Elephants Birdie - March 2020

““Everything you can imagine is real.” ”

— Pablo Picasso

Elephants Birdie. Completed March 2020. Painting on 24”x 36” Canvas

This painting was fun. The blue background stood for a few weeks and most people thought it was the actual painting. Makes me think that simpler background-like paintings will be something on future canvases. The birds are in and around the elephant symbolizing the presence on the ground and the sky. Love this painting.

What song comes to mind when I think look at this painting? Benny Benassi’s, “Come Fly With Me.”

“I’m glidin’ in the beautiful sky,
It’s such a clear day.
Go ridin’ in,
Your sweet lullabies,
Come fly away.”

— https://www.lyricfind.com/

Origin - February 2020

“Creativity is not a competition.”

— Autumn Sky Hall

Origin. Acrylic Painting on 36”x 48” Canvas. Completed February 2020

Origin is one of my personal favorites. My neighbor Dona C. Mann and I decided to exchange original works, and this was my contribution to their collection of art. I therefore asked Donna to write a few lines of her thoughts on the painting. See her thoughts below:

“Having taught English, literacture and social studies most of my thirty years, I felt most engaging when focusing on the origins of civilization.

The stories of the Fertile Crescent and African Villages fascinated me then as they do even more so today. IN order to model my teacher/student creed, “I’ll never ask you to do anything I would not do,” I conducted my own action research research project on elephants.

My love for them and intrigue with their societal behaviors instilled a great respect after that experience. Imagine how exciting I was to move next door to an amazing family who sponsor elephants in their native Kenya.

When Zikki presented the surprise painting to me, my first reaction was, “Origin of the Species.” His simple reply? “I named this work Origin.”

Whenever I look at this piece of art, I am blessed that we share such an amazing connection with the country of Kenya and the ever evolving African Continent.”

— Dona C. Mann

When I asked Dona, what song comes to mind when you look at the painting, she said, “Circle of Life.”

“In the circle of life
It’s the wheel of fortune
It’s the leap of faith
It’s the band of hope
’Til we find our place
On the path unwinding
In the circle, the circle of life”

— Circle of Life

Thank you Donna.

Empowered - January 2020

“Creativity is contagious. Pass it on”

— Albert Einstein

Empowered. Completed January 2020. Acrylic Paint on 36”x 48” Canvas

Empowered is my first canvas and it sit right behind my office desk. The painting is a conversation starter and it’s painted on a large 36'“x 48” canvas. The green is well known to pick up '‘Green Screen” virtual backgrounds on Zoom conference calls, a definite eye pleaser.

This painting took close to 3 weeks to complete because I knew what was in my head but depicting it well was my main concern. If you know me, then you know that the slim fitting jeans and Chukka Boots are part of my regular attire. So yes, it’s a mix between my style and a serious elephant pointing at you or another to stay empowered and empower others.

If this painting could be in a song, it would be a mix between “Positive Vibration,” Bob Marley with a Jimi Hendrix mash-up. Empowering lyrics from the song:

Say you just can't live that negative way
If you know what I mean
Make way for the positive day
'Cause it's news (new day) news and days
New time (new time), and if it's a new feelin' (new feelin'), yeah
Said it's a new sign (new sign)
Oh, what a new day

Hope this empowers you to do and be better.

Droplets Elephant - May 2018

"Creativity is intelligence having fun." -- Albert Einstein

Droplets Elephant. 6ftx6ft. Wall Art. Completed May 2018

This is by far the simplest painting I’ve done. The entire project took less than 5 hours.

The idea was fresh on my mind and my passion for elephants was depicted well in this painting. Would you imagine the frame was created by spraying black paint over blue painting tape.

A song that comes to mind when I look at this painting is Burna Boy’s, Anybody. It’s a great song, especially when Burna hits that chorus,

“Anybody, wey no want to soji
Anybody, wey no dey carry body
Nack am something, ah ah
Nack am something
To ba ta fele, fele
Nack am something
”

— https://genius.com/Burna-boy-anybody-lyrics

The song is as African as this Elephant, but is listened to globally as the African Elephant is respected and celebrated globally. It’s a beauty and makes me proud to have the painting in my garage.

Got Stung While Painting →

When painting, I prefer to do so outside due to summer heat and humidity. Usually have a beer and water on the table beside my painting supplies. This was the case on August 1, 2020, as I worked on my latest painting.

The first few hours were very productive as you can see on the video above. Then a Yellow Jacket Bee appeared and as we got a fly swatter, he disappeared. Five or so minutes later, I decided to sip on my beer for my short break.

Reached and lifted to drink the beer while contemplating the next stroke of my paint brush on the painting. As the beer sipped into my mouth, I felt a sharp, stinging pain at the very tip of my tongue. It was very difficult to control my reaction and the paintbrush fell directly to the floor as I started trying to dislodge whatever it was that was stuck on my tongue. A few seconds later, the sting was at the tip of my index finger and the pain was setting in.

The Beer Loving Bee

Once this guy stung my tongue, he was done. I feel for him.

In an effort to remain calm, I sat down and quickly Googled what to do when stung by a Bee on the tongue. Most advice was for pets and not humans, so got ice to cool it down, and drunk a few glasses of water. To disinfect, got a double shot of Jameson.

Long story short, I wouldn’t wish that on your or anyone else. Moral of the story, bees like beer and are very defensive. From today on, I’ll be drinking beer from a Beer Glass.

Cheers!