IT'S BEEN A LONG TIME..I SHOULD'VE LEFT U!

So, It's been hella long since I dropped some lines and vibes! You know how things can be, life happens when you just finished planning for it! Although, it didn't deter me from making some things happen!
  My Solo show went very well, I was able to grab some new fans of my work! In the process of that occurring I created Album art for three different projects too! I enjoy that kind of a challenge, it keeps me feed creatively!
Before my Solo show came down, I was already part of Group show for a space that introduced me to hella people in Columbia, Frame Of Mind. It was their 5 yr anniversary celebrating the artists they've shown over that period. I had the opportunity to be amongst some of the best artists in the city, I must add the city's artists are pretty top notch, so I felt honored none the less. As soon as that show came down , I got into another Group show at the Tapp's Center for the Arts, which was an exhibition featuring works based on animals. I usually keep animals in my work, so this show was a natural fit for the KID!
I started prepping for my trip back to my first home , my birthplace San Francisco, California. I hadn't been back in some years. So, while I was preparing for that I did an event created by the Great people of Pocket Productions called "Playing After Dark", which is an all inclusive semi interactive Arts show. I along with four other artists of the Visual art discipline created art live that night , but also presented works in which we were allotted a limited amount of time to produce based on two cohesive concepts. I had a blast kickin it with my fellow artisans, whom I hadn't seen in over 8 months. WE artists do LOVE OUR solitude! If that wasn't enough two days before my flight,I was modeling on the celebrity runway for Columbia Style week, yeah I know me a model?! Who'd figure, right?!! It was dope to even be considered a celebrity model, so I took it as a badge of honor. I will say my peoples The Dubber and Fat Rat Da Czar made it like crazy cool even though it had to be 85 degrees with the air on in that building, it wasn't hot it was smoldering!!! I walked the Runway and looked weird cool while sweating like I was in a sauna!
Early Friday morning came finally, I left out of Charlotte and caught a connecting flight in Minneapolis to San Francisco. Once I got to SFO, I took BART all the way to Concord, where my family picked me up. I have to say that most of my family no longer live directly in the Bay anymore, it has gotten mad expensive! I never knew 40 minutes from the Bay meant sunny warm weather! I'm not use to that, I find the cool somewhat cloudy skies in June to be somewhat comforting ,but adaptable we must be right?! I kicked it with my family for a few days before going into the city to get busy. Once Monday came I went to work. I wasted no time finding a space that would allow me to sling some paint and put down a mural. I came upon a place called "FREESPACE", which was a warehouse that got transformed into a spiritual artistic hub in the Tenderloin area of the Bay. The people who run the space were extra cool about letting put what I wanted on the wall. I painted a 12ft x 6 ft mural in that space, it had people buzzing and asking me do I believe Aliens are transmitting vibes to humanity, I said " of course!" . I put about 10hrs into it, then I moved on to next task, which was gallery hopping/connecting and making Izms Of Art know in the Bay! On Wednesday, I did just that, but Thursday I rested some,  my body was still on East coast time so I was getting little sleep! My cousin and I went with some friends to Reno for a weekend excursion! I had a blast hanging with the BlackHillz posse! I hadn't been around those dudes in a long time, it was good to see them doing so well!
On the Monday of my trip back I made it back onto the city on more time to visit my homie Katie Pilgrim of Lifted Lab at Guerrero gallery. We shared some words, she talked about her job there, she showed me around and introduced me to the creator and owner of the gallery Andres. He was a very down to earth type of dude. He gave me some details to help me out a bit and I gave him some prints of my work. He also told me to come back through when I'm in the Bay again, which I will be really soon. I can all in all things seem to only be getting better as I prepare for a two mural projects along with a big mural proposal, preparation for Art Basel Miami and my Solo show for next year!!! STAY ROCKIN WITH THE KID!!!!

"dreamers NEVER sleep!"

Well my friends it's been a crazy run since solo exhibition "BEYONDER" ! I've come realize WE ARTists neglect ourselves due to our passion and obsession. So, if you fins yourself doing this more than often, STOP IT NOW! WE work hard, but smART, ok?! I just saying, I thought this was a lifetime achievement, if so let's act like it!
Now that I have grind the ax, let me say I was one of those folks I was just talking about, Lol! Yeah, I know, but I usually speak from personal experience. My week really got started with completing Cover art for Zoomo, who is a Beat artists hailing from North Carolina, then a Big group exhibition titled " 5 years 5 artists". This exhibition is featured at Frame of Mind on Main St. in the Soda city. Frame of Mind has been pivotal in revitalizing the downtown area on Columbia, so I was excited to be a part of this show! I give Propers to Mark and Wendy Plessinger, who are the owners of Frame of Mind, for pushing the New contemporary art scene to the forefront. I have to tell you that was just Thursday, on Friday I did a Live painting during "Stripped down" at Conundrum music hall. "Stripped down" is a show Augusta, Ga based singer/songwriter Fayth Hope has being touring the Southeast with in preparation for her mini tour in London. Fayth's style is soul, funk, hip hop, if I had to describe it or just DOPE for short! I left there late because she and her band set it off , I was vibing! Lol, I got only 4 hrs of sleep, which wouldn't have been bad but I had an extremely long day ahead of me! I woke up at the Ass crack of Saturday to do a commission on the streets for Cirque Du Soleil. All I can say is DAYUM it was mad cold too! I whined a bit before I got started, but the truth is I always whine, gripe and biotch before I get started with any art. I have a process as all artists do! I did however have assistance in the form of Sherry Warren and Kirill Simin, of Pocket productions, they were my liaisons for this project. I told I could do it in 4hrs, but quickly overstood I was in for an all day event, and yes a long day it was, no doubt! I did enjoy all the conversations I had with people as I was painting on the sidewalk. I love to see how Art transforms an area and engages people as they come in contact with it, WE  ARTists have a wonderful life! I had to inform incase you're unaware. I had a blast, but balance is what I will be attempting to achieve! Gratitude for giving my blog your eyes, continue to ride with me, I guarantee it will be interesting my friends!...

Big ups to my sister from another mister Carlleena Person, sis I'm repping the to the fullest! I miss you..

Beyonder of the Spring solstice

Peace to all! "BEYONDER" has been much more than a Solo exhibition or some simple ,yet extremely complexed idealogy for me. "BEYONDER" is my journey into an axiom, which has always lingered in the depths on my mind. All of my experiences and knowledge obtained throughout the years came together to form "BEYONDER" . I came to learn at the beginning stages of "BEYONDER", which was 2yrs ago, I was changing mentally. My work was reflecting a mindstate of someone transitioning into a space very few artists go, mainly because they stand a chance of losing their supporters. I don't believe people get lost that easily! I think people are ready and have been waiting for the Next stage of Human development! I'm not saying "BEYONDER" does that in its totality, however I am saying it stimulates the mind and its seat, which is a grand start. I started ending my Facebook posts with "WE ARE MORE!", people may have thought it was my new slogan of the week or something, Lol. The truth is "WE ARE MORE!" is my belief! I'm stating that like any other person who passionately believes in something would! I wanted everyone to know I believed all of us are more, much more than what we've allowed ourselves to settle into and become. "BEYONDER" isn't a concept, it' s a way of thinking and living, I wanted to make that abundantly clear! I went through this 2 yr process experiencing all of life's Mountain peak highs and Valley deep lows. I even experienced the Great shift, which definitely effected me in numerous ways! I became anew!
So, "BEYONDER" was a 1080 degrees journey I took and at its end I became a better human being, indeed.
The exhibition's opening reception was last Thursday. It had a pretty decent crowd, but more importantly I believe it opened the hearts and minds of people who came in contact with it, which was the goal.
  So, you wanna know what's next for the KID, huh?! I'm doing a commission for Cirque du Soleil, Cover art for two talented Beat composers and a big group show for starters. The truth is though, I'm working on my next Solo exhibition...(re)EVOLVE..2014..

BEYONDER...!!!

Well, let me say THANKS to everyone who has and is supporting those Visual artists, who are pushing the New contemporary movement! WE couldn't do it without you all!
  "BEYONDER" was hung on last Wednesday and opened last Thursday, and let me to the first to say easy it was not! Here's the rundown, I borrowed  my brother from another Mother's van as I always do, unexpectedly to died on me early Wednesday on the Freeway with my artwork for the exhibition on it. The dilemma was these pieces are huge, so transport is very limited. The thing is positive wordsound and attitude are most needed when you're encountering such obstacles. I applied it and the Universe delivered exactly what I ask for. Joe Jay or JJ, a musician and friend of mine came through right on time with his truck and later his covered trailer to haul the artwork to S.C.State, which is located almost an hour away in a town called Orangeburg. He gave me some life knowledge on the ride there. Propers to JJ for being an extraordinary human being!
We made it to S.C.State on time and met up with the curator of the gallery, Michael Cassidy. Michael is a hella cool dude, he allowed me to spray paint the walls of the gallery along with deciding the flow and placement of all the pieces.I just want people to know this is a rarity, indeed! It took us a while to get started though, JJ and The League/Mighty gesture crew, who are filming the "BEYONDER" mini documentary were given a tour of S.C State's museum. This museum will soon rival The Smithsonian when it comes to African art! Once,the film and shots were taken, everyone left. Michael and I got busy hanging the artwork, or shoul I say I mostly assisted as Michael did a majority of the work, lol! We got out of the gallery late, but we finished all the hanging. I LOVE creating, but hanging has never been my favorite part of the process. As a matter of fact I detest it with every fiber of my being, lol!!! No, seriously, I'm for real, lol!
Tuesday, MIDIMarc and myself will be invading the University's common area to bring that Rugged rawness of live beat making and painting as a precursor for the exhibition. This will catch them off guard, no doubt!
On this Thursday at 6pm to 8 pm "BEYONDER" will receive an opening reception guaranteed to change the way art is viewed by all who attend! I say this because "BEYONDER" is an Arts experience equipped with my Visual art, Grayson Goodman's Creative writings, The League/Mighty gesture's Mini documentary and the Music of MIDIMarc, Jah Freedom, Sunday Morning and Supah Mario. Yeah, that's right Arts experience! We want to demonstrate there is no separation of Art. It's our hope this will be overstood, if you're in the area come out and show is some love!
  
Now, I have mentioned I have some commissions in the works, one of them is with Cirque du Soleil! Yeah, that's right your eyes aren't deceiving you. I currently working on some rough drafts for them to view for finalization of a Street art project in Columbia for them as advertisement of their Qudiam show, which is traveling around the country right now!!!! Things just keep better as the year is starting up, as my family Infamous JeanClaude says"Stay Champion"!!!

The New New New...!

Well some great things happened for the KID! I was able to collaborate with the talented Whitney LeJeune on a huge piece, which was part of a fundraiser for Trustus theatre. We titled it "Vibrant thangs". This piece was 6x8, it featured some young ladies in very sexy poses along with the classic drips, stars, bubble letters streaks of explosive color. The response to this piece astonished me! I didn't think it was as WHOA as it was, so it took me off guard to say the least. A collaboration like that was unexpected, but because it happened people are now aware of the possibilities. I will say that piece is only the beginning of what she and I have in store, so get prepared!
   On last weekend I went down to Charleston to visit some friends,one of which goes by the name Ian Morris. Ian is an artist's artist. He genuinely cares about artists as he is one himself. He's currently working in the Avondale section of Charleston setting up an all out Art Tabernacle, The 827. This space will be a gallery with 15ft walls, a gourmet coffee shop and cafe with a huge sound stage, and that's just for starters! The 827 will also have several artist studios, a creative science area, a classroom for teaching music and visual art, also a smaller gallery with a gift shop. The 827 is gonna change the art scene a bit in Charleston I believe, better yet South Carolina! The cherry in all this is Ian' s Homemade Genius will also be housed under the umbrella of The 827. I gotta chance to the space but truly Ian had me working non stop! On Friday I did an interview, then meet Geoffrey Michael Richardson, who is the creator and curator of the chART outdoor gallery in Avondale. He give me the history of chART and showed me some possible places I could paint a mural in. He also talked about the possibility of me painting a small piece before I left. I was excited and thought sure no sweat! Well the next morning it was raining and the temperature dropped tremendously! I thought to myself "you must love art to be painting in the cold and rain", but yes I'm crazy about art!!! So, I painted a small piece in the rain. I was also partly sick and on top of that most of body starting on numb due to exposure to the cold. I completed 90% of it that night, then my good friend Robin told me I should finish it tomorrow morning. Oh, I forgot to say it was timelasped filmed. Can you imagine scraping your fingers and not feeling them? I can, because I did on camera several times,which was hella funny too! On Sunday I finished the mural and also painted live while being filmed. Yes, it was FUN but it was work no doubt! I had a blast and meet some great folks too! In the late springI'll be returning to create a mural in Avondale during Spoleto! I'm crazy hyped about that, so be on the lookout for sketches!
  Last but not least I showed several pieces at the Trustus theatre in conjunction with the play titled "Motherfucker with the hat". I actually had a four part piece featured in there, which was sold to longtime patrons of mine before the piece was completed. The piece is a style I've been working on for years attempting to nail down its composition, which I now have. This style is what you will see more of from me in 2014, so appropriately I signed with 14, instead of 13. The piece is titled 'Transcending self". Many thanks to the Herberts for supporting me!
Now, I collaborated on a violin with my Izms of art brethren Unzo unzini but that's for another day. The time is almost near!!!! Prepare yourselves for BEYONDER 2013!!! It's my solo exhibition for those who are unaware.

EL-Evation.."dreamers NEVER sleep"!!!

Beginnings of "Evolve"

It's truly funny how as a creative you're 2 yrs ahead of yourself unknowingly, at least that's the haps with me. I've been speaking on my soon Solo exhibition "Beyonder" and what is the driving force behind it a bit. I originally had the idea of my solo being called " Evolve", which I thought of at the end of 2011. I had some concepts and ideas I was considering. The concepts and ideas hadn't taken complete form of shape, though. They were loose. I didn't mentally possess what I needed to make every aspect cohesive as it needed to be, so I had to sit on it. This is where "Beyonder" comes in. I then began devising what the word BEYONDER meant in this context to my exhibition, through a lot of philosophical inquiry, it came to me! It allowed me an opportunity to see what "Beyonder" should be,but also what " Evolve" needed to be. I listened to the Universe and became water. The answer I needed was delivered. So "Beyonder" had to come first as a prequel for "Evolve".
    So what is "Evolve", one might ask? The true is you would first have to experience and comprehend "BEYONDER", which I will be soon discussing. I will say it's the natural progression of the spiritual being coming into realization of itself as well as itself place amongst all things.
" Evolve" takes that idealogy a step further, so while you wait on "Beyonder" here's a sneak peek of "Evolve" 2014,I hope you all enjoy!
Also be on the lookout for the "Beyonder" teaser , which the uber talented Mighty gesture crew created. It features music from one of the freshest up and coming  producers in the South, MIDIMarc!

The Marathon continues....!

I dropped off for some months not because I didn't have shows or work,it was due to what I like to call "Life happening". We make plans, but life occurs and sometimes what life has planned for us takes precedence over all aspects of our existence. We can attempt to fight it struggling with it until we're  wiped into submission or we can become like water, allowing it to run its course without any opposition. I chose the latter of those two. I learned and grew a lot from this process. So, with that being said I'M BACK!!!
   I'm still on the artistic marathon, which I first started 5yrs ago with my Izms of art brethren Mustafa. I'm not one who believes much in rest and as my sister, who as ascended, Carlleena Person said"dreamers never sleep", so that makes for recipe of MASS CREATION no doubt!
I start with new work, a series of collages and a few paintings. I've been creating these pieces in collaboration with Trustus theatre for a play they're producing called "The Motherf*?!er with the hat". The play was featured on Broadway, it received great reviews. The artwork I've created for this play pulls from the essence of the play itself. The play is truly about relationships, so the artwork focuses on relationships as well. I call the series of collage work" Cosmology of relationships", these pieces depict the relationships we have with ourselves and others. I really wanted to conjure emotion and give my audience imagery they can relate to. I'm known for delivering images that are vibrant, atomspheric and at times coded with messages. I don't want to deliver that type of work, when the play is really straight forward. I wanted to be straight forward as well, thus the "Cosmology of relationships" was created. The play opens the first week of February, which begins my second leg of the Neverending marathon!..Take a look at the series...Gratitude for your hearts and minds being open to these pieces along with my wordsound..."BEYONDER" is on the way!