Hoo - tang clan final drawing
healed heart / hoo tang clan sketch
A girl asked me if i would tattoo a owl on her or the wu tang logo. I remembered a tattoo that my buddy Pedro said he did, I replied, why not do both? I tried to draw something simple enough for me to tattoo. I think it turned out pretty cute. Let’s see if she digs it.
Some little things I may turn into something bigger later. Let me know if anything fancies you.
Star Quality / Forever Young
Snake, diamond, banner / rollerskate boot
Just finished this Flash for a chest peice (or tramp stamp God forbid). I still need to do another pass from scratch to redraw the banner and tree, but I thought I would share just in case I don’t get around to it anytime soon.
This was a lot of fun. I’m gonna draw a smaller version as well, for the less adventurous.
Who?
pencil version
Original drawing from sketch book.
Interesting , I didn’t know how popular owl tattoos were until I saw this website. Dope.
This has been a good month for the Black kids on Bikes. We got some pretty great press in a bicycle magazine called Momentum. You can read the article here.
Momentum Magazine - 42
There was also a significantly long article on me, the black kids on bikes, some of my past work and my plans for the future in ALARM Magazine. My scanner is literally being held together by tape so you’ll have to go out and buy the issue. It’s the one with OM on the cover. My name is on the top right, next to Ian Svenonius’. Here are some pics.
ALARM magazine - issue 36
ALARM mag - 36
A friend of mine had an idea for a tattoo. His initials in a diamond, with a snake wrapped around it. He actually came to me with a decent drawing but the initials concept was lost in it.
I’ve been on an American traditional tattoo kick lately so I reinterpreted it in that style.
This is my interpretation.
If he digs it, I’ll be attempting this in ink in the coming months. Stay tuned for an update on this one.
If you ask me what I’m doing at any given time chances are Ill either be looking after Hollis or drawing. Currently I’m working on a Signs of the Zodiac series. These are the first two signs.
Of course, I’ll be coloring all these in eventually too.
Aires
Taurus - in progress
Turn on your humor for these.
"One Way or Another"
"Talk Derby to Me"
"wanna lick?"
"Blow Me"
Quick Pencil Sketches.
"Love hurts" - not in my case of course.
"Mile high"
You can read all about my move to the tattoo arts here. Every week I practice small pieces on friends. Here is this weeks go.
It’s also nice to see how people are integrating them into there lives. I think Im gonna like this medium.
emoni fela / black flag bars
dakarla kilpatrick / her own design
For just over a year now I have been converting old ten speeds to Fixed or Single Speed. My prices are such that I tend to get a lot of first time riders on the road. I like that. Here are some of my favorites. You can see the entire collection on my facebook page. Here is the public link. Add me as a Friend if you wish.
My New Ride
REPRINTED FROM BLACK GROVES
Title: White Lies, Black Sheep
Artist: James Spooner (director)
Label: Renew Media
Catalog No.: N/A (no commercial DVD release)
Date: 2007
White Lies, Black Sheep is the work of James Spooner, a modern day Renaissance man. In addition to being an independent filmmaker and producer, Spooner has sculpted, promoted records, built custom-made bicycles, danced in an iPod commercial, founded the Afro-Punk Festival in Brooklyn, and co-founded the Freedom Rides-an organized bicycle ride supporting black community building in Los Angeles. His most recent projects include tattoo art and fatherhood.
Spooner’s own experiences with alienation and negotiating multiple identities have served as the motivation behind both of his films. Although Spooner has spent most of his post-toddler days living on the West and East Coasts of America, he was born in the Caribbean nation of Saint Lucia to a black father and a white mother. In an interview with Konstantin from Defkon City Presents, Spooner describes how he had always thought of Saint Lucia as home until he returned there for a visit. Initially immune to the exclusionary forces he faced as one of the only black people in a predominantly white punk scene, Spooner found this visit to be a life-altering experience. He quickly discovered that he knew little about life and culture in Saint Lucia and that there his biracial identity caused people to label him as a white outsider.
Spooner’s desire to fit in caused him not only to re-evaluate his racial identity, but to question how he could be so involved and politically active in a predominantly white punk world without addressing its glaring racial issues. This new racial consciousness inspired his creation of the film Afro-Punk, which Spooner used to open communication among black members of the punk community. The film soon developed a cult following and served as the driving force behind the first Afro-Punk Festival in 2005.
After the success of his documentary film Afro-Punk, Spooner has released his first narrative film. Promoted as a semi-autobiographical tale or a pseudo-documentary, White Lies, Black Sheep closely parallels Spooner’s own experiences. The main character, Ajamu “AJ” Talib, is a concert promoter for the underground rock scene in Brooklyn, New York. Much like Spooner, the seed for AJ’s awakening is planted by a visit home-although in this case the visit is to his father’s apartment as opposed to his home country. During his train trip to the apartment, AJ is clearly uncomfortable as he tries to blend in with other black community members. He even goes so far as to hide his punk hairstyle when the other passengers heckle his appearance and accuse him of thinking that he’s white. Once at the apartment, AJ’s father confronts him over his involvement in the punk scene and his need to educate himself about black issues.
Throughout the film, AJ receives pressure from both his white friends and members of various black communities to conform to black social norms. People criticize his clothing and hair (when he doesn’t hide it) and his best friend encourages him to adopt an afro hairstyle, listen to R&B, read Malcolm X, and date black women.
After two failed attempts to start a relationship, AJ’s internal crisis goes into overdrive and he gradually begins to give in under social pressure to conform. He starts to explore black social venues and to study the lives and works of Fela Kuti and Malcolm X. When AJ starts getting too close to his best friend’s black girlfriend and attempts to incorporate black dancers into the shows he promotes, the racist backlash from his friends and the club owner severely shakes his devotion to the rock scene.
Perhaps one of the more interesting aspects of the film is the integration of Spooner himself into the film. Playing the role of a documentary cameraman, Spooner refuses to remain a detached observer. He almost plays the role of the film’s antagonist as he forcibly documents the darkest moments of AJ’s downward spiral of self-destruction. By not allowing him to turn away from his own inner turmoil, the camera serves as a catalyst for AJs final crisis. Whether Spooner is ultimately a demon tearing AJ’s life away or an angel facilitating his rebirth by forcing him to recognize and let go of the things that are hurting him, however, is a matter of perspective.
Unfortunately, White Lies, Black Sheep doesn’t appear to be available to the general consumer market as of yet (although you can purchase educational copies through the Afro-Punk website for around $300-extremely reasonable as far as educational sales go). If you’re local to Bloomington, however, you can catch the film for free at 7:00 PM on Friday, 6 Nov. 2009 as part of the City Lights & Underground film series. More details on the screening are available on the City Lights & Underground website.
As part of the Reclaiming the Right to Rock conference on Friday, 13 Nov. 2009, Spooner will participate in a Q&A session following a free screening of Afro-Punk. See the official conference website for details.
So my first tattoos are free to who ever is willing to let me practice on em. Pedro is watching as I go, but hasn’t had to step in for the last few.
Here some of what I’ve done so far. Baby steps, but I’m pleased.
