SOL Con 2020

Yo, I will be attending SOL Con again this year albeit virtually. I would love it if you joined us. There will be panel discussions , a virtual artist alley, and more. All you have to do is register.

LINK TO JOIN

SÕL-CON is intended as both a celebration of current creative minds and as a means to open doors for youth of color to learn how to express their stories through the comic book storytelling arts.

The SÕL-CON Expo Day consists of four creator roundtables featuring comics creators, multimedia artists, & scholars in conversation.

Here are the panels:

Panel A: How to Change the World with a Pen: Comics and the Future
12:00 p.m. - 1:15 p.m. EST
Moderator, Morgan Podraza
Featuring Juan Argil, Xavier Lopez, Lexi Ramos, Jules Rivera and Maxi Rodriguez

Panel B: Creators in Conversation
1:15 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. EST
Moderator, Jennifer Caroccio Maldonado
Featuring Ness Garza, Sloane Leong, Breena Nuñez,
Cristy Road Carrera, Nicky Rodriguez

Panel C: Sustaining the Momentum: Comics & DIY Culture
2:30 p.m. - 3:45 p.m. EST
Moderator, Katlin Marisol Sweeney
Majed Badra, Dr. Elvira Carrizal-Dukes, Ronnie Dukes,
J.M. Hunter and Robert Liu-Trujillo

Panel D: Form-ing Ideas: Creators Talk Impact of Styles and Mediums
3:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. EST
Moderator, Peyton Del Toro:
Featuring Khaila Carr, Zalrix Franco, Lawrence Lindell, MariNaomi and Zeke Peña

Heres the flyer made by Breena Nuñez!!

POC POV Sticker

Here's a clear vinyl sticker of an old favorite. First I made it as a small doodle for my sticker sheet. Then I blew it up as a larger painting. And now I've shrunk it down to a sticker again with a clear backing that you can put on just about anything. "POC" means people of color, and "POV" means "point of view". Hopefully that is self explanatory.

If you want one cop it HERE.

Blaxican Sticker

The first time I heard the term "Blaxican" was from journalist and writer Walter Thompson. I'm not sure if he coined the term but he put together a project called "Blaxicans of LA" that made me feel seen. I grew up seeing these Black and Mexican folks, their parents, kids, and their families. It's not a secret that Black and Brown folks have been making babies for ages. From California to the South, the midwest and the East Coast.

For this image I thought it would be dope to juxtapose Papel Picado (historic Mexican art form ) with an outline of the continent of Africa where humanity originated. If you're Black and Mexican please let me know if I did this justice. If you approve please cop two. One for you and one for a friend. Thanks for reading. Just out here trying my best to make work that means something to me culturally.

3" x 3" Paper Sticker

Cop one HERE

Inspiration board 36

I think I've said this before but this is an inspiration board. I post them two or three times a year as a reminder and a catalogue of inspiring places, people, and things so when I'm failing to keep going I can be re-energized. I hope you the viewer get something out of them too. 

This board, top to bottom, left to right:

1. Meet Yasmin-early reader by Saadia Faruqi 2. What Kinda Music (LP) by Yusef Dayes & Tom Misch 3. Meridian Lights-Rock duo from Brooklyn 4. Never have I Ever-Hilarious Netflix Show 5. Defund The Police! Love this mvmt and attitude! 6. Float-Pixar short film about autistic boy 7. Smiles Davis feat Alice Smith-House track 8. Sam Rodriguez-Bay Area artist 9. Afro Sam-Taegeuk by Lindsey Adams 10. Esiri Erheriene Essi-Painter 11. Ragon Dickard-Illustrator 12. Fathers by Skyzoo (Brooklyn) 13. Opio- Granite earth 14. Molly of Denali-Native cartoon 15. Book designs by Margaret Armstrong 16. Breonna Taylor ptg by Amy Sherald.

If you missed Inspiration board 35, here's the LINK

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

Stuff I've been listening to 16- Protest

whats your favorite protest song recently?  

  Some ones that have been on rotation, some I came across through Pendarvis Harshaw's article about protest music, and some which I just discovered. Don't let people convince you that young artists aren't speaking on the times. Shout out people like Bambu (Native Guns) or Rebel Diaz who are always speaking on it!!

You can see the last "Stuff I've been listening to" HERE

Ayentee - Water world (Instrumental)

Dope chill beat from Berkeley's Ayentee

Raza Sticker

Yo, just made a sticker with this image I illustrated back in 2016. You can cop the sticker and read a bit about it

HERE

Here's the original post (editied) that I wrote with this image which was created for Inktober in 2016.

Celebrate A People's History!

I contributed an illustrated poster to this 2nd edition of Celebrate People's History by Josh Macphee and Feminist Press. It contains art celebrating, people, places, events, and movements for radical change in the US and internationally. Its beautifully curated and designed and is quite affirming if you feel like no progress is being made. It is also a powerful educational tool because many of the stories in it (illustrated as posters) are left out of history books. 

My piece is about the "Contract Buyers League", a group of Black home owners and faith based organizers who fought against the racist housing discrimination and theft of Black wealth in Chicago after the great migration. The book features are by Mincho Vega, Melanie Cervantes, Jesus Barraza, Zeke Peña, Miriam Klein Stahl, Cristy Road, Design Action Collective, and more. 

COP IT HERE

Here's my piece from the book:

Read more about the Contract Buyers League here.

Here's the book synopsis:

Forewords by Charlene Carruthers and Rebecca Solnit

Spanning nearly three thousand years of history—from the ancient Secession of the Plebs to the 2017 protests of the Confederate Soldiers Monument in Durham, from Sojourner Truth to Naoto Matsumura—these posters pay tribute to the long-standing human legacy of revolution, creative activism, and grassroots organizing. In this book, contemporary artists imagine and interpret often-overlooked events and figures in movements for racial justice, women's rights, queer liberation, labor organizing, and environmental conservation.

Dig this? Check out a mural I did that was in the book "Painting The Streets"

She Hit Me First! By Robert Mossi Alexander (Cover Art)

Yo, this is a new middle grade book written by author Robert Mossi Alexander (Can't Let Nobody Ride My Bike) that I illustrated and designed the cover for. Rob is a great writer who has written s a short and introspective piece about growing up, the cycle of violence, healing, and being a positive change. He also collaborated on the book with his daughter Lauryn Taylor Alexander who created the majority of the art for the book via chapter illustrations.

Here's the synopsis of the book from Rob:

Jamillah is an upbeat preteen who desires a better life. She longs for real friendship but seems to keep spoiling her chances by hitting anyone who comes close. She also wants a good life for her mum and sister, but every time she tries, it doesn't end well. Fortunately, she meets a classmate-who wants to be friends with her-and has a teacher, who both help her to deal with her habit of hitting people. Still, it doesn't end there-a lot more trouble, and adventure awaits Jamillah as she makes attempts to show kindness to others and to change her world for the better.An intriguing tale of self-discovery, support, and determination, She Hit Me First is a book that uses great story-telling to inspire readers to believe that no matter the circumstances, one can still create positive change in the world.

Get the book here: LINK

Here's a bit of the process of making the artwork.

thumbnail

rough

sketch

color sketch

final!

Follow Robert Mossi Alexander here at Hood 2 Higher Education

Wanna see more? Here's the last Middle Grade cover I illustrated.

John Jennings on Afrofuturism

This is such a great talk by John about the history of Afrofuturism and Black independent comics. I feel a sense of revitalization from this talk. Its a helpful reminder that our people have been doing this and continue to make stories with or without attention.