I have only recently started painting again, and coming from a 2 year break from most forms of artwork, it was tough to get back into. Portraiture fills me with joy, excitement and intrigue, as to what I can create and turn a simple photograph into on my canvas. I would like to think my style of painting is unique to most others, and it allows me to paint freely, and not everything has to be perfect in relation to the source I am using to create the piece.
I mainly work in Acrylic paint, which is what this painting is created with, but I enjoy using different mediums such as oil, spray paint and transfer leaf.
The inspiration behind this piece came mainly from my sister’s love for the rap artist Tupac Shakur. She played his music constantly and had posters up of him everywhere, and it’s only as I’ve grown older that I’ve begun to appreciate his intelligence and attitude that was very misunderstood in his day. The title of the piece is self explanatory in that it is his surname, which I find quite a striking name. Most times I start by scaling up a drawing, then doing a line version of the piece on the canvas, then proceeding to ‘fill in the lines’ as such. I try my best to work from black and white photos, which enables me to be more creative with the colours I use, restricting the flow a lot less.
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