Upcoming show!!!/Happy Tuesday!!!!!!!!! Aug. 26,2008

This is a reminder about Art and Soul 2008 coming up this weekend in Downtown Oakland! (More info. can be found below.) I promise to have some new pieces as well as some old favorites. I will be on 14th st. about one block up from the main entrance on the left hand side (this is where I normally set up) and I look forward to seeing you! On the life side, I've been doing well and the family is doing wonderful. I have a dear friend that hasn't been doing well as of late but I know he will pull through. Going through the motions with him has really made me think about the order of my life and how the things you don't take care of will sit there and become an even bigger mess to clean later. I know from experience that the mere thought of tackling cleaning things up in your life can make you sick to your stomach but if you work on it a little bit at time it will surely make a difference in your life (which is better than complete denial that doesn't make the mess go away and can affect all parts of your life.) We are all connected and the things we do and don't do does affect not only ourselves but our loved ones as well. Don't forget to take care of yourself and if I don't see you this weekend have a great one! J

Happy Thursday!!!!!!!!!! July 18,2008

Hey all, I hope this e-mail finds you well. This summer has been a good one for me so far (mainly due to great summer movies!!!!) Creativity is a funny thing, it comes out of no where like an itch that is hard to reach and it will drive you crazy until you do something about it. That's where I'm at with mine. I've been doing a lot of behind the scenes stuff with my art (the unglamorous part) and now I starting my implementation phase (the actual brush to canvas part)so I'm very excited I've been sketching down ideas for the past couple of months so be looking out for a new wave of work from me soon! I also want to let you know about Art and Soul 2008 this Labor Day weekend in Downtown Oakland (updated info. can be found on my site.) Thanks for the support and please pass my site along to people you feel will appreciate my type of art! Be well and don't forget to take care of yourself! J

Happy Friday!!!!!!! June 20,2008

Happy Friday to everyone! No matter what craziness happens in life we always find a way to make it through it and I think to myself "you know life is good if you let it be." Be sure to let yourself have a good one! I have been busy with shows and working on new art but before I release my new work I would like to share some work I created in 1998! This was a really creative time for me and a lot of the work is the basis for some of my later work. Check it out on my site and let me know what you think. Till next time, take care of yourself and have a great weekend! J

Happy Fathers Day!!!!!!!!!! June 16,2008

Happy Fathers Day to all the fathers as well as the women who play the role of both mother and father. Being a parent is not an easy thing but it is a blessing to have the job to guide a life through this sometimes crazy world. This is your day of recognition! J

Happy Friday/ Mother's Day!!!!!!!!!!!! May 9,2008

Happy Mothers day to all the Moms and the daughters of Mothers that are Mothers themselves. Your job is not an easy one. Im a father and I know I give my all for my daughter but it doesnt compare to what Malayas mother gives and thats something I had to accept (its hard coming in second!)There are no instructions that come with children but yet and still you find your way to do right by the life you are put in charge of. Even if you couldnt give all that you wanted to give to your child you did give all that you had to give (and thats more than enough.) I am first to admit I dont know all the reasons behind the things that my mother has done but I do trust that they came from a good place and she felt they were the right choices for me and my siblings. On Sunday celebrate your day with your Mother (or Mother figure) with something as small as a call just to say your thinking of them. For the ones that Mothers are no longer here or you are not on speaking terms right now, send out kind thoughts to them and reflect on the sacrifices that were made for you to be here today! Love and blessing to all the Mothers, we couldnt be here without you! Till next time, dont forget to take care of your self! J

Happy Friday!!!!!!!!! April 18,2008

Happy Friday! April is a special month for me mainly due to the fact that it's the birth month of my daughter (4/11) as well as myself(4/16). I made 35 this year and I feel blessed to still be here to be able to complain about the little things (there is always something!) I have a lot of new work on the way but if you haven't been by the site (www.austinsart.com) in awhile you may see a few new things. Remember to focus on things that are important to you as well as goals for yourself, with out purpose it is easy to fill lost in the world. Enjoy every day you have, life only seems short when your not doing enough things that you enjoy, live a full life! Till next time, don't forget to take care of yourself! J

The passing of a fellow artist........Mar. 24,2008

It saddens to share the following information. A friend and fellow artist Casper Banjo(the main running theme in his work was images of bricks)was shot and killed Friday the 14th in Oakland near his home. I was fortunate enough to spend some time with him a few weeks before his passing (even though I had a busy schedule with family, in the middle of moving to a new home and art.) He had recently been on my mind and he happened to call me to see about getting together to catch up on things. Casper had pulled his life together after many life changing obstacles only a year ago and was now in pretty good spirits and was looking forward to future plans. We talked about life, family, hats and art (what else is there?) He shared with me some of his new work he was working on in his note pad he always keeps on him for his ideas for new pieces (and he even let me do his portrait in it!) Casper was dear to me and would pop into my life at just the right times with encouragement and words of wisdom. When you get those calls out of the blue from friends and loves that are on your mind be sure to make time for them, even if it's just a phone call. I don't believe we just walk around with happy accidents happening around us, things happen for a reason even if the reason isn't obvious at the time. I will greatly miss my friend and follow artist. Remember to take care of yourself! J

Here are two links about him:

video from channel 2 news
http://www.ktvu.com/video/15638020/index.html

article from an Oakland paper
http://www.insidebayarea.com/ci_8610629?source=most_emailed

Happy Friday Mar. 7, 2008

All I have for you this time is to remember to take time out to regroup and enjoy the spoils of all your hard work! Everyday can't be workday (we get weekends off for a reason!) Don't forget to take care of yourself! J

Happy Friday!!!!! 2/22/08

Happy Friday to you!!!!!!!!!!!! Please send happy birthday thoughts out to Rachel and John this happy Friday happens to fall on their birthday! This month for me has been all about change. I always have mixed feeling about change (well mainly the journey part) it's so easy to stay where you are and convince yourself that you are happy or fine with the situation when inside you know it not to be true. I always seem to go back to this song that I love by "speech" from the group arrested development that said something along the lines of: asking to be able to cope is not the same as asking for change which is the opposite and not the same! One you stay in the situation and you suffer though it and the other you are relieved from the old situation for a new one (preferably a better one!) So if your coping get to changing, you never go back by moving forward! Also I put on my site under "biography" then click "videos" is a performance by 3 of my favorite musicians! I hope you enjoy! Don't forget to take care of yourself! J

Happy Friday!!!!! 2/08/08

Happy Friday once again! Sorry for such a long break. Just like with my art I sometimes take a break to live a little so when I come back I will have something to say. In Dec. I got a chance to get away to visit my little big sister and her family in Arkansas which I needed more than I knew. It was a much needed time to re-connect with my sister who said something that really rang true, she said that "phone calls nd e-mails gives you a false since of connection as far as it being as good as seeing someone in person, but there is nothing like seeing a love one in person"(this is so true!) While out there I thought a lot about my life, my family and my art and how I need to get back connected to the things that are important me. The Sunday before I returned we all went to church (I don't go as much as I should) and the Pastor spoke about not getting so hung up on your past successes and focusing more about what you are doing now. It surprised me to hear that because I was thinking the same thing as far as when I try to talk myself out of doing things I know I need to do to move forward by saying to myself well I did this and I did that isn't that enough? Which in truth has nothing to do with what I need to do now. So that's what I wanted to share with you this time. Remember to take care of yourself! J

On the art front:
I will be at the reception for the Art of Living Black held at the Richmond Art Center 2540 Barrett Avenue Richmond, CA 94804 this Saturday the 9th from 3-5 pm. I thank everyone who made it to my reception on Wednesday; it was great seeing some faces I haven�t seen in a while! My show current at the �East Bay M.U.D Oakland Admin. Building, Second floor Lobby. The address is 375 11th Street between Webster & Franklin will be up until April 4th. The lobby is open to the public Monday-Friday, 8-4pm so if you in the area please stop by. J

What I've Been Up 2 Jul 9, 2007

A little of what I've been up to. I've been working on a new body of work that has mainly been mixed medium work; this is something I've wanted to try out for a while now. With my new work I have incorporated various mediums from paintings to drawings to photography as well as a digital element to create a new exciting interpretation of my work. Most of my new work in this series are open edition high quality Abstract and Contemporary art and will be available in two different sizes with a prices starting at $55 (and yes I am affordable!), I'm offering free shipping for the month of July, so if you see a piece that moves you get it now and it will be to you in 3-5days! I had a lot of fun coming up with these images and being able to share them with you now. Recently I did a Fathers day show at Morehouse College in GA and a tribute show for Duke Ellington at the Sojourner truth multicultural Art center in Sacramento CA. So please take a look around and see what's new at www.austinsart.com, I am sure you'll find a few pieces to add to your
Art collection and make part of your home! A big thing I've been thinking a lot about lately is that EACH DAY IS NOT PROMISED so make sure to take time out for yourself and do things that improve the quality of your life, even if it's a little something that will make you smile! Don't forget to be good to yourself! Till next time! J

Happy Friday Nov 2, 2007

Happy Friday once again! Things in our life happens so fast and I was reflecting on all the things I’ve been doing as well as the things I still have on my list to do and how bad I want to get through it all. When I was reflecting on that I started to I think of my daughter and how it’s so much different for her, this is her year of firsts. About a month ago she had solid baby food, about two weeks ago she had her first cold (I caught it and it almost killed me!) a month ago her first rain and this week her first Halloween. We need to slow down and take count of all the good things in our lives and realize there will always be something out there that we will need to do or fix. We have to stop putting so much pressure on ourselves to do everything right now, some things can wait. So that is my advice for you as well as for my self! I hope this e-mail finds you well. J

Happy Friday Oct 19, 2007

Happy Friday once again! First all thank you to everyone who made it to the reception last night as well as the ones who could not attend but wanted to. I saw some faces I haven’t seen in awhile and it really made evening, thank you! The show was beautiful and it’s not just because I’m part of it. There is art on two floors and all the artist work really compliments each other! One thing I first noticed while at a show in NY years ago was the large amount of diversity in the art of bay area artist, it’s a beautiful thing! The show will be up until January 06/2008 so there is plenty of time to make it by. I will like to once again thank you for all your support; it really helps me to know that I’m on the right track. The road of life sometimes gets confusion along the way but as long as you know where you want to be you will eventually get there if you keep pressing on! Remember to take a minute out for yourself this weekend, it’s been a long week and you deserve it! Happy Friday!!!!! J

Happy Friday Oct 5, 2007

Hello and Happy Friday once again! I don’t know how many of you are really into R n’ B music, but I wanted to give you heads up on two shows I’m looking forward to checking out next month one is Dionne Farris (she only has one album out that came out years ago and it’s still one of my all time favorites! She use to be the group “Arrested Development”) and the other is Bilal (he has only had one album as well and it’s a favorite of mine as well, he one of those people you think to yourself, “why don’t I hear him on the radio more often?”) and they will both be performing at Yoshi’s in November you can go to www.yoshis.com for more info. and I believe you can also here samples of there music there as well. As always I ’m working on new work and a have a couple of shows coming up (more info. coming soon!) I finally have my blog (A blog (a web log) is a website where entries are written in chronological order and commonly displayed in reverse chronological order.) up and running so go by and check it out. It’s www.austinsart.blogspot.com here you can comment about topics that I have posted, if there is a topic you would like to discuss let me know and I will add it to the blog for others to comment on. I heard from a childhood friend the other day (he’s like a brother to me) and it really made my day. It made me think of how people may not be part of your daily life and how easily they can be with a simple phone call! I know it’s hard but keep up with friends and love ones the best you can! I hope your Friday is going great so far and have a great weekend! J

Happy Friday #1 Jul 20, 2007

I’ve decided today that my mailing list (that means you!) will be my new sounding board for things that come across my mind (I promise not too often.) I was thinking this morning how we are all great in our on right even if we don’t know it or accept it. We were choosing to be here today and a lot of us are not here today to say that. My younger brother passed away several years ago and it has changed me forever. I use to worry about getting older and the thought of it use to frighten me, but since then I’ve been so thankful for every day I get! (Even when they are sometimes not the best of days.) well back to my point, I was thinking this morning that the time you need to be brave in your life is when you take that initial chance to go for your dreams and the other is when that dream is about to come true and you have to be brave to accept it! Many of times the things I wanted in life came to me but I was not ready to accept them and I turned away from them (that is something I am currently working on fixing!). So when you dreams do find there way to you, take them with open arms, you earned them (even when you don’t think you did!), you deserve them after all they even have your name on them!!!!
J