I was inspired watching videos of Black Panther Party member and political activist Angela Davis, awed by her eloquence and intelligence. Not to mention she was sporting the largest afro I had seen at the time. My admiration for Dr. Angela Davis is what prompted the artist in me to create an original drawing of her, which I’ve made available in the form of a Tote Bag.
If you love Angela Davis and need a unique way to show your support during Black History Month or on any given day, this Angela Davis Tote Bag featuring my original drawing of the iconic leader may be what you are looking for. Various colors available. The Art of Qew.
“I am no longer accepting the things I cannot change, I am changing the things I can not accept.” – Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944).
All People Arts is a nonprofit organization in Columbus, Oh that seeks to engage and unite the people on the South Side of Columbus and beyond in expressing, creating and experiencing art. This year All People Arts hosted their first annual holiday party. I had the honor and privilege of creating this video for the organization after speaking with one of it’s board members who expressed the mission of the group and invited me to attend. Below is the video I created to capture the essence of the their event.
I feel an abundance of gratitude after completing my Nipsey Hussle tribute drawing. I was inspired to do this drawing after becoming aware of Nipsey’s story and legacy. As a featured visual artist at the Lincoln Theatre in Columbus, Ohio I chose to showcase my Nipsey Hussle and Malcolm X drawings at their 10th anniversary celebration of Backstage At The Lincoln. I posted my drawing of Nipsey to my Instagram account on the morning of the event, November 21, 2019. The next day I was graced with over 1300 likes and growing on this social media platform. I really appreciate the love that the Nipsey Hussle community of followers, friends and family have shown me. They have taken the time to like my drawing, share it, and encourage others to re-post etc, in a way that shows that the “Marathon Continues.”
It was an honor to draw and paint my tribute to Bro. Malcolm X (aka Malcolm Little, el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz). I attempted to create art in his image twice before but was not satisfied until this rendition. I think for me one of the things I admire most about Malcolm X is he symbolized intelligence, and as a young black man this played a part in my also wanting to be intelligent.
His speech where he referenced the house negro and the field negro was my inspiration to create the drawing on the right below, as it was at a time where I felt I could discern this divide among our leaders . It features Stephen (Samuel L Jackson in Django Unchained) and the late black nationalist Khalid Muhammad.
A few of my favorite Malcolm X quotes:
“A wise man can play the part of a clown, but a clown can’t play the part of a wise man.”
Malcolm X
“If you’re not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”
Malcolm X
“When you live in a poor neighborhood, you are living in an area where you have poor schools. When you have poor schools, you have poor teachers. When you have poor teachers, you get a poor education. When you get a poor education, you can only work in a poor-paying job. And that poor-paying job enables you to live again in a poor neighborhood. So, it’s a very vicious cycle.”
Malcolm X
“Education is an important element in the struggle for human rights. It is the means to help our children and thereby increase self-respect. Education is our passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to the people who prepare for it today.”
Malcolm X
Malcolm X was assassinated at 39 yrs young.
Born: May 19, 1925, Omaha, NE
Assassinated: February 21, 1965, New York City, NY
My birthday pencil drawing tribute to singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer whose genius created Lil Red Corvette, Purple Rain, and many many more hit songs, Prince. Prince Rogers Nelson. RIP… Limited edition prints click here.
February 26, 2012 is the day 17 year old Trayvon Martin was fatally shot by George Zimmerman. Hearing this news inspired me to want to do something as an artist. Days afterward I had created a hand drawing of Trayvon Martin with an inscription on the bottom saying “We Are Trayvon Martin” (Later I would update the image by digitally adding “One Love” to the top of the image and creating a crowd of smaller Trayvons standing behind the main image). Living in Ohio, now the question was, how do I get it to the people in Florida who were mourning over his loss and or fighting for justice for Trayvon Martin. Luckily for me, my Ace, my Sands, my brother in Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., Howard Pernell, happened to live in Florida and not far from Ground Zero where the initial protest began. I sent him a digital scan of my One Love Trayvon Martin drawing and he printed off a 1000 copies that were handed to protestors fighting for justice for Trayvon. We did not charge the people for these copies but did receive a little under $200 in donations in which I shared with my Ace and his crew for the hard ground work they put in making sure people had access to the prints if they wanted one. I was proud to learn that my art contribution was first on the scene and many people expressed gratefulness and were eager for a symbol they could protest with as many protesters already toted skittles and iced tea. Adding to this joy was a phone call I got from Howard who informed me that my image made the news in Florida and was being used by an elder who was protesting for justice for Trayvon Martin.
In this post are attached some of the photos that were taken in Florida where the initial protest for Trayvon Martin began.
This time last year my artwork was featured with 6 other artist in a book titled “Dining With The Ancestors When Heroes Come to Dinner,” by Dr Eric J. Chambers. “Dr. Chambers is a 4-time Emmy Award winning Hollywood red carpet reporter” and he asked over 150 African American entertainers, athletes and notables a question…”If you could have dinner with anyone from history’s past, who would it be? And what would you talk to them about?”
Later Dr. Chambers would reach out to several artist (myself included) to create illustrations of the Ancestor’s with the living celebrities who chose them as who they would have dinner with. I was selected to draw a illustration of Sojourner Truth, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Yolanda Adams, and Tamar Braxton. My artwork can be viewed on pg.34 of “Dining With The Ancestors When Heroes Come to Dinner.” It is a coffee table book that shares Black History in a non-threatening way.
