i [heart] texture

because my work tends to be instinctive,
i'm constantly trying to look at it
and understand what it tells me about myself.
since i started painting, i've noticed
i enjoy work that is process oriented.
that's what keeps me interested in the project-
seeing what its going to become as it goes along.
and in my photography i'm continuing to grow
in my love of texture. i think it's cool how
texture reveals a bit of process.
paint peeling off to reveal the multitude of times
it was already painted over. staples
in a light post that show flyers used to hang there.
billboards that are falling down only to reveal
other billboards that were posted before it.
it's really cool and kind of tells a story.
i really like a good story.

natural woman

does God stack things?

recently, i began (begun, beginded, whatever) a
photo project called STAKS capturing images
of things that are stacked. i started noticing that
humans tend to stack things and there are plenty
of stacks to photograph. but so far, i haven't
noticed any stacks in nature, which leads me to
wonder, does God stack things? please comment back and let me
know your observations.
cool.
thanks.

chd:wck!

the road less traveled...

hey!! i know that guy!!!

JON REINFURT - i used to sit next to this guy
in seventh grade [pick a] class. i thought his
stuff was awesome! in middle school he was
drawing a lot of comic book styled stuff and
sometimes selling his work to other students.
the stuff he does now is completely different
but no less awesome. i recently saw one of his
illustrations on a magazine cover in border's books.
check his page out (the pics are linked to it).

malib beat konducta poster

quite simply, this is the next thing i need to own.
cool photography, much in a style i want to produce.
and since it's only $8.50 even the recession can't hold me back.
and then maybe i'll send him one of my prints.
i wonder if MADLIB likes AphroWoman.
maybe he can make beats to my art and i can make art
listening to MADLIB beats.

a fresh start to my day

jumped up this morning and decided to shoot something
i've been eyeing for the past few days.
i was blessed to find something even more interesting.

a quick glance backward, a few steps forward

the end of this year is approaching and so many good
things have happened in the past six months.
i've met a lot of people who have helped me grow as a person.
i've met a lot of awesome artists who are helping me grow as an artist.
i have been given the opportunity and resources to develop
and run an afterschool art program.
i 've gained a measure of clarity on my life and what i'm capable of.
i've gotten a lot of garbage out of my head,
which will help me get a lot of garbage out of my life.

thank you:
ratasha, mcelvanes of various shapes and sizes,
khalilah, develon, antoine, de'angelo, and others.

now i will go on to become an even more phenomenal person.
i will

1. put God first in my life
2. learn to value who i am and what i can offer others
3. stop limiting myself
4. be consistent
5. be non-apologetically Chad
6. determine exactly want i want and need
7. don't be afraid to ask for exactly what i want and need
7. remove the clutter from my my life
8. make myself valuable to others

and there are some things i'd like to have and do.
i will:

1. take more short trips
2. go to Africa
3. shoot hundreds of pictures of my closest family/friends
and variuos mothers-to-be
4. get an iMac computer and an a 120G iPod classic
5. hold the baby Glovers

those who pave the way

wanted to ref illustrator, james elston, since i "sampled" his work for a new collage piece i'm working on. i'll post that soon enough, but just wanted to give a shout. his work is simple, but it's really cool. i like the mechanical line style. something i want to incorporate in my work.

...a walk around the block (Plaza)

trying to regain direction.
the work of ryan, dia, and e.lisha have inspired me to get back shooting more of what catches my attention or my eye.
to put Jesus' words in a somewhat different context, "the lamp of the body is the eye. if your eye is focused, your whole body will be bright". i want to focus on creating work that i respond to, if i'm fortunate, you'll enjoy it too.

"don't quit your day job..."

hours are being cut and things
are getting tight.
it's about time to find a new way
to pay these bills.
don't think i'd do so well as a stripper
and i'm too old, skinny, nervous, nice, etc.
to start "pushin' weight".
any suggestions?

"I thought you were dead..."

i created this blog so that i could keep track
of myself and make sure i was being productive.
though i haven't posted in a month, i haven't been
bullsh... (well, not as much as i could've been), but
unfortunately i wasn't able to blog what i have been
doing this past month.
i finished these three new pieces from the AphroWoman series:
Class of '77 and Glamorous.
I got to show these at the Johnston YMCA's
annual Professional Women's Luncheon.
I also got to hang Glamorous in Antoine Williams' "Minority Report"
exhibit at the Art House in NoDa.

i'm now working on two new AphroWoman
pieces and another mixed media piece called... well, we'll see
that soon.

thanx to Antoine for letting me hang my pieces anywhere near your work at the show. i got quite a bit of encouraging feedback.

this month, i want to start re-focusing on my photography and design work.
now that i've said it, i'll have to jump on it.
latr.

Procrastination

web surfing to pass time in between periods of productivity.
here's something cool i found.




ok... back to work.

Kewl Azhel

some random shooting with my new homie, e.lisha.
we got to build on life in LA vs. NYC, Native Tongues M.C.s, and the joys of odwalla fruit smoothies.
overall, a very kewl experience.

AfroWoman - The Most Recent

a new commissioned piece - acrylic on wood.
i'm enjoying the learning process with painting
and creating. so much i want to do with this series.
it's gonna be a busy month.