Heartwood
Oils on board
16x24 inches
A new illustration for Heartwood: Non-Binary Tales of Sylvan Fantasy, a comic anthology by @powerandmagic // edited by @joamettegil. It’s gonna be so good! Lots of great participating enby comic artists! My eternal thanks goes out to Joamette for creating a space for Non-binary and QPOC artists!
This news of tumblr is unfortunate. I’ve learned so much because of the vibrant communities of artists, qpoc, nerds, meme generators, and all the lovely intersections in between. I *literally* met my husband here on tumblr, and the course of my life has really changed because of the power of Sailor Moon, viral posts, love, and online friendships blooming into so much more. So Tumblr will forever hold a place in my heart.
In recent years, Tumblr devolved between the bots and blind eye to racist-vile-violence and I simply posted to reach more of you that support my artwork. I’ll still keep my account open, and am planning to archive everything. But to keep up with me and my artwork you can follow me at
It feels strange because there is definitely this feeling of my internet communities being fractured. So hopefully a new platform can fulfill the needs of all of us, or perhaps an old platform can do a lil rebirth.
Anyway see you all on Instagram and Twitter!
Maybe I’ll do some drawings of nipples and genitalia now!
Felt antsy about not moving paint around, so here is a small sketch of the one and only @kwaye.
Kwaye is one of my top favorites of the past year or so!
Vocals? Smooth, controlled, delicate and powerful and soaring, textured, and such luscious harmonies.
Dancing? The polyrhythms of the diaspora live in Kwaye’s body. It’s joyful to watch. And then his style, his videos, and his colors are lovely. I look at his videos such as What Have You Done, Cool Kids, and Sweetest Life to anchor myself and my art in what contemporary joy and resilience can look like (when I feel like I’ve been drawing too many characters from the spirit world)
The music? Such rich productions and layered songwriting. The music is just so soulful and warm, whether it’s a bop or a mooooood.
Sometimes as an african-queer-intersectional-creator with braids, I get used to micoraggressions that boil down to “Hey! This person is black and creative. They even have braids/locs! You would like them”. So it is such a joy when, the music and creativity truly resonates and touches the soul.
#sketchbook #kwaye #love&affliction #acrylicpainting #odera #oderaigbokwe
https://www.instagram.com/p/BppjQQXBpcZ/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=aylxxz2izs9w
Today I have a painting available for sale on everydayoriginal.com. I’ve spoken about Django Jane and how it’s empowered me in the past. So today I just want to focus on my personal experiences with @janellemonae .
Firstly, Janelle Monae is one of my top top favorites! I remember first discovering her around Violet Stars Happy Hunting, and falling in love with the world of Metropolis she was crafting. I was just graduating from Highschool when I started listening to her, and immediately I felt so seen, heard, and embraced by her music. I would carry my “Imagination inspires nations” pin way too many places. The genre defying music, the afrofuturism, the storytelling, the LAYERS of her music, complete with amazing vocals, bombastic dance and energy, and the band and production and the list goes on.
Then I saw her live and was completely blown away. Central Park in 2008. The early years at Afropunk. Touring with Raphael Saadiq. Seeing my first Erykah Badu show, and Janelle opening.
I remember in this third picture, we were simply waiting in line at the venue in the streets of NYC and Janelle really just drove up and entered the hall. She was so warm, so kind, gracious, and genuine. I could tell she was busy and in work mode and yet she stopped to greet us and was so thankful that we were waiting in line to see her. And then later when she performed she gave us so much love and energy! She put her trust in us to help her start crowd surfing. And I believe during Come Alive or Cold War she poured water on us, danced with us, and the entire show was a true energy exchange that felt so sacred. It was the embodiment of the power of music and performance. And I’ll never forget those moments. Despite being a different art form, she has absolutely been formative to my artistry.
Now I’m just hoping for another opportunity to see her live! I missed her when she came to vancouver for Dirty Computer. And it’s been toooo long since I’ve seen her live. (Maybe before electric lady was officially released??)
#djangojane #janellemonae #dirtycomputer #fandroid #femthefuture #imaginationinspiresnations
https://www.instagram.com/p/BpFQ1QTBqa0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1gu1s7pdq8hxd
I hadn’t done a comic since my days at RISD. Even just a few pages was really nerve wracking and required me to rewire my process. But I am so glad I participated in Hana Doki Kira volume 2! Here are a few panels from my 5 page comic featured in the anthology.
Hana Doki Kira is an anthology of comics and illustrations celebrating the shoujo genre. This volume focuses on the ~doki doki~ moment of romance when you can feel the SCREECH the SKrrt skRrtT of love.
The Kickstarter is live at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hanadokikira/hana-doki-kira-volume-2
We’ve got 19 days left to fully fund the project!! So be sure to check it out while you can.
#hanadokikira2 #shinelikekirakira #fallinginlove #romance #qpocart #qpoclove #selflove
https://www.instagram.com/p/BohNR1FBd0b/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=4204w57yrl7i
“Robyn Hood & The Tale of Reparations”
Oils & Acrylic on board. 18x24.
This was the illustration I started at The IMC this year. I learned so much from that experience, whether it was technique based or thinking about my art career. I am eternally grateful to the IMC Staff, the Muddycolors Scholarship, and my fellow artists who provided nothing but encouragement throughout the entire process.
More exciting updates soon!
