- Deep down, I probably knew that I always wanted to be an artist.

But not knowing the path to do that, not having examples is kinda like, "This isn't realistic," especially not being in a huge art city.

I felt like if I did have to do it, I'd have to leave Newport News.

(mellow beat music) I started off just sketching.

There's always paper, there's always pen.

So that's like my earliest source of art.

High school, I started getting more serious about my study, started learning new mediums, figuring out color, how to paint and whatnot.

But it still just always felt like a hobby maybe, 'cause there weren't too many examples here of successful artists that looked like me.

We were in a career assembly and accounting was the first on the list, and I was like, "Okay, that's a good salary.

I'm good at numbers."

I don't recommend that be the way (laughs) that you think why you go to school because the whole time I was there, I was thinking about drawing.

(music continues) 2020 was a perfect storm of things.

Working my job, I was like, "I don't wanna do this."

I feel like if I put all my emphasis on the thing that I actually wanna do, there's no way that I can't make it.

And so I said, "I'll save up enough to last me a few months and then in that few months, I need to make enough to last me a few more months," And that's when the pandemic hit.

And then, suddenly there were opportunities in the midst of so much loss.

(music continues) I helped an artist move a piece of artwork.

A week later, I'm helping her on a project.

I meet some of my best friends now and I'm just in the art scene.

(music continues) I had heard about the CAN, and then I saw that they were having a workshop.

It was just a great experience.

And it being in Newport News was like, "Wow, this is pretty magical."

(music continues) So to have paint on the building, on a street that I just casually drive up and down for my whole life was incredible.

This is so much more enriching.

I've never seen the city in this way.

(music continues) I was asking about studio space.

They were like, "We could wrap this into a residency."

It's time to come back to Newport News I guess.

(mellow rock music) First and foremost, I'm looking for people who look like they're staying a while, at least enough to get some kinda language down.

And then once I've picked my mark, I try to stabilize the body, whatever, like the most grounding forces.

Usually it's torso and hips, so I can get the main anchor of their body.

From there, I'll get the arms and the legs on, and then if they're still there, which usually they're not, these people are so kind right now.

I can get on the feet, the shoes, any identifying details that are fun.

But most importantly, I want that grounding expression.

It controls how the person moves and what mood and emotion they have.

It's really amazing how central art is to everyday life.

Even the very practical, tangible things, has some artistic aspect.

As a kid, I really, really loved basketball.

I just watched it way more than I played.

I was in the house reading books.

I started skating.

I always wanted to skate as a kid but I was like, "There ain't no black girl skaters."

I'd be skating now.

I'd be falling.

(music continues) It's just a freedom to the mind, agility, the flow.

It's all similar things I look for in my art.

(music continues) It was just fun to see how my mind learns a thing.

And then, the mind body connection.

If your core is not engaged, if you're not balanced, the shot's not going in.

You're gonna fall off your skateboard.

And so it's just been extremely helpful for its simple posture and being able to stand up on the ladder all day.

(mellow beats continues) Usually I'm a studio rat.

I don't wanna talk to nobody.

I wanna see nobody.

But just since starting this residency a year ago, it's just like, "I can't drop this," and it's because we traditionally haven't had these spaces.

If there were ever a chance to say everything, to not pull any punches, have a culminating show for this very special residency, what would it be?

And so Tremaine and I went through a lot of iterations of what the show would look like exactly.

but the underlying theme that was always central to our thoughts were our creative practice as the metaphor for spirituality and the sacrifices that come with becoming a full-time artist.

So this is meant to be a space for us to dive deep into our creation and really explore ourselves, but also to be a place for the community to do the same.

The sanctuary for creative freedom.

(music continues) So, try to invite as many people in so that can get some kind of safe space that will lead to longevity and sustainability.

How do we get people to value what we do as much as we do?

(music continues) Just giving people the foundation to really dig into this thing that they want to do.

If have more examples of ways to be successful at what I was doing, I might've made different choices.

(music fades) (mellow beat music) (music continues) Blue is my favorite color, it's always been.

Everything I have is pretty much blue.

It speaks in a tone that I think really parallels my own energy and it really took over in my work.

Once I started realizing that that earliest form of art, that most pure and expressive and organic form, is when I'm drawing.

And that's something that I can do on the road.

I could do it when I'm walking.

I'd be doing it in my sleep.

I came across this blue pen and this blue pen was just super perfect, the thickness, the flow of the ink.

And then, I realized I could get some really, really deep blues and tones.

It just became this language that felt like my own voice.

And so all my work after, whether it was painting, whether it was murals, it was a emulation of this blue sketch work.

(music continues) In my past shows, I've been doing murals and then they get covered up.

And that had been part of my practice for a while, the temporary nature of work and being okay with loss and recreation.

But I did not wanna see this work go away this time.

So stretched 48 canvases.

Each wash is a representation of that moment.

The pieces composed of imagery from the past year or so of all the community engagement events.

And each stage really exemplifies this whole process of this little marathon that I've set out on.

(mellow beats music) Coming back to drawing really opened up the kid in me, the murals and the being in the street, I feel like a bad teenager out there painting on walls.

I doodle for a job.

How awesome is that?

Legacy's not my business.

It took a long time to get there.

And this body of work has been super helpful for that.

The past already happened.

That me held it down.

The future me is gonna hold down the future.

All I have is right now, to keep my mind sharp.

I keep my body focused so that hopefully in every moment I'm balanced and that the math will take care of the rest.

But while I have the opportunity to do these things, I have to go out and make these connections.

I have to keep teaching classes and being engaging and welcoming people in until other people have the space, until it's not a privileged few.

Whatever it turns out to be, I was my best me in every second.

You'll know that I've made it when you never see me again.

You won't see me on social media.

You won't see me in person.

If anything I'm working towards, hermit status again.

Yeah, that's about it.

(music continues) (music continues) (music fades)