Lupe Fiasco "Lasers" Concept Series: I Don't Wanna Care Right Now

This particular track from Lasers was definitely one of the ones that irritated me. There is a sharp contrast between what Atlantic Records wanted and Lupe Fiasco's style as a rapper. It's painfully obvious that this is what the label forced him to do. Auto-Tune saturates this song. If you go back and listen to Shining Down (A track that was supposed to be on Lasers.) Lupe states that he doesn't agree with the way everyone jumped on Auto-Tune after T-Pain, Lil Wayne and Kanye West picked it up.

This song sounds like it's better suited for the Black Eyed Peas or Usher. Anyway I wanted to create a piece that symbolized Lupe's values and his labels expectations. I wanted to go with something more realistic than the previous piece but still abstract to a point.


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Lupe Fiasco "Lasers" Concept Series: Till I Get There

The idea for this just came to me out of the blue. Since Words I Never Said was so dark I felt it was only right that the next piece be whimsical. This painting was inspired by Monopoly. I just wanted to represent what happened to Lupe. His album was in limbo and no one thought it would see the light of day.


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Skyzoo Series: The Burn Notice

This is the second painting in my Skyzoo Series. I named it after one of the songs on his colab album with Illmind: Live From The Tape Deck. Naming this one The Burn Notice turned out to be a good move since in the reference photo he's been lit in red. I did this one in Brushes.


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Euphony Series: That 70's Girl

It's been a while since I sat down and worked on my Euphony Character series. While working on another piece I got inspired to do this one. I've had the idea for a few months. (Pretty much after I finished Passion.) I just wanted to produce another one in the series when I was ready.Originally I was going for a style that would scream Celebrity Music Star. The afro made it look like she came out of the seventies though so the theme changed. I'm so happy with the results that I did three versions.


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Skyzoo Series: Return Of The Real

"The ceiling might move when I lift up to pen my cursive/ They predicting it will so the hype is fitting it's purpose/ They was missing the real/ I write it and make it worth"-Skyzoo

Lately I've felt like doing portraits of my favorite artists in music. (Sade, Rhymefest) Skyzoo is my top MC bar none. It was only a matter of time before I painted him too. He's a rapper from Brooklyn and he's got style, and some of the deepest lyrics I've ever heard. His debut album The Salvation tells captivating hip hop stories of inner city struggles. I wanted to create a series based on some of his songs. I titled this after one of his tracks.

This painting gave me another chance to push my limits in ArtRage. I wanted to do a portrait that would be on par with my realistic work. I throughly enjoyed this piece. I must've finished it in two sittings. After posting a part of my comic I figured I'd give myself a window to tackle this.


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Featured Illustration: El Che

I've been a Rhymefest fan since his Blue Collar album came out a few years ago. This past year he released El Che. I just got my hands on it and I love it. The way he MCs is just dynamic, funny, and thought provoking. Fest is extremely underrated. There are political undertones on the album and that led to this latest piece. Rhymefest is very good at producing hip hop with a message. One of the themes on the album is that he is a hip hop revolutionary. There are several skits that play up this with the government hot on his heels.

Rhymefest is forced to leave the country due to the Hip Hop he creates. His real name is Che Smith. (Hence the title of his album.) I wanted to create a piece to not only pay homage to Rhymefest but also this masterful album. My first thought was to juxtapose his image with the iconic image of Che Guevara. I wanted to create a illustration that screamed hip hop revolutionary. I wanted a gritty and painterly look for this one too. The palette knife didn't seem appropriate for this.


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Speed Painting: Beats Solo HD

I am a gigantic Hip Hop head. For Christmas my Mom got me an expensive pair of Beats by Dre headphones. Sorry Apple but those ear buds just don't cut it. Aside from the sound quality I love the design of headphones too. Just before I left work last week I started a quick painting of them. The style I had in mind was the one I used for my Mom's tamales. I've been coloring my comic book exclusively for weeks now so it's nice to switch it up too.


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The King of Pop

This is my last official Christmas illustration. It just got posted late. I painted this for the teacher I work with. She's a huge Michael fan and I love backing myself in a corner with my art. I really should've started something like this sooner but I had something else in mind. I was up until one in the morning but somehow I managed to paint this in one sitting. It was very surprising to say the least. At least I'm getting faster. This project was also important because I hadn't done any realistic looking portraits in Brushes.

This is my first attempt at that but I also have the experience I gained from Sketchbook Pro and ArtRage. It wasn't an easy painting but I did enjoy testing my limits. I mean I grew up on Mike too.


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Speed Paintings at Cafe 9

I hung out at Cafe 9 with Rose and my Dad tonight. I had such a great time. There was a live band and everything. I even got a chance to talk about my iPaintings with some musicians there. I always think it's funny that no one quite knows what to make of the iPad. I was showing my Dad new pieces and he showed me off a little. One thing led to another. By the end of the night I was discussing the different art apps I use. The highlight of the night was the speed paintings I did.


I painted the stage and one of the guitarists. I wanted to use Sketchbook Pro for these. As much as I use the app there are still brushes I hardly use. Experimentation was the goal here. I didn't even use my stylus. I was very pleased with the results. It was very surprising that I was able to get so much done so quickly. Gestures are so fun because I can just let go.


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Featured Illustration: Sade

I am becoming a big fan of Sade's music. My Mom of all people put me on her Soldier Of Love album.(her latest album.) I fell for it from the jump. It's just one album I listen to however I'm feeling. That's saying a lot because I am very moody when it comes to my music. Anyway this painting was a challenge for me on many different levels. The proportions were a nightmare. I spent hours making sure things look just right.

In my earlier paintings I made the mistake of not triple checking and had to fix various proportions mid painting. My logic is that if the checks are done during the sketch I will have less difficulty later. I basically took the rendering techniques I learned from illustrating my girlfriend, Rose and combined them with the texturing techniques I learned from painting her cat, Reina. I blocked out all of the various colors on her face and blended them later. Now I just need to take a minute and take in everything I just did. Still can't believe it's done.


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