A stylized drawing of a temple with landscape in a abstract/constructivist style. 

Untitled

A drawing of emblematic Minnesota flora and fauna, brightly colored and arranged by habitat.

Ecosystems of Minnesota

I was thinking of technology when I drew this. Is technology helping our advancement?
 Are we losing ourselves to the technology that was invented to make our lives richer?


Communication

Drawing of an alien with pencil and colored pencil 

Desortatron Residence 

This is a picture of Mickey Mouse in a stained glass style.

Stained glass Mickey Mouse

The image is sectioned into three parts. Read from top, lower left, and then lower right. Top section: Female silhouette walks past a male silhouette leaning against a storefront. Left section: Female enters an alley and the male follows behind her.  The Female faces the male and incapacitates him.  Right section: The male is a shapeless figure being sucked into an abyss.  Close up on the female's eye as explains she's turned the tables on her harasser.

Colorful intersecting lines with varying thickness on a white background

Lines

A painting of a black women looking over her shoulder at dawn. the sky is purple and orange. she wears a light blue top and a denim scarf. She wears a large square earring with symbols etched into it.

When Solace Overwhelmed Us

Sleeping loki

A portrait of my grandfather drawn with colored pencils. It is a closeup of his face focusing on the intricacies that surround his eyes, showing all of the wear and warmth that can accompany aging. 

7 people with oversized heads drawn with colored pencil and cut out and reassembled to form a collage.

Mixed Media People Collage

An illustration of a person looking at their smartphone and experiencing anxiety about COVID-19.

Anxiety

Young woman styled after Raphael's self-portrait

Raphael's daughter

Man playing trombone on streets of New Orleans in French Quarter.

Street Musician, New Orleans

Pointillism portrait of fashion designer Hitomi K wearing one of her pieces

Portrait Of Fashion Designer Hitomi K

A drawing of isolated people floating in a kite-like structure over waves. 

Quarantine quandary

A dancer who stands tall on a small stage to the chaos and squiggles that surround her in black and white.

Dancer in Chaos

A swirling ink drawing on paper of various hands, walls, wire and rocks - exploring themes of oppression occupation and division.

Hands

An ink drawing of an autumn maple leaf with veins and venules in overlapping abstract black lines and polygons, outlined in red letters spelling out a poem. 

Bring a Leaf

A drawing of a melting face and already melted head. A candle is lit in the middle of where the brain should be. 

Overthinking kills

A nest with eggs hidden among a zentangle forest.

Hidden nest

A simple line drawing of a rowboat on the water. No passengers or oars, only an empty seat. there is a trail of lightbulbs underwater showing motion by their placement as being pulled behind the boat attached by cords from the inside of the boat to sockets on the bulbs. There are eight of them trailing behind underwater at various lengths of about 12 to 18 feet back and 5 to 8 feet deep. Only the boat has color. The slats of the boat above water and the interior of the boat are colored with spot colors of brown and ochre. Below the water line, the slats of the boat are ultra marine blue and teal. The boat is placed to the left of the page. Although the lightbulbs underwater suggest motion, the boat itself is quite still. The date of Sept 12, 20 is stamped on with a rubber stamp under the water to the right, preceded by the word documented. It is signed on the lower left.

An abstract painting of many colorful lines forming an amorphous blob shape on a brown-gold background. 

Shapes & That 8

A drawing of a man caught between youth and adulthood; a slight deprivation of spirit. He looks strong and confident in his pose, but vulnerable through his eyes. He is longing for life as his days stand still while he awaits some unknown excitement.

To Become

On a vertical pattern backdrop of intense red-orange, yellow, and pink chalk pastel strokes sits a combination of black pastel and black ink which forms the focal point of the piece; a tribute to the late Jean-Michel Basquiat (d. 1987). The colors of the background represent both my intense yearning to resume my art after having abandoned it for 15 years resulting in much remorse in addition to Basquiat's rebellious nature and free form flow. Over the late artist's silhouette is a hand-written Arabic translation of Cathleen McGuigan's 1985 publication in the New York Times titled, "New Art, New Money". Inspired Basquiat's style, dedication, and deep expression, I too felt the need to express a brief excerpt of his biography in my Arabic native tongue thus creating a fusion of rich cultures - me being a Tunisian-Arab-American and Basquiat hailing from Haitian and Puerto Rican roots. Basquiat once stated, "I am not a person, I am a legend", hence the title of the piece. Given his ubiquitous signature three-pointed crown, placing it at the top meant signifying the way in which his work is now regarded in high esteem. 

"I Am A Legend"

A drawing of rapper Lil Peep. Close up headshot with black background. Captures tattoos and facial expressions 

Lil Peep

Pencil drawing of a very old but alert dog, Rolo. 

Rolo

Charcoal drawing of a group of people lounging on logs in the middle of the woods.

In the Forest

Ink illustration of Thelma embracing her freedom from the patriarchy 

Thelma

"Here I am, existing in amongst some beautiful grasses. As I look out above me, I am wondering where I am - and where I am going. Colors and textures comfort me. Fireflies too!"

Wonderings

Red flowers on a grassy hill, blue sky background, yellow sun in the top left corner

Untitled, 2018

Joe Toussaint