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Fridays for Falestin – Artists for Radical Imagination

The purpose of this image and the following images are to share a fundraising campaign for a family who fled Gaza. It is organized by a relative of the family based in the US who represents the Alborno family. Please see the link in my bio for the full story and like, comment, share, and contribute if you can.

 

Image Description:
A set of slides with hand drawn watercolor illustrations of Jamil and Maria, Pal es tinian children around 2 and 5. Both portraits are held within a circle with an earthy green background, reds and auburns in their hair, warm skin tones and purple shirts. Maria has her hair in pigtails, and is smiling softly, while Jamil has lightly tousled hair with smile open and wide. There is a cream hand drawn background with yellow hearts and purple bursts on each slide and the text below Gofundme Link.

 

Slide 1:
“Help Jamil Maria and Family
Fridays for Fal es tine
gofundme.com/f/support-ezzeddin-family
Slide 2:
“Jamil, Maria, siblings, and parents fled Gah zah to Turkey and need help recovering
gofundme.com/f/support-ezzeddin-family
Can’t help right now? Please help spread the word, Like, comment, and share”
Slide 3:
“Join Artists for Radical Imagination every Friday as we share a verified fundraiser to directly support a family in Gah zah. Follow and use the hashtag: #FridaysForFalestin

Art by @robert_tres text by Rob + @vulpinicvestements repping #artistsforradicalimagination Fridays for Fal’ es tin

Ride Again Mini Comic

I drew this mini comic about bike riding. It’s an embarrassing story about being bullied or getting jacked. I’m sure there are kids who were champion boxers at 9 years old. I was not. I’d been in 1 on 1 fights but not against 4 or 5 older kids. Anyways, the point of the story is to ride again and thats exactly what I did. Hopefully you can relate as a bike rider or as a kid growing up. Get a copy here.

We Are Yoga by Jill Guerra

This is one of my favorite illustrations from We Are Yoga / Somos Yoga, a book self-published by Jill Guerra in the spring of 2022. The book includes more than 13 illustrations in a vibrant, inviting color palette.

Synopsis:

We Are Yoga / Somos Yoga is a bilingual picture book (English/Spanish) and resource for teachers, parents, therapists, or anyone working with youth. Through yoga poses, affirmations, and reflections, we can build self-awareness and the tools to navigate this challenging and beautiful life.

Watercolor portrait of a kid wearing a space helmet, painted red, with the word "Read" above; by Robert Liu-Trujillo.

Space Kid

I painted this in the summer wanting to begin a new series of “READ” posters. I was inspired by the traditional ones you’d see in a quiet city library, but I wanted to use illustration and feature children of color prominently. In the past I’ve illustrated a kid holding a book, but this time I decided to go more with themes. This is an example of personal work and art for merchandise.

Purchase

In Dance Magazine

This is a fun project. Nkeiruka Oruche is the guest editor for this issue of “In Dance Magazine” and she invited me to write and illustrate a short personal experience relating to dance. When she asked me to participate my first thought was that I’m not a dancer but she wanted a mix of folks. Those whose creative practice it is to dance and those who’ve danced at some point in life, which I think is most of us.  Anyway, here’s the link to read the whole magazine.

Ethnic Studies 2 (Purple)

Ethnic Studies is a framework for teaching history that highlights the people in the United States who’ve been ignored or erased from school curriculums. It focuses on African American, Native American, Latinx/a/o, Asian American. and Middle Eastern people. More on my reasons for painting it here. Want a print? Cop that here.

Character Mother & Daughter

Character 171

This is a recent character to carry on the series of doodling characters. I was thinking about “A Quiet Place”. For over 15 years I have worked on and shared characyer doodles, design, sketches, etc in an effort to get better at communicating an idea, a story, or a feeling. This isn’t connected to any one issue, its more fantasy, but drawing it helps me improve for when I do want to tell a story.

Story Time – Classroom Reader

This was fun to make. Like the very first “Storytime Print” I made, I really wanted to show a classroom or library setting where children are being read to. This is the 8th one in the series I really dig it. Remember to read to your kids 15 minutes a day if possible.

The story time series began in 2018 as a way for me to make art prints of children from a diverse array of background holding, carry, interacting with books, or being read to. As a child who did not see much of that growing up, one of the reasons I dove into becoming a kids book author and illustrator was to provide a mirror for future children.

If you’d like a print of this image you can get one here. Its is a part of a set.

Watercolor portrait of young people at rally and the words "Pass the Mic" by Robert Liu-Trujillo.

Oakland Rising: Pass the Mic!

Here’s an illustration I did with a Bay Area organization called Oakland Rising. They requested a collaborative illustration that would feature themes that include democracy, liberation, electoral power, justice, Oakland, and/or people power. I focused on a multigenerational crowd surrounding a young person holding a microphone.  I created the sketch, line work, and type, while artist Luna Yoo added the color. This poster was used for the 2022 Oakland Rising Voter Guide.

Short story- Spooky Ride

Short story 31

Text: “Patrice and Larry had been practicing and falling on the track all summer. The older more experienced kids dared them to try the jumps but they always bit it trying. Tonight though, on Halloween before anyone got home to divvy up their candy, Patrice finally did it. She went up the biggest jump on “Shell Track”, now the only thing left to do besides puting on her costume was to land safely.”

What is this? Short stories are a way for me to sharpen my skills, to play, to practice, and to stretch out by trying new ideas for stories. In 2010 they started off as a way to practice the format of picture books but I’m interested in middle grade and comics now too. My name is Robert Liu-Trujillo and my most recent book is “Fresh Juice” published by Lee & Low Books.

As a kid I LOVED bmx bikes so much and would spend hours riding around my neighborhood. I wanted to make a cool image of a girl riding a bmx bike on the night of halloween. The idea is for her to accomplish some big jump that is terrifying and gratifying at the same time. Then I just put a spooky tree, a costume on the friend in the background, and the moon with clouds.