BACK 2 THE BASICS

Ok hey everyone I really need to get back to this whole blogging thing. Suprisingly I been getting comments from people to update this thing with some posts. So you asked for it and I will provide. Hope everyones holidays were all good and enjoyable.But yes back to the ART. Sooo I have been doing a lot of figure sketching and close-up, detailed sketches of celebrities as you all may have already seen. I think I will be a bit more consistent with it now though that I am getting a lot of feedback from it all. So help me pick a day where I will update you all with some figure studies and whatever else treats I want to pull out of my sketchbook.

hmmmm

Im thinking Saturday. So I am going to try to keep it very consistent and make this a serious thing. This will help me keep my fluidity going and I wont forget my roots. So every Saturday look out for some figure studies by me and I may even drop a few special things from my sketchbook. MAS Saturdays yall

#staytuned

1st Self-Portrait Digital Painting

Got my new computer now and I'm back to work with filling orders, sending invoices, and internship work. I figured since I was having a little creativity block, that I would sketch a bit. I ALWAYS sketch when I'm having a block, it helps get my hand moving and creativity flowing. You should see my sketchbook. However, today I figured I do some sketching on the computer, seeing that I was already on it. I started to sketch an image I took of myself off of my phone. The sketch led to a caricature, which led back to being a fine art study, then to a painting, into a piece!

Here's my creative process below. Oh and to add... I believe this is my 1st digital self-portrait painting. Only took me an hour. I only changed the mode on my brush once ("Multiply") for very minor touch-ups, the rest is all under the "Normal" brush mode

THIS FCNY LOOKS INCREDIBLE

Yo this is the newest addition of Flight Club up in NY... on 812 Broadway. Its soooo huge up in there and im looking at these pics... that fitted wall is just massive. I see a few kicks I NEED to pick up already (Lightning 4s, Luckys, Motorsport 4s)!! It has soo much space up in there. Looks like it was maybe an old warehouse or truck garage or something!! I need to make moves up to NY now to see this for myself

WHAT!!!!!!!!! OMG THIS IS SICK

not much needs to be said but..... WATCH THIS !!!!!

SNEAKERHEAD SERIES

ok so many of you all are either following me or have me as a friend. You have seen the multiple posts of hints and pictures of the pieces for this Sneakerhead Series, or as you may see in my posts "#sneakerhead #art series" well stay tuned because I have many new pieces coming out daily as you can see. I have finished my Jordan segment of it and now I have move on to the vast possibilites of Nike. Heres some form the series that are just sick to me:

Send Help

Pigeons

Charcoals

Thunder n Lightning


Check out the rest >>HERE<< STAY TUNED FOR MORE!!

ARTICLES, FEATURES, INTERVIEWS

I meant to post this up a while ago, but haven't really had the time to blog lately with work, packing to go back to Philly, and moving. But as some as you may know I have been featured on a couple of other respected blogs due to my ART. Below are the links to my features CHECK IT OUT...

Food With Sole

Art of Day

...and I will soon be featured in a Sneakerhead book "Sole Mates" sooooo as I always say STAY TUNED

SHOES, SNEAKERS, KICKS, TENNIS, BABIES

As you may know I am a Sneakerhead, a Shoe Junkie, and addict for dope kicks. I admit it. I think about shoes probably as much as what studies say men think about sex:

Sex on the Brain

The idea that men think about sex every seven seconds, like the claim that we only use 10 percent of our brains, is often repeated but rarely sourced. The number doesn't bear up against scrutiny. According to theKinsey Report (Sexual Behavior in the Human Male), 54 percent of men think about sex every day or several times a day, 43 percent a few times a week or a few times a month, and 4 percent less than once a month. Even though the Kinsey Report relies on men to self-report on how often they think about sex, it's still eye opening to find that just under half of men aren't even thinking about sex once a day. Clearly, the seven-second rule may be a tad hyperbolic.

^^^quoted from Psychology Today^^^

Yea that much. I go on sneaker blogs, follow numerous sneaker news accounts on Twitter, have a sneaker release date app on my Blackberry, and have a list of Shoes to Get that has grown over the years. Its an obsession! In some of my previous art you can see the influence of shoes in a majority of the pieces. If they aren't literally added into a piece, I may use a certain colorway to determine my color palette for a piece. It has gotten to the point before where my peers would expect some type of sneaker-related piece from me, especially in high school. So from then on I took a break from have kicks in my art because Im a well-rounded artist. I don't stick to one thing. I have numerous target markets I can connect to. Although I did use colorways to help my color palette.

Im at the point in my life now where I appreciate the joy and benefit of doing series. I have numerous series ideas in my head and my sketchbooks are getting filled up. On another note, what better series to start off with than my roots, sneakers. I am making this series to touch base with my Sneakerhead community. Each piece I do in this series will relate to the sneakers nickname. For example Powder Blue Jordan 9s= a baby holding the 9s upside down with powder spilling out of the shoe onto the floor......... (that's actaullay not a bad idea... lemme write that down) Some colorways of shoes get nicknamed by us, the consumer and those are my models. This series will consume of Jordans and Nikes (the brands that typically get named). STAY TUNED keep check up on my Twitter or on my Facebook for updates

OOOO!!!!!!!! nd below is the 1st one of the series (!!!!!!!!!!bonus!!!!!!!!!!) AQUA JORDAN 8s

Collabs Done Right: GShock X Starstyling

I am definitely in agreement with alot of the "collaborations" with GShock being mediocre. Alot of the collaborations are very simplistic and easily done. A collaboration should be a fusion of two styles to create a piece of work. With a lot of the collaborations with GShock it reveals to me that some of these brands don't have a particular style that stands out from the rest. Hmm I love collaborations that really PUSH the limit and possibilities. Ones that really made me look into the people's previous work. This collab GShock did with Starstyling def made me do some research on this Co.!!!! Heres what Highsnobiety.com had to say:

It all started with collaborations with brands such as A Bathing Ape and in recent years every other brand seems to be working with the Casio G-Shock brand on a special make-up of the iconic digital watches. In some cases we still get surprised, in others it is not more than a simple print on the watch strap and one does not really understand what the purpose behind the collaboration actually was. As with all things, if it works, it will eventually get exploited. I think one can safely say that with the G-Shock collabo game we have arrived at a point where it is getting a little boring.

Today we had the chance to get a behind the scenes look at an upcoming collaboration with Berlin based fashion brandStarstyling and they actually show, that it can also be done differently. Watching the designers in the atelier work on the over 20 custom watches that will be released in the coming weeks was a great experience. Just like with everything Starstyling, expext the unexpected. Wooden beads, colorful metal bangles, fur and a lot more is being used and suddenly you see that it is all about choosing the right collaborator. Starstyling is very edgy and certainly not for everybody, but that is a good thing. The watches that you see in this behind the scenes look will be be used in the Starstyling fashion show during Berlin fashion week beginning of July and 20 of them will go on sale as a pack, including matching jewelry and a matching t-shirt. They will all be one-off pieces. Some sets will also go on a tour for display. Watch out for more information on the project soon.

via HighSnobiety

^^ my favorite one^^

We have a special guest on our flight... so for your viewing pleasure sit back & click

Hug Hearts aka my girl Lisabutt.... like what can I say about her??!! We have such a great past and present so far. Had our ups and downs with different things. But I can def say she is an amazing person!!! So much to offer, so much space to take in things, so much creativity, & so much to say to the world... Even though she may not feel like she is, she is one of the great artistic ppl I know. whether its her poems, views, lil silly stuff, or openness... she takes on many artistic adventures she may not even know she took. In her blog she speaks on many interesting topics from going on in her life, music she just getting hip to, to lil poems n pics she created. So give it up y'all for Miss Lisa PW aka Lisa Payton (FB) aka Lisabutt aka Hug Hearts!!! Her blog is a very interesting read. Def need to check her out!

hughearts.tumblr.com

PS. lisabutt im not just doing this just because u got a few posts on me on there. its really a very interesting blog indeed

"My name Wale probably know me from the you know..."

Ok ya'll so Im starting this mini series of celeb caricatures and then taking them into the digital world. Im going off the top of the head of celebs that I listen to, have noticeable characteristics, have some type of influence on me, etc. etc. Sooooo first I got my man Mr. No Days Off, WALE FOLARIN. Me being from the DMV area, sneakerhead, and avid fan of Wale... i figured why not put em up.

This is my reference pic of Wale. Catching him in one of his comfortable, playful moods. He also showing off soon to be released kicks as he's known for doing. This pose just opened my mind on the possibilities that could be utilized.

graphite sketch of Wale buried in exclusive kicks

Finished and colored! Some of the kicks in here are featured in Wale's Top 50 Fav Kicks and some are kicks I have in my own collection.

NO NEW SITE!!!!!!!!

as you all may know, I recently went through a change in websites... I thought I wanted something more sleek and simple. Once I got it, I realized... I put in wayyyy too much hard work on this great site everyone loves to give it up that easily. SOOOOOOO until i start gettin really sick in web design and get my own domain name... this is my permanent website: www.wix.com/maskreation/mas

TELL A FRIEND, UR NEIGHBOR, ANYONE IN NEED OF SOME ARTISTIC TALENT, AND A BIG TIME GUY lol

KAWS Interview

As you all know Brian "KAWS" Donnelly is highly influential in my artwork and lifestyle so here's a great interview on the artist himself. He talks about his artwork, respected clothing line Original Fake, toy design, and just being an artist. Check it out.



Check out more of the clips from KAWS and Pharrell interviewing each other. Great creative conversations

Ok so I figured we go for another trip

You thought I'd just let you guys go and leave my journey... oh no no no noooo we've still got "ground" to cover deep deep in the depths of my mind. HYPERSPACE TIME TRAVEL!!!!!!