Cosmic Climbing

MY BLOG HAS MOVED

2011-03-28T14:33:00.000-07:00

Peace people. My new blog has moved to THIS LOCATION. See you there.

Ottobar: New Wave Dance Party

2010-10-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

This is the most recent poster that I designed and illustrated for the Ottobar here in Baltimore. I really love the cover to New Order's Power, Corruption & Lies album. It features the painting "A Basket of Roses" by French artist Henri Fantin-Latour, which was the inspiration for this cover. I have blood dripping down the hand to symbolize the dance battle. The rose is fragmented to represent the different styles of the featured artists.

Waiting for the Sunrise Mixtape

2010-10-25T21:47:00.000-07:00

It's funny how things come together sometimes. I once posted on here that I really wanted to work with Erykah Badu and one day it happened. After working with Badu, she asked me to make a Yoko Ono mix-tape for her. Being an Ono enthusiast I happily obliged to Ms. Badu's request. Below is the final result. Here's to hoping that Yoko Ono will want to work with me next!

The Disco Ball at the Ottobar

2010-09-20T12:48:00.000-07:00

Here is a poster that I designed for the Ottobar in Baltimore, MD. The poster is for an event called "The Disco Ball" which is an all 70's themed disco/funk dance party. I wanted to bring the funk and this was the result. I also hand lettered the words "The" and "Ball". These are the three color options I came up with. I love them all but lean more towards the red fro and the purple carpet.

Ottobar: Madonna VS Britney VS Lady Gaga, Round Two

2010-08-24T14:27:00.000-07:00

Artscape: Midway Banner

2010-08-24T14:21:00.000-07:00

STYLE Magazine: Non-Pet Owners, Mad Men on Charles Street

2010-08-24T14:11:00.000-07:00

Baltimore Magazine: John Waters, 20th Annual Crab Derby and World Cup Championship

2010-08-24T14:06:00.000-07:00

Free Yo Mind/Film Fest Frenzy/Throwdown

2010-05-10T18:37:00.000-07:00

Here are three semi-recent pieces. The first one, "Free Yo Mind" is for my tentatively titled book "Baptized in Fonk". The second piece I did for Baltimore City Paper's Film Fest Frenzy issue. I've always wanted to illustrate a special issue for the City Paper and wasn't asked until recently to do this for them. I love the way it printed and wish that I could have done some spots to go with it. Maybe next time. The third piece I did for Baltimore magazine's Charm City Chatter column. The piece depicts the "Throwdown" between Baltimore chef Rodney Henry and Bobby Flay. Apparently they were recorded for Flay's "Throwdown" show and they baked quiches.

Baltimore Love Project/Madonna Party/Force Fed

2010-04-18T13:10:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pieces that I finished this week.

The first is for my friend Michael Owen's Baltimore Love Project fundraiser called Innovate Love. The name of the piece is called "Neighborly Love". To innovate is to make changes in anything established. "Neighborly Love" is about breaking the mold and reconstructing. What would happen if our neighborhoods were able to co-exist, bond and build on the foundation of love? When I think of Baltimore, the city that I live in and love, this is how I imagine it.

The second piece is a piece that I did for the Ottobar in Baltimore for a Madonna/Gaga/Britney dance party. I took elements of each person and created a super-human/diva/pop-star. The face of Madonna, the bald head that Britney sported for a minute and Gaga's glasses.

The third piece is a personal piece I did entitled "Force Fed" that will soon be a part of a book project that I'm working on with Georgia Anne Muldrow and Dudley Perkins aka Declaime. I'm hoping to call the book "Baptized in Fonk".

New Bmag and some personal work

2010-03-22T19:29:00.000-07:00

The first piece below is my latest for Baltimore magazine. It was chronicling the SNOWPOCALYPSE that we experienced here in Baltimore last month. The second piece is a piece that I did for my wife for our anniversary. The phrase is from a Flamingos song by the same name. This song is "our song" as a couple.

Baltimore Magazine: Murder Ink Readings

2010-02-25T10:22:00.000-08:00

This is a piece that I did for Baltimore Magazine's Charm City Chatter column. This write up was about the public readings of Anna Ditkoff's Murder Ink column that runs in the City Paper (that I work for).

Prince VS Madonna VS Michael

2010-01-27T22:45:00.001-08:00

This was done for the Ottobar's (in Baltimore) annual Prince/Madonna/Michael dance party. The idea is that Madonna, Michael and Prince are the foundation of pop music, much like the color wheel is the foundation of color. While designing this I thought of the colored circles on cans of spray paint. As a result, I decided to add some spray paint to tie it all together, along with some symbols to evoked royaliy and religion (naturally).

Baltimore Magazine: At the Rodeo

2010-01-21T21:00:00.000-08:00

For this month's Charm City Chatter column I was asked to illustrate the Professional Bull Riders invitational that took place downtown. I was really excited to do this one because it meant that I got to draw a cowboy and some plaid.

Soul Full of Christmas: Mix Cd

2010-01-04T14:30:00.001-08:00

This is a holiday mix cd that I made for family and friends this year.

Roots Jam Session

2009-12-30T09:58:00.000-08:00

This is my submission for the Roots' Jam Session logo contest. I hope I win. I love the Roots. Tweet it/me if you like: funkaldelyfunk

The BOSS!

2009-12-22T07:35:00.000-08:00

I illustrated this for Baltimore Magazine's Charm City Chatter column. I used my buddy Frank Hamilton's photo as a reference, so there's some authenticity to this one.

CLUCK, CLUCK, CLUCK

2009-12-02T09:37:00.001-08:00

A piece I did for Thursday night's 2nd Annual Lighting of the Chicken ceremony's corresponding exhibition 'Chicken in a Biscuit'.
Artwork had to be chicken themed.

Bob Dylan: It's Not Dark Yet

2009-11-30T16:20:00.000-08:00

A piece that I did for my wife's b-day. She loves Bob Dylan and loves this song.

City Paper: Female Problems

2009-11-30T13:50:00.001-08:00

A piece I just finished for Baltimore City Paper's annual Fiction and Poetry contest. This story was about an abused woman and a constant reminder (her cat) of her abused past.

Baltimore Magazine: Poe Procession

2009-11-23T18:11:00.000-08:00

This was a piece I did for the 'Charm City Chatter' column of Baltimore Magazine. The piece was supposed to depict the mock Edgar Allen Poe funeral procession that was held in mid-October. The client really wanted to depict Raven's fans, bagpipe players, the horse and carriage, the police, etc. I felt that silhouettes was the best way to depict the wide variety of characters at the event.

Work in Progress

2009-11-18T19:28:00.000-08:00

This is a commissioned piece that I am working on. A portrait. This is the background art, the portrait still has to be worked on. More to come later...

Self Portrait...

2009-11-18T11:16:00.000-08:00

I have a bunch of stuff to post soon, but because of secrets and/or publication dates I have to wait a little bit. In the meantime, here is a self portrait I did last night/this morning between baby duties.

Bmag update

2009-09-25T11:14:00.000-07:00

These are the latest illustrations that I did for Baltimore Magazine. The Otakon piece was online only because of editorial issues that caused the column to get pulled.The piece on the left depicts Cardin's paparazzi filled town-hall meeting last month.

Social Networking spot illustrations for Style

2009-08-17T15:49:00.000-07:00

These illustrations were done for STYLE magazine to accompany their social networking feature. While I am very happy with the final, I had a different idea for the Craigslist piece that was rejected, that I may revisit just because I was really in love with it.

UPDATE: Below are scans of the layout. Love it. STYLE magazine prints color so beautifully.

New Amerykah Type Poster

2009-08-06T12:00:00.000-07:00

New Amerykah Part Two: Return of the Ankh

2009-08-06T11:56:00.000-07:00

This is my piece to commemorate Badu's follow up album to New Amerykah Part One: 4th World War. I plan on giving her a print when I see her at Merriweather this Saturday.

Doppelganger Danger...

2009-07-06T11:49:00.001-07:00

This is a poster that I designed for the Wilma Martinez Project:
Wilma Martinez Project
This was Wilma's first stab at starring in two roles simultaneously. From what I hear it's pretty raunchy.

STYLE magazine "Summer Waves"

2009-06-19T09:56:00.000-07:00

This was for STYLE magazine. The feature was on summer hair trends and the art director wanted something "retro feeling". I think it turned out quite nice.

2009-06-16T07:45:00.000-07:00

This is the latest piece that I did for Baltimore magazine's Charm City Chatter column. It was for the kid's group Milkshake's visit to the Lyric Opera house. Apparently they are HUGE and from Baltimore. I didn't realize how big they were when I got the assignment, maybe because my child is only 3.5 months old. Anyway, the idea was to make the kids event look like it was in a "grown-up" environment, hence the point of view.

Elephants on Parade

2009-05-15T13:29:00.001-07:00

This is on my promo piece (which you can see in a few posts below), but I figured I'd post it again in a larger size. It is featured in the "Charm City Chatter" column of the current issue of Baltimore magazine. The piece was to illustrate the annual march of the animals parade that Ringling puts together every year. The elephants march from the B&O Railroad museum to the big top. This year the parade happened a little later than usual and apparently there were kids in their pajamas there to see the large pachyderms.

T-shirt update...

2009-05-15T07:23:00.001-07:00

So, the people at Okayplayer said they loved my original design, but were torn as to whether or not they liked the Meshell portrait, so they asked me for a couple more versions featuring the monkey with headphones image that is on the cover of "Cookie". I redrew it to fit my style and added a few scratches and splats and this is the end result. I hope that I'm in the running to win the contest.

Okayplayer T-shirt Contest...

2009-05-04T10:05:00.000-07:00

So, I have been a big fan of okayplayer.com for some time now. Online home of the Roots and fansite for okayplayer branded artists such as Amy Winehouse, Meshell Ndegeocello, Erykah Badu, Common, Talib Kweli, Jazzyfatnastees, SA-RA, J Dilla–the list goes on and I consider myself to be an okayplayer.

Anyway, they recently posted a contest to design a t-shirt to commemorate the year 2002 in honor of their 10 year anniversary. I chose to do a design for Meshell Ndegeocello's "Cookie-The Anthropological Mixtape" because I'm a big fan of Meshell's and other artists that released material in 2002 were already represented in one of the other designs. I came up with four designs. Here they are. Stay tuned to see if I win.

Random cuteness that is my son.

2009-04-24T06:58:00.001-07:00

This is my son Jasper and these are the extremely late birth announcements that we are just now sending out (hence the 'Then' and 'Now' specs. I decided to keep with the circus theme and add my elephant illustration to the announcement.

Oh, and you can check out my wife's blog of our new addition here.

New Promo Piece...

2009-04-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

So, I finally got around to getting a new promo piece printed. I'm going to try something different and send out a brochure as opposed to a postcard. Hopefully I can start getting bigger jobs.

City Paper Job Guide Banners...

2009-03-19T21:03:00.001-07:00

So, City Paper will start a new website called "City Paper Baltimore Jobs"...pretty boring name, but here are some not-so boring designs I came up with to rest at the top of the pages. My personal favorite is the banner with the feet. I decided to use contour line drawings and I'm happy with the outcome.

Obama comes to Baltimore!

2009-03-09T15:25:00.001-07:00

This is the second piece that I did for Baltimore Magazine's 'Charm City Chatter' column. I was inspired by vintage state postcards and figured the concept would be perfect for Obama's visit to Baltimore on his trail to the White House.

OZ...

2009-02-16T14:51:00.000-08:00

This is a piece that I did for City Paper. It's for a book review of the book "The Wizard of Oz and Philosophy: Wicked Wisdom of the West". I love the Wizard of Oz (story and the film) and wanted to do a piece that spoke more about Oz than the characters, and more about the fact that this book is a collection of Oz-based theories and not about any particular instance or character. I am pretty satisfied with the end result.

Happy Birthday Jon!

2009-02-08T21:03:00.000-08:00

This is a birthday card that I made for my great friend Jon. I just finished watching Disney's "So Dear To My Heart", which is where the lamb comes in. The piece is about cautiously making a journey and not giving up. Below the image is some hand-drawn type from the inside of the card.

DAN DEACON!

2009-02-05T10:31:00.000-08:00

This is my latest illustration that I did for the great people over at Baltimore magazine. They have started a new column called "Charm City Chatter" (about stuff going on in and around the Baltimore area) and to my surprise they asked me to be the regular illustrator for the column! The first assignment was for Dan Deacon's 'Round Robin' Tour and below is the result. Enjoy.

Life's Circle

2008-12-22T18:37:00.000-08:00

This is my Christmas gift to my family for 2009.

Fertilization

2008-10-29T22:13:00.001-07:00

Pittsburgh City Paper: Back to School Issue

2008-08-18T08:25:00.000-07:00

This is an assignment I got from Pittsburgh City Paper for a cover feature on Student Protest for their back to school issue. For the inside I was assigned four spot illustrations concerning different college student related issues.

Scan of printed cover with type will come when I receive my copy in the mail.

Cover

Cover without Text

Spot Illo: Rising Tuition

Spot Illo: The Expanding Campus

Spot Illo: Preferential Treatment

Spot Illo: Duquesne's Problem

Georgia Anne Muldrow

2008-08-03T14:20:00.000-07:00

This is a cover and illustration I did for the online magazine Scheme. The piece is of the beautiful Georgia Anne Muldrow whom I first heard this past February after purchasing New Amerykah Pt.2. Georgia makes some of the most atmospheric, thought-provoking, unconventional music this side of planet earth that I've heard in years. Enjoy the new piece.

OVERLOAD

2008-05-29T07:27:00.000-07:00

?uestlove

2008-05-05T06:56:00.001-07:00

Below is the cover for May's Scheme magazine which features an article about ?uestlove of the Roots. If you haven't done so already, go out and pick up Rising Down their new album just released last week. Not only is the album art great and full of impact, the content is rich. Enjoy.

And the uncropped no-logo version below...

My Bleeding Heart

2008-05-04T22:26:00.000-07:00

Kinetic Sculpture Race...

2008-04-19T23:06:00.000-07:00

Madonna: Hard Candy

2008-04-18T23:40:00.000-07:00

deeply rooted

2008-04-18T11:10:00.000-07:00

LIVE at the Renaissance

2008-04-07T07:45:00.000-07:00

I did this flyer for an event promoted by Scheme magazine (Check previous posts). If you are in the DC/Metro/Baltimore area attend this "semi networking event where people can enjoy great music from the 80's through the 90's with a mix of the current Little Brother, Cool Kids, Lupe Fiasco, Cromeo, etc." And guess what, it's FREE.

Kidz in the Hall

2008-04-07T07:09:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Dale Coachman and his magazine Scheme for whom I did this for.

Ma Dukes Yancey

2008-03-10T21:02:00.001-07:00

This piece was done for Scheme magazine. It was to go with an interview of Ma "Dukes" Yancey, mother of well-renowned poetic genius/producer of all things funky and fly J. Dilla. I wasn't given much to work with so I emailed analoguegirl and she gave me some insight on the mother/son relationship between the two of them. Thanks E. I hope you all like. Part 2, diving deeper into their relationship to come at a later date...

Piece of Luna

2008-03-09T14:57:00.001-07:00

This illustration was for a book review in this coming week's City Paper. It was for a book review of the book Black Postcards: A Rock and Roll Romance. It was written by Dean Wareham, lead guitarist and vocalist for the bands Galaxie 300, Luna, and Dean & Britta. This piece addresses the romantic side of Dean who had an affair with Britta (the lead voice for the 1980's cartoon Jem), who was in Luna, which broke up his marriage and was the start of Dean & Britta, now performing near you.

Fresh Air

2008-02-24T23:05:00.000-08:00

No, not the show with Terry Gross, but the show taking place in Maryland. It is now official that every bar in Maryland prohibits smoking. Yes folks that's right, MD has run out of lighter fluid. Here's to me being able to breathe when I go out now! Here's to coming home with hair that smells like shampoo and clothes that smell like detergent!

Too big...

2008-02-19T21:46:00.000-08:00

Titled "Too Big" or the emotional effects of childhood obesity.

Get By Pt.2 (or final version)

2008-02-13T22:18:00.000-08:00

Part 2, or the final version of 'Get By'. After much consideration and talking I thought the previous version, though expressing hope, was still a little dark and pessimistic in tone and needed a slight change in composition. Enjoy.

Time Will Tell

2008-02-11T07:58:00.000-08:00

Piece for a City Paper article which describes modern day zombie movies as being metaphors for real life. About zombies representing us in the not too distant future, but the people hiding from them representing us as well.

Get by...

2008-02-01T22:34:00.000-08:00

This piece is based on the Talib Kweli song 'Get By' in which he says we need to do more than to just get by, we need to live and get out (of the ghetto/poverty/misery/etc.). Hadn't heard the song in a while and thought of it as I was looking for inspiration.

Digging too deep

2008-01-30T19:46:00.000-08:00

New AmErykah: The 4th World War

2008-01-25T06:48:00.000-08:00

This is a piece I did in preparation for my girl Erykah Badu's new record that drops on February 26th. Considering the title of the new album and the title of this post I figured that the imagery in the image was appropriate.

I contacted E.Badu's publicist over the summer and got this message:
"Thank you for your interest in working with Ms. Badu. However, at this time her artwork for the upcoming music projects is already in process. As you can imagine, she has a team of artists that she works with on her various projects from merchandise, websites to album covers (or should I say CD covers!).

I will keep your contact information as from time-to-time she does change or add artists.

Peace and Blessings"

Erykah if you're reading this, know that I HAVE to work for you before I die! One day...One day...

Robert Redford

2008-01-02T22:10:00.000-08:00

This is a piece that I did as a Christmas present to my wife this year. She happens to be a bit obsessed over "Robbie" (his household nickname) and though I'm not a HUGE fan (haven't really seen a lot of his work), I do admire his acting in "The Way We Were", which is where I pulled this image. The idea behind the piece is that it's an homage to the doodling one does in your notebook when you have a crush, or a secret admiration for someone.

Summer Boys

2007-11-26T09:24:00.000-08:00

This piece was done for the Baltimore City Paper. Based on a fiction piece about a teenage girl who's multiple relationships/love affairs with convicted criminals keep her chained down, all the while a new guy with a clean record tempts her with freedom.

William's Birthday Card

2007-11-15T18:31:00.000-08:00

This is an animated before and after version of the birthday card I gave to my good friend William on the day of his birthday. It features him in his underwear, drawn from a photo shoot we did to promote his birthday party this weekend.

CLICK ME TO SEE ME MOVE!

Warrior Woman

2007-11-14T20:04:00.000-08:00

This image took me a while to finish and I completed it to submit to an exhibition downtown entitled "Home". It's definitely my favorite piece that I've done in a hot minute. It tells the story of a woman who has lived a life of constant struggle. Over time she has developed a thick skin and a shiny suit of armor. Inside she truely is a loving person, it's just her exterior that is deceiving.

So pretty she's unreal...

2007-11-10T18:32:00.001-08:00

Digestible to Hipsters

2007-10-15T07:55:00.000-07:00

This is a piece I did for the City Paper in Baltimore. The article was written about three bands whose current new releases have become a bit more digestible than their past efforts.

Together Forever

2007-10-03T20:34:00.001-07:00

Sitting Pretty or the Triumph over 50

2007-09-26T22:34:00.000-07:00

Tongue Twister

2007-09-24T08:42:00.001-07:00

Turn it down...(Version II)

2007-09-23T18:11:00.000-07:00

Don't listen to those assholes...

2007-09-18T08:58:00.001-07:00

Healthy Heart

2007-09-12T19:55:00.000-07:00

...these are a few of my favorite things.

2007-09-12T19:54:00.000-07:00

F is for Foot

2007-09-08T12:20:00.000-07:00

E is for Ear

2007-08-05T08:17:00.001-07:00

D is for Digits...

2007-07-24T21:30:00.000-07:00

C is for Chest & Collar (Part 2, the Good One)

2007-07-23T21:53:00.001-07:00

This is my second attempt at drawing my chest. I redid it because I wasn't happy with the previous version. This one I'm much happier with.

C is for Chest, or Collarbone

2007-07-22T22:24:00.001-07:00

B is for Belly button (2 points)

2007-07-20T05:18:00.001-07:00

A is for Armpit

2007-07-16T22:13:00.000-07:00

I Love My Lawn (Version 2.0)

2007-07-06T12:57:00.000-07:00

I Love My Lawn (Version 1.0)

2007-07-05T05:22:00.000-07:00

Sleeping Beauty

2007-07-01T18:28:00.000-07:00

First image is a blind contour of Steph while she was sleeping. it was a little difficult to do because I was painting it with a sumi brush and I couldn't feel whether or not my brush was actually touching the paper. The second image is what she really looks like. I was watching an episode of Smallville while I was drawing.

I'm an All Star.

2007-06-30T08:02:00.000-07:00

Birthday Suit

2007-06-28T22:27:00.000-07:00

Front Yard Plant

2007-06-24T17:57:00.000-07:00

Front Yard Plant 2.0

2007-06-24T17:55:00.000-07:00