I finally see the link between the quality of the pencil sketch and the quality of the painting that willcover it..  even though the lines and shades I drew don’t show through the painting.. the details of the sketch act as a guide for the painting to come..  the investigations of angle and shade and perspective done during the initial sketch serve as  a preview.. all those insights gained during the sketch come into play during the painting..

Somebody cry for me..
For my family..
Please don’t go on with your day..
Leave me on your mind..
Remember how I fell to the ground..
The way my blood bled back to the earth..
Please remember the disaffected half grins
of the onlookers..
The shame in their eyes..
17 years old..
Remember my mother crying out her heart..
How she will never be the same..
How it made you wanna holler and yell
and scream with frustration..
And blame..
That my death could not possibly
be the only solution.. to me–The problem.

In Loving Memory of Anthony Lawrence Butler, Oakland’s 80th homicide of 2006

FREEDOM !,

he cried.

FREEDOM !

Make way for

FREEDOM !

In all her glory,

For pure radiance

in physical form–

FREEDOM

Speak to me, said Freedom to the Drum,

tell me a tall tale,

enrapture me with your energy,
pulsing pounding through my soul,

Captivate me with your Harmony,

of Ryhthmn, said Freedom–to the Drum. 

Our hands–yours and mine.
are gifts bestowed
with loving intentions
of practicality
for the sowing of seeds
and harvesting of nourishment.

Our hands, yours and mine,
were made to turn ideas into
opportunities
and to prosper from the fruit
of our own labor