Another for Utne Reader about peace featuring Joy Liu <3
Dig this? Check out this drawing for Hyphen Magazine
Apr 30, 2014
Apr 21, 2014
Short story 21- Afternoon dancer
This afternoon uncle and I went for a walk. Everyone was resting during the early afternoon so we decided to walk through the empty city streets. There was one person out there. A boy doing something, a dance of some kind, I'm not sure. But when I saw him move I was stunned, I could only watch. Uncle laughed saying "If I would have known you liked dancing, I would have taken you for a walk sooner".
I couldn't get much of the process down because I was "in it". But, here are some progress shots since I repainted it and sketched it twice.
Wanna see more?
Short story 20 -Untitled
Children's portrait 27- Lucas
This cute little boy is Lucas, he is around 6 I think and he is Palestinian and Chinese. His momma commissioned this and I hope the family likes it. If you wish to get a portrait, please go to my Etsy page.
Apr 19, 2014
Character 76-Little Futbolista
My son scored 3 goals today, which is a new record for his soccer games so I imagined him playing like this.
Apr 10, 2014
Chapter 510 event-May 1st, 2014
Join me as I celebrate a collaboration of art and poetry with Chapter 510 and some young spitters (poets). Also, reminder incase you missed the post about my illustration work with Oakland, literacy based Ch 510; they are seeking volunteers. If you know a young person or an adult who is interested in helping out with workshops, social media, etc please contact them. If you know of any funders who can support more literacy, creative writing, and poetry work they are doing with kids, contact them.
From Chapter510.org
Apr 8, 2014
Childrens Portrait 24, 25, 26 -Masi, Jun, Kobi
Had a lot of fun with this one these past few weeks! I met their dad almost 8 or 9 years ago. And hallelujah this is the second children's portrait commissioned by a father, which throughout the course of these has been rare. Any how, heres some of the process painting these cute little ones who are 8, 5, and 2 I believe.
The dad wanted to get this painting for his wife's birthday and I like how it turned out. Very superhero-ish since they all had on Batman outfits in some of the photo reference.
When dropping it off to the family, the middle child jumped up and pointed out everyone in the portrait. Glad they were recognizable to him. These are some mixed babies, Japanese and Chinese.Thanks Ken! If you would like to commission a portrait contact me at info@robdontstop.com or go to my Etsy page
Apr 7, 2014
Prints though
Hey folks who follow along the journey, I now have some nice prints who were made by John Sheridan . If you would like to order a print of a painting or illustration that I've done that you liked, please let me know. You can contact me directly by emailing me at info@robdontstop.com or you can check out my Etsy page. Thanks!
-Rob
the prints from this photo were requested:
Jazz Collage
DeAndre
Paranorman
Apr 4, 2014
Children's portrait 23- Josh
This is what the image usually looks like when I start. I never trace the picture so as a result it is never really exactly like the photo. But I try to get close to the child's likeness. The sketch takes the longest out of all the steps usually.
So then, here are some shots of the painting process for any of you working on your painting skills, which I definitely am.
And the final
If you would like a portrait painted of your child, please click HERE.
Apr 3, 2014
Pie Ranch Illustration w Jidan Koon
So, I just did an illustration here for this organization called Pie Ranch, which teaches people how to farm, and does organizing work with young people and surrounding communities to raise awareness about where our food comes from and how to change the way we eat. If you have never worked for or with an organization diagrams like these help folks doing good work to not only see where their power lies, but to show potential allies where they fit in. You dig?
Check out this video about Pie Ranch
This illustration is based off the work of Jidan koon, a good friend and a local veteran of Bay Area organizing scene. Jidan helps organizations nationwide vision and strategize their future and goals. She also helps them create curriculum and leads facilitation. This kid of work is crucial to helping good organizations become better and exhausted organizations regain their focus. And she's an amazing artist, so shout out to her!
Check out this video about Pie Ranch
Apr 1, 2014
Dollars and Sense 2- Budgeting, Residual Income, financial experts
Today I was listening to a show on NPR called Tell me more, when it transitioned to what I was looking for: A discussion on money. I regularly search for new music, I regularly browse blogs for inspiring things, and I daily, over and over again practice my craft. But what I do not do , which I am actually scared to do is get a better hold of my finances. There I said it. How many of you have this same fear? Or how many of you ignore the problem hoping it will go away? I know as I listened to a show with two financial advisors today I decided to write down their names and look them up. For some reason I did not think I would find any men of color who were certified financial advisors. I don’t know why, but I thought that.
The two men were Alvin Hall and Louis Barajas. Both gave solid advice on budgeting, understanding the stock market, but above all becoming more financially literate. So as a promise to myself I decided I would pick up this series of blogs with more insight as I find my way to a better financial literacy.
With that said here are some terms.
Budget:
Dictionary definition: A budget is a quantitative expression of a plan for a defined period of time. It may include planned sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities, costs and expenses, assets, liabilities and cash flows. It expresses strategic plans of business units, organizations, activities or events in measurable terms.
Definition from the advisors: A budget is not a diet. It’s not something to be feared, it is a plan. Lets say I want to be making enough as an independent artist to take a vacation (I know, sounds crazy, right?), or I want to purchase a life insurance plan for my child. The budget is a plan for how to get there and a way to look at where your money is going.
Residual income:
Dictionary definition: Passive income is an income received on a regular basis, with little effort required to maintain it. It is closely related to the concept of "Unearned income". The American Internal Revenue Service categorizes income into three broad types, active (earned) income, passive (unearned) income, and portfolio income.
My definition. Normally I do a painting and get paid for it once. Residual income is getting paid for that painting every time it is used. So instead of collecting one big check, and one big check only, I’d collect one big check and many many smaller checks over a long period of time.
Disclaimer: To those f you who are financially aware, who have saved enough for what ever they want, or are experts at this. These posts are probably going to be of no use whatsoever to you. This is for cats (especially artists) who like me are not yet completely financially stable or literate. I hope my journey can help yours.
LISTEN: Alvin Hall LISTEN: Louis Barajas
Rad Dad 4- 50 subscribers in 50 states/ Contribute
Yo! Fathers, Baba's, Dad's across the United States, Rad Dad Magazine is looking to hit a goal of 50 new subscribers, one from each state of the United States. If you love finding an alternative voice for fathers and radical parenting, give Rad Dad as a gift or get one for yourself. And if the magazine is not covering a fathers issue you feel should be covered, guess what? You can contribute.
If you have not yet visited the new site: GO HERE