative rhythms in the moment). He went into the recording booth one last time with a notepad full of rhythms and said ever single thing he had written down ripping out the pages as he went. That raw energy and creative juice so say i don't ever want to repeat myself again is important. Especially for any artist, when i hear things like that i get empowered. That is the same thought process that goes into my artwork. I don't like planning things out to the point i'm banging my head against the wall. I know for others it may work that way but not for me. I'm more of a mood artist. I feel what i feel and i go from there.

Lil Wayne Progress #2

five days after starting the under painting, i progressed a little bit more and into the colors and tones that i wanted

i tried ti implant more yellows and reds into the under painting of his face

Even more the more i look at it all, his face is one of the areas that gave me the most trouble. I struggled with the curvature of his face and the outer eye line that is barely seen.

I felt it was important to include his tattoos but not have them overpower the painting as well as show his signature braids.

Almost completely toned down and his checks actually look like he's puffing which is a plus and i added some color highlights from on his hairline and forehead.

All on the Line

When i was working on my Lil' Wayne painting "All on the Line" motivated me. I can see the average person having a puzzled look on their face but the shows is currently showing on the Sundance Channel. It's hosted like a well-known designer, Zoe Lee in which he gives struggling designers a chance to take their designs mainstream. That is something that rarely happens in any creative avenue. Especially to see someone that has "made it" mentor others into improving their crafts. The constant shocking factor that i find in every episode is that most designers like artist aren't willing to compromise their styles to become mainstream. The first episode i saw had a designer that only catered to a very limited select client that wants evening attire. He struggled with the concept of hearing that his clothes would never get wide world popularity. That in itself is humbling to hear that you need to try something new.


From an artist stand point i saw that as i shot of energy because i knew i needed to be working. I knew when i was drawing or painting that someone out there that was hungrier than me would be doing the same thing. I remembered the pressures that i sometimes felt in college knowing deadlines were approaching and work had to be turned in. I'm reminded this is all a process that needs to happen if i'm ever going to make it. Even if i don't make it and no one seeing anything i've done for decades it will all be worth it.

The Glory

It's funny how often people want to get inside the mind of an artist. They want to be consumed to figure out what is the driving factors that force and help them to create. I got a voicemail that made accusations about what i do with my free time. I just want to let anyone know when i'm not working. I'm not drinking because i don't even like beer plus it's expensive habit as any to acquire. After some of the bad days at work i deserve to drink but that's another topic. My favorite sport is basketball, so if anything i watching the NBA playoffs because next to the NCAA tournament this is the best time of the year. I pass out on my couch to often watching tv and i very rarely like to stay at home and draw or paint. I'm always out in public "hiding in plan sight" trying to continue my creative process.

When i first heard this song by Ryan Leslie i knew i would like it. Overall it embodies the raw emotions that i feel during my creative process.

Nicki

I'm not even sure if i drew this pic before but i think i didn't. Nickie or Laura to most is one of the girls that i meet on when Old Navy was opening store after store during the huge boom. As of lately the trend has slowed down to almost no stores in the area opening just them revamping the ones that we have. I still can recall the spring i spent on vacation with Nickie and Maria. I can recall just having fun each and everyday. Where it was going to the river, brunch or the club. Everyday was an adventure and a good one. So i guess it's safe to say that i do miss Nickie, because at the end of the day she was a truly good friend. Perhaps the next time i make it up to Richmond, i'll check in on her and look her up.

Anna (pic and sketch)

Anna is one of the bloggers that i follow. She takes really good photos and it's good to get a woman's prospective from someone that isn't in the States. I found this photo and began to draw. It was one of those photos that i had tucked away in a folder somewhere. I thought this time would be different from the previous time in which i simply gave up because the drawing wasn't a close representation.

Lil Wayne Commission piece.. progress

Now, it's time for my soapbox on Lil' Wayne. I must say i respect Lil' Wayne's lyrical ability. He's clever and a very witty artist but it isn't the best rapper alive. He isn't really on my ipod either because it's good, not great. With that being said, i've noticed mostly teens as well as others who follow only what plays on the radio as what's trendy. That's only a small fraction of really good music that's out there. Just to further my stance i have a post from another lyrical artist Mos Def.




This is a commission piece that i began for Cara's step-son, Trevor. He falls into the group that likes Lil Wayne. Originally, i was just going to do some stencil work for him. Just something that he could use to tag whatever he wanted to. Cara then approached me on his behalf about making a painting. I find this photo above and hopefully i can create something different than the photo.



after my 1st night of painting


after my 2nd night of painting, trying to lighten up the areas that i grounded to dark



after my 3rd night of painting. everything is blocked. Just need to find a way to fine tune it.

Isac (pic & sketch)

I began this sketch with little to no rush at all. It was something that i had no direction whatsoever and that's very nature. My style of creations is very random at all. The typical throw this against the wall and let's see what sticks. I had been asked some time ago to create Cara's son, Isac a door sign. Nothing to fancy but something that embodied the essence of him. I scanned his facebook page for photos trying to figure something that would work and found nothing at all that would stand out.

I scrapped that idea and pushed it further back into my plans. Roughly around the time i was creating artwork for the art fair i had something to drawing. I had a small idea of what i was going to do but not sure how it all would workout. Yet again like many other works it was tucked again. Then one April morning i got a call from Isac's 7 year old sister begging for me to create something for his door. Surprisingly everyone else in the house had something i drew on their doors except him. I didn't really think much of it because he's a guy and i figured most guys didn't take things like that to heart.

With a little bit more pep in my step i began drawing again. Like most teenagers he's in love with Lil' Wayne. I do use the words IN LOVE very strongly, and when i say that i mean in the sense that Isac would have his babies. He's even gone on record as saying that! Granted i'll save my speech on Lil' Wayne for another post but there's no denying almost everyone who knows music is aware of him. But i tried to give a small sense of his daydreaming of Lil' Wayne as well as the feeling that a lust for living life free is vibrant. That would somewhat explain why his name is on a heart monitor thumping. After a little extra effort and revamping this is what i came up with.