Have the events of the last two years influenced or impacted your approach to your work? Has it become more or less political or socially conscious or has it always been at its core?
The last two years were important to the culture and my workmanship. I was inspired by the adversities the world was faced with due to Covid and social injustice. These last 2 years brought forth a collective understanding of unity and survival.
Was there an artist you grew up wanting to be? Who has inspired you the most?
There weren’t any artist I looked up to honestly. I was more inspired by life and death. I painted murals of my friends who passed away. I used those terrible and horrific times to heal and be inspired through my art.
What does painting give you that poetry doesn’t?
That both give me the same gift. Freedom of self expression. They create the same love for me.
When you’re painting, are you also concurrently writing in your mind?
That’s funny because I write poetry at the same time as I paint. I always worked this way from the beginning of my career. I’m inspired by words. It’s my crutch. It’s my helping hand. Words cradle my imagination.
Does music in any way connect to a pattern in your life regarding the intersectionality of love and culture? Does music keep you connected to your roots/beginnings, the further along you get in your practice? Does it influence your work in any way?
Music is the book mark of my life. It’s included in everything I do. From walking, jogging, dancing, painting or just passing time with friends and family. Music loves me just as much as I love it.
Do you have any final thoughts to leave with the people?
Live in your truth so much that the scent of authenticity follows you wherever you go, live in your truth so much that the energy you leave behind leaves no room for assumption, live in your truth so much that you bulletproof yourself from their opinions and projections. Big Bless.
