“One Sip” is all it takes

One Sip aka Deeply Rooted

Towards the end of February 2014, I began sketching the concept for “One Sip”, a large mural to be painted this spring in Washington DC. It was the first of three sketches I submitted to Mazi, of Words Beats & Life, who in turn had to present the sketches for selection. During the selection process I too did a survey online to see which of the three drawings people gravitated towards and One Sip was the one.
It was great painting from such a detailed sketch, an approach and style reminiscent of my works in New York and Philly back in the 90’s, abstract surrealistic funk, but now with more color and energy.

Another great feature of this mural was the people themselves, having the apprentices to work with during this project helped keep the process light and filled with laughter as I skillfully guided them to work with quality. Lead by Maceo Thomas, the people of ward 7 rallied together and financially contributed a portion of their own monies to help bring this project to fruition, “that’s what I call Community.” The Mural was painted on the side of the Thai Orchid Restaurant, the owner; Vernon and his wife greatly appreciated all the good vibes that surrounded the event, showing gratitude by keeping us well feed throughout process.

February 27 marked the closing of 2 1/2 years of work towards my solo exhibition Good Morning America. In which the book is now available at http://blur.by/1miMQZb The energy directed towards making that show was intense and it was truly a breath of fresh air to paint a large- scale mural with big strokes and a fresh palette of colors. Although I finished the sketch weeks before going to Peru the actual painting didn’t take place until I returned late March. Travel for me is very important, it offers me the opportunity to witness how live and interact with there surroundings, how they create what they it and value as most important. All this information inspires me its like food for my soul. Within the painting “One Sip” if you look closely at the green thumb you will notice the influences of my travels to Machu Pichu embedded within that Magical City had such an impact upon me I had to pay homage to it. Another interesting element found within “One Sip” is the main character, in which many people refer to as a Pinocchio. I wasn’t thinking of Pinocchio while drawing the piece although the idea of traveling to Italy was in the forefront of my mind. A week after “One Sip” was completed I arrived in Milan Italy, for the Meeting Of Styles event hosted by my good friend Marte of Nuclear 1. unknowingly the story of Pinocchio originates from Italy and upon my arrival I seen plenty of Pinocchio puppets and was like dam… “What we’ve experienced or want to experience has an interesting way of presenting itself’”.