Thee Lakesiders -inspiring soul

So soulful...

Modern Mouse Alameda - Go visit!

Yo, wanted to give a shout out to this local independent store called Modern Mouse. If you're in the Alameda area you can get some of my bookmarks and bookplates (english & spanish) there. The store is a haven for locally made cards, posters, pins, earrings, shirts, books, and more. And the best part is that the majority of what I saw is made by a Bay Area native. I invite you to support small businesses like this one over the big box stores. 

MODERN MOUSE

Bookplate 4 - Bboy Student (Spanish)

Here is my fourth sticker bookplate. Bookplates are intended to mark who the owner of a book is; whether that be student, teacher, library, or school. This one is in spanish for all the bilingual and spanish speaking folks out there.

You can purchase through my site.

Bookplate 3 - Chess player (Spanish)

Here is my third sticker bookplate. Bookplates are intended to mark who the owner of a book is; whether that be student, teacher, library, or school. This one is in spanish for all the bilingual and spanish speaking folks out there.

You can purchase through my site.

Hiero Day! - Reading and selling books

Yo, the 7th annual Hiero Day fest is here and I will be up in there selling books in the kids section with:
Grace Carroll of Akira's Book Club
Kamaria Lofton "My City is Oakland"
Tiffany Golden "The Midnight Series"
Angela Dalton "If you look up to the sky"

Monday September 3rd from 11am -6pm

Oakland California 3rd st and MLK
There will be face painting, a jumpy house, hair cuts, and other goodies there at the festival so come through

For folks who don't know, Hiero Day was founded by Oakland's "Hieroglyphics Crew" which features Del the Funky Homosapien, Souls of Mischief, Casual, Domino, Pep Love, etc. And the line up this year features Hiero of course, Black thought, Saroc, Freddie Gibbs, Georgia Anne Muldrow, Ruby Ibarra, Umar bin Hassan of the Last Poets, Richie Rich, Mike Relm, Astu, and more... from all over the world.

Tickets are super affordable so go cop them before the day of. HIERO SITE

Here are some photos of the authors:

Audio: East Bay Yesterday - East Bay Dragons

Please listen: Incredible reporting and editing by Liam over at East Bay Yesterday-and great strength by the members for opening up to talk about their lives, art, and discipline. The Dragons are about to be 60! I created this illustration a few years ago and i'm happy to learn more about their legacy. SHARE LINK

Story time print 2

This is the second in what hopefully becomes a series of "Story time" prints. I made this and the first print as art prints that could be hung in homes, libraries, or classrooms. Anywhere that children are read to really. You can purchase this one on Etsy HERE.

Audio - Panel discussion w/ Akonadi Foundation

This is an artist where I was invited to speak on by the Akonadi Foundation in Oakland. The panel was about Racial Justice, Artwork, making it as an artist, and more. It was moderated by Hard Knock Radio’s “Davey D” . listen

LINK

Podcast Feature - The Stoop

Hey y'all, I was a guest on this amazing podcast called "The Stoop" with Leyla and Hana who have been talking about a whole lot of issues in the Black community for over a year now. Not only that, they just won an award from the National Association of Black Journalists for their work.

LISTEN

Short story 23 - Record store

On Sunday Papa and I walked to the record store. I never seen him so happy to go to a store before. He kept whistling and smiling. Then he turned to me and said 

 "When I was a kid, your Grandpa would bring me here. It's like a library of sounds from all over the world!". 

This illustration of a father and son walking is special because Amoeba Records in Berkeley was and still is a haven for weird sound lovers like me. I walked there from Berkeley High at lunch weekly looking for new and old hip hop records, samples, drum breaks, and jazz albums. It is a cultural landmark. And although I've been to the SF and LA locations, Berkeley is home. Go if you haven't been recently and see what you can find to pull you away from your screen. Have you been to Amoeba in Berkeley? What's the last thing you bought there?

It has been almost 4 years since I completed a "short story". And i've worked on so many children's books and art projects since then which is part of why I paused them. I started working on these to practice my writing and illustration. 

Wanna see more?

Short story 22- Genesis

Short story 21-Afternoon dancer

Want a print of this?

Character 145 - Dad's who dig

This one is for my Dads or fathers who dig, especially my vinyl junkies. I took my son to the record store a few times and although he wasn't as excited as I was, I'm happy I got to do that. I will leave my records for him one day. Is there a record that comes to mind when you first started digging? Did your parents take you to look for music at record store, swap meet, convention, or thrift store? Who is a dad you know of that still digs? You want a print of this?

The LP the dad is holding is a remix of the record "TAXI" by Sly & Robbie; a record I grew up hearing in the house.

Type Musical 11 - Percussion

Another exercise with type and music. Percussion! The drum! It is a guide, a map, a language, and a heartbeat. The drum or percussion is so integral to the roots of all music. The first memory I have of a drum was at the Berkeley flea market. Every weekend a drum circle would form right alongside the vendors and community. Have you ever played a drum before? A timbal, conga, turntable, or snare? Do you know a drummer? Someone who programs beats?

Character 144 - Stereo

How many of you had a stacked stereo system like this in your home growing up? Mine was similar to this, with a turntable for playing records, a cassette deck, and an amplifier. Parents had an eclectic record collection underneath too. What was your favorite to listen to from your parents collection of music (cd, tape, or vinyl)? 

Inspiration board 30

Some inspirations on my mind for the past 6 months, from top to bottom, left to right.

1. Arlan Hamilton-First Black woman to start and run a successful venture capitalist firm 2. Art of Alex Ross 3. Journalist extraordinaire Nikole Hannah Jones 4. Ghost-written by Jason Reynolds 5. From Far Away - Robert Munsch and Saoussan Askar 6. Legendary house music producer Larry Heard 7. Art of Little Red House/ Aggie Cheung 8. By Chance or Providence - Becky Cloonan 9. Etsy Conversations Podcast for business 10. Genevieve Santos- Incredible artist/ entrepreneur (Thx Nidhi!) 11. Black Thought vs 9th Wonder - Streams of Thought 12. Jessica Jones - Netflix/Marvel show 13. Benny Doesn't Like to be Hugged - Zetta Elliott picture book about an autistic boy 14. Dani Diez- Illustrator 15. The Feminist on Cellblock Y- CNN Documentary 16. Nipsey Hussle - Victory Lap LP

Here is the previous board 29

What's this? This inspiration board is one of the ways I stay inspired and sane through all of life's trials, and tribulations, work, etc. I've been making inspiration boards full of films, books, music, events, people, artists, movements, and more for over a decade. Do you have an inspiration board? Please share in the comments.

Who am I? My name is Rob and I'm an artist working in kid lit, public art, and other disciplines. Go to my website, or follow me on IG or YouTube.

You can purchase my book "Art of Rob" here