I SWEAR it's NOT Common!

here's a portrait i was recently commissioned to do by a friend. no, i'm not friends with the rapper Common (so don't ask for his cell ladies... i don't have it) or Morpheus from the Matrix trilogy. Al is way cooler than those guys anyways, so i'm glad to be HIS friend instead! and he's already spoken for, so i can't give you HIS celly either, girls...
so anyways, here's the sketch joint i did for him. done with brush pens.
hope y'all like it!
holla!
-samax
Ziontific.com

New Comics Pages

here's the first two pages to Permenant Residents, the new story i'm working on for my client. i'll try to post my progress here weekly, although i'm still not sure what day i'm going to be posting on... we'll see what works best as we go. click them to enlarge (they should be legible...) let me know how you're liking it... holla!
-samax
Ziontific.com

my first Father's Day

photos by Jenice Johnson.
i'm sitting down to work after enjoying my very first Father's Day! of course the weekend got off to a bang on friday when my wife Charlene gave me my first ever Father's Day Gift (a bicycle, which i REALLY wanted, but was not expecting!) and card. i had no idea how special it would make me feel to get one until i actually got it! i mean, i'm still getting used to the idea that i am someone's daddy (not to mention husband, but that's a whole 'nother blog post), but to then have someone say "happy Father's Day" to me, and realize the "Father" in that sentence is ME? kind of a big deal...

so anyways with day one made memorable by my new calorie-burning wheels, on to day two. the ArtLoveMagic Father's Day show (which, since it was on Saturday, i consistantly referred to as the "Father's Day Eve Show") was off the hinges! thanks to all my Twitter f(r)iends that came out, and a sincere "nice to meat'cha" to all the fine folks i met for the first time. i sold some comics and prints, and made some useful contacts. but most of all, it was just a fun show. accomplished photographer Jenice Johnson took lots of cool pics of all the dads and families in attendance (including the pics shown here of my daughter Marley and me), and i just really enjoy it when my girls can be with me while i'm working! i was already shoulder deep in my art hustle when my wife and i got together, but marriage and fatherhood have motivated me more, so that my daughter can grow up believing that it's possible to make a living doing what you love. having Charlene and Marley around sometimes to watch and help out is a great feeling!

After the show, we stayed in a hotel. we checked out this morning and went out to eat, dropped by the comic shop (yay!) and ran around a little before coming home and chilling out around the homestead. so all in all, a great and memorable holiday weekend. after not having as much of a relationship with my own dad as i would have liked (RIP Daddy... love you!), and not being much of a holiday person anyway, i was pleasantly surprised at how much i enjoyed my first Father's Day. i hope you enjoyed yours just as much!
peace,
-samax.
Ziontific.com

Happy Father's Day Weekend!

"BARACK.... I AM YOUR FATHER!"
"I will NEVER turn to the Dark Side... NIGGA, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!"
yo, everybody have a safe Father's day weekend. i wasn't close with my Dad growing up, now that i have a family of my own, i'm glad to be able to celebrate. Yesterday, my wife gave me a great Father's day gift (a new bicycle... don't laugh! i really WANTED one!), and tonight we will be at the ArtLoveMagic Father's Day Eve Show. if you're in Dallas, drop by and kick it with the artsy folks and our families! Live Art, Live Poetry, and breakfast buffet. hit up ArtLoveMagic.com for details and directions. but whatever you do, have fun, and be safe.
peace,
-samax
Ziontific.com

new Portrait

It's Just Goldie by Samax
piece from a recent sketch Portrait commission drive of one of my Twitter peoples... did this with watercolor pens and a little photoshop. i did a couple versions, but this is the one i liked the best.
peace,
-samax
Ziontific.com

ArtLoveMagic H4 was DOPE!

David Rodriguez and Playdough KILLED it at Hip Hop Helps Heal! Playdough is one of my favorite rappers, and David Rodriguez has got the live art performance on lock... so when the two combined unexpectedly at last weekend's Hip Hop Helps Heal show, it was out-of-control-awesome! ArtLoveMagic dropped the videos on their youTube page, and i combined 'em together into one playlist for easy viewin' pleasure!
enjoy!
-samax

Food, Art, Music, and Family

Hey Fam!
if you'll be in the Dallas area this Saturday, you're invited to my next show!
ArtLoveMagic is presenting a special celebration, dedicated to families, this Father's Day Eve. The event is only $5 to attend and features over a dozen area artists, musicians, and poets hanging out and performing in a fun casual environment. There will be interactive art, live music, live pottery and painting, and performances of poetry.

This will be a positive and inspiring experience that audience members of all ages can enjoy. If you'd like to attend, you can prebuy tickets for only $5 a piece at artlovemagic.com, or show up at the door and buy them for $8.
Presale tickets are availble only until Thursday evening. This event is in the Addison area at the Egg and I Restaurant (Monfort and Arapaho), 15203 Knoll Trail Dr, Dallas, TX 75248
Art and Music are not the only things on the menu...The Egg and I will present a $5 buffet available on site. Trust me- you'll want to try it.
Their food rocks and breakfast for dinner is cool. That's $10 for the event AND dinner. Can't be beat.
Artists and performers will have work for sale so bring some extra cash if you'd like to go home with an original piece of art or a print. I'll have books magazines and some original stuff too. so come hang out with me and my family and celebrate Father's Day weekend!
peace, love, etc.
-samax
Ziontific.com

Puff Draft

i did this a few years ago, when i first started freelancing. The client owns a shop that makes stuff for people in black fraternities and sororities. after doing a few pieces for him, he just stopped giving me work all at once. he never told me what the problem was, and to my knowledge never printed any of the pieces i made for him.
i thought maybe other people just didn't like the style i used, but when i included it in my book Spontaneous, people always reacted well to it. now i print copies for shows, and I always sell at least one. Not being in a fraternity myself, i never really got into that business, so i really only have a few of these pieces. this one is the 2nd most popular, so i keep printing it. if you want one of these, let me know.
i've found that while i am not the most popular artist, people who like what i do REALLY like what i do. so if that's you, i sure appreciate it. if not, that's alright too!
peace,
-samax
Ziontific.com

DALLAS! Fight Domestic Violence with ArtLoveMagic this Saturday.

i'll be in the house doing live art for this Hip Hop show benefitting The Genesis Women's Shelter in Dallas. If you're gonna be in Dallas on Saturday June 13th, swing by the Bone and drop $5 to help stop Domestic Violence. among others, look for the poets and artists of ArtLoveMagic, plus the rhyming excellece of Playdough, Solomon Infinite, and more, combining to bring you more art, rapping and assorted what not than you can shake a stick at. let your weekend boozing serve a purpose! i'll be doing live art, and i'll bring some books and other stuff to sell. sponsored by mad folks... click the flyer to enlarge.
holla!
-samax

Serene...

Serene by samax.
here's a portrait i did for my girl Serena Wills, a poet and arts activist, and one of the coolest chicks you'll ever meet... i first met her because she works with my wife Charlene, but i've been pleased to work with her professionally around Dallas with Art Conspiracy and ArtLoveMagic. if i managed to capture a fraction of her majestic nature, i'm better at this than i thought!
peep her poetry here.
peace,
-samax
Ziontific.com

Buy/Rate/Review My Book on Amazon!

those geniuses at Lulu.com decided to list my book Spontaneous: Spring 2008 on Amazon.com! that's awesome because i know some people don't want to buy it straight from me (for whatever reason). in other totally awesome news, Lulu has removed the 30% markup they put on the books they list! so you can get that joint for just $24.95. anyways, if you already have it, help me out by going to amazon and rating it and writing a review. i appreciate the feedback, plus it helps them recommend the book to people they think will like it. once your review is visible, send me a link and there might be a FREE gift in it for you!
thanks,
-samax
Ziontific.com

getting my MANGA on...

KaMu by Samax (click to enlarge)
during my Sketch Fundraiser last week, one girl popped up asking for a drawing of her original comicbook character KaMu. it was a nice change of pace, since for the most part, i'm doing fairly realistic portraits for the Sketch Drive. this was particularly fun to draw. i banged it out with a ballpoint pen i stole from my wife. hey! she gaffled it from her job... i just took it back for the black man!
so anyways, lemme know what you think! and if you want one of these, click the Sketch Portrait link on the sidebar (or get a character drawing FREE with purchase of my book Spontaneous, also for sale on the sidebar)
-samax

Back To The Drawing Board

Okay, so last week i finished the graphic novel i was working on for my client, and i just finished reading the script for my SECOND assignment from them! this one is a little bit shorter, but it will still be a great assignment for me. this one will give me a chance to work on my horror storytelling skills. it's a prequel to the previous books, focusing on some of the older characters when they were younger, and revolves around ghost stories!
the vignettes in the script focus on different sub-genres (a period story set around the Alamo, a tragic love story, and a super-spooky cautionary tale), so i will get a chance to REALLY stretch and show what i can do, as well as solve problems on a tight schedule. On the last project, i really learned a lot, which will contribute to even better planning and execution this go-round.
I went in to visit the client on Friday, and they were extremely pleased with my work, so i'm really looking forward to doing it better and faster on this one!
peace,
-samax

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