TOOFLY NYC

One of my last projects this year was the Mary J Blige X Emojam promotion in celebration of her #MyLife25 album. Released in 1994 – songs that bring back a lot of memories for me and hopeless romantics alike. I was hired to create 16 illustrations and handstyles that would be animated with music. To be used as gif emojis on your phone by downloading the emojamapp. How fun right!?! It made my day to see Mary J herself share the release of the project on her instagram stories. SOoooo dope! Check it out…

Never know what to expect from my next trip to NY. This year, the producers of an upcoming @Maybelline House event reached out to me to create an installation during Fashion Week NY. They were also looking for an authentic graffiti artist who can “tag up” on a pop-up train. As a multidisciplinary artist the job was perfect and up my alley. Especially because NY, graffiti, street, and fashion is what Toofly is all about! It’s fun work, and ads to my ( new client ) work. Painting the #MaybellineHouse neon logo juxtapozed against a brick wall with spray paint and acrylic took a while to create, but like a pro it got done and right on schedule. The on-site graffiti added the authentic flavor of our beloved city. When they wanted even more tags I was happy to create them, but I made sure to point out it’s added value. Did they remember that? No. The train was such a cool installation tho, who keeps that I wondered? Hope it goes to good use. Shout out to my cousin / assistant @mistadrumin for his help and process photos. Unfortunately I was unable to get the final photos on opening night. For some reason the invitation changed from “we would love for you to be there” to “I’m sorry it is a private PR event” after the work was done. Yeah! that really happened. According to the producer on this project she had no control. Last time I checked industry events that have the creative, and artists attend is a very good look for the brand. All good. Some people still don’t get how it all works. Luckily many true school New Yorkers made it to the event and posted videos and photos of the project. They loved it, and the installation looked great thanks to the creative team from France, who was very nice. As these corporate projects pop in, and out of our lives it’s important to remember what these brands truly stand for and how they treat their staff. We’ve seen how some high-profile companies treat urban artists these past few years, and so you begin to wonder. Do they truly respect the culture, and people they want so badly captivate? Each client is different, and the only way to find out is to work with them. Live, and learn and watch how they roll folks!

Thank you New York City!

Who doesn’t love nails these days?! Nail art has become a new creative market for many women entrepreneurs. It’s amazing to see how much art can fit on a small canvas like nails. It’s pretty! I especially love women who venture off to set-off this new business model and take it to the next level. Especially women who love fashion, design, and art. They can now hook up their spaces with fresh decor to welcome women for a spa-art kind of day experience. Top it off with a location featuring women street artists from NY, and bang! you got a dope new thang happening. Right? Right? I dig it. It’s happening up in Yonkers ya’ll, and it’s called Soyo Nails run by the lovely Jenna. A beautiful new client, and space. This summer I had the opportunity to rock a colorful installation that is a little bit more abstract, and completely different from what I do. Exploring structures to paint on. Having fun with it, staying active on these mean streetz check it out. Shout out to Daniella who assisted me on the project in 2018, and now 2019. Go #teamtoofly!

It’s a wrap! A new, and wonderful experience to add to my adventures as a traveling artist. This March, I joined the Terrapin team from Australia for a live art performance. My duty was to create over a 100 drawings for “You and Me, and the Space Between” at it’s US premiere at Lincoln Center. A story that touches on issues of migration, immigration, and environmental changes happening in the world. Local artists Christina D. Eskridge ( Narrator) and Toofly ( Digital Artist ) spent three weeks on the production with the team and had a great time.

The island is sinking. Its adults are useless. Time for the kids to save the day!

When the island of Proud Circle springs a leak, it takes the curious mind of a child to save the island, its people, and their ways. From Australia’s most accomplished children’s playwright, Finegan Kruckemeyer, comes this original tale of wonder and invention, brought to life with storytelling, choreographed projections, and live-drawn animation.

Behind the scenes photography by: Dean Stevenson

Directed by: Sam Routledge Writer: Finegan Kruckmeyer

Safe travels Tasmanian friends! Thank you Terrapin, and Thank you Lincoln Center Education.

Great times in Austin TX this year! Shout out to Blue genie Art Studios, my friend Charles and the gang, and all my Austin ATX peeps who showed love. I had a blast working and hanging out!

 

Mural Installation in Dumbo Brooklyn for Project Art! Trying to diversify my stylez in art & design for my STAY TRU clients.  Shout out to @Mistadrumin for the art assistance, baked oven pizza, and laughs. Thank you Adarsh and team at Project Art. Doing great things for youth in various communities across the USA.

Made a quick stop this fall to work on a wall installation in Yonkers, NY for Soyo Nails. I got a chance to use the water based MTN Colors SprayPaint on a gig at last! I tried it out at the Grafiteras exhibit and now I had the opportunity to work more with it. I like it. It’s great spray paint for indoor use because of it’s low odor. It did spread into the air like other spray paint materials so we had to make sure to keep areas like the floor and tables covered with plastic. I liked that I was able to work with acrylic and blend into it. Covering large areas in half the time helps so much with aerosol especially with a watercolor theme direction. The soft palette allowed me to blend the soft color tones and tie in the nail salon brand colors. I am used to dark, black, hard graphic line work but as I move forward with my client work it gives me the opportunity to try new styles and effects. Shout out to my assistant on the gig Daniella Harris who helped out on the logo and many of the production set-up. Having assistance is the bomb! There are so many details involved that you just can’t do alone. Having a team is important and every year we get tighter and tighter. I am also able to mentor D, and motivate her as she pursues a career in the arts which helps me continue my Project Girlz work. Thank you Jenna for reaching out to me online to work on your salon walls. Walls look beautiful! Grand opening soon —>  Follow @soyonails on IG.