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Author: Robert Liu-Trujillo

Art for Rethinking Schools Magazine

Ok, Its been over a decade since I worked for Rethinking Schools but I’m so happy to be back in the mix. In a day and age where books can be too long, and tik tok clips too short, and the internet filled with AI slop its nice to have a form of physical media that informs. About what you say? Read on….

Rethinking Schools MISSION and VISION:

Rethinking Schools is a nonprofit publisher and advocacy organization dedicated to sustaining and strengthening public education through social justice teaching and education activism. Our magazine, books, and other resources promote equity and racial justice in the classroom. We encourage grassroots efforts in our schools and communities to enhance the learning and well-being of our children and to build a broad democratic movement for social and environmental justice. 

Our Zinn Education Project — coordinated with Teaching for Change — has more than 100,000 educators who have registered to access our “people’s history” materials.

Here’s a bit of process art to show my thinking when ingesting, sitting with, dissecting, and analyzing former principal Gilbert Juan Armenta’s piece about how school systems continuously target Black children by overly discipling them, singling them out, punishing them, and trying to track them into special education. I know this experience intimately after being suspended from my school for “talking” as a 3rd grader!!!!

The cool thing about this article and the magazine is that it talks about real issues that teachers, educators, and others are experiencing in the classroom. They talk about race, gender, identity, politics, class, racism, and how to address these issues in a way that is radical, sensitive to the age group, and respectful. This is what drew me to the magazine years ago. See my old piece here.

Here are some color directions for this piece.

Heres the final painting, done in ink and watercolor. Shout out to AD Nancy Zucker for the call!

Wanna get this magazine issue? COP Volume 40, Number 4 HERE.

Dig this? Check out

Wanna peak inside the magazine? See it a little bit here.

July 13, 2026
in Art, Ilustration
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Book Cover – 826 Valencia + De Marillac Academy

Last Spring I began working with 826 Valencia to illustrate a book cover for the De Marillac Academy, a middle school in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco. And I have a history with this organization as I read there when I was just beginning to work in kid lit and I took my son and his class on a field trip there over 12 years ago.

The thing I remember back then was that the folks who started the org had a sense of duty and wonder. Duty in that they were taking it seriously; the charge to encourage literacy and creative writing. And wonder, in that their organization was housed in a pirate ship! Imagine pirate jokes and 4th graders telling you that they are “published”.

And they still have that dedication as this book is one of several published anthologies of creative writing by middle school students. Here’s the synopsis:

“In these vibrant poems, students in grades 6-8th from De Marillac Academy explore their own potential and the comfort of the things they hold dear. They find refuge in the bounces of a basketball and uncover a quiet hero in a cherished eyelash curler. In these pages you’ll find heartfelt declarations of love to their beds and a tenderness towards the quiet world their headphones offer. Students imagine life through the delicate wings of a butterfly, the sharp mind of a beloved teacher, and even providing hope as a lawyer. No matter who holds the narrative today, in the future they are building, these students assert one thing is for sure, they’ll be the ones.

Here’s a bit of process art from the making of the cover.

Shout out to Amanda Boesen and Lucy Goseline-Ratliff who assisted me in narrowing down and refining the sketch until it was right.

You can see the line work here and the color directions. Ultimately it ended up being a combination of colors. The uniforms for the actual students are red and grey though so thats what we ended up using.

And heres the final cover illustration! My fav poem from the book was called “lies” and I loved all the pieces about their video games, favorite foods, etc.

About the organization that does this work and commissioned this art:

826 Valencia equips students with writing skills to create change.

We are a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting under-resourced students ages six to eighteen with their creative and expository writing skills and to helping teachers inspire their students to write.

Our services are structured around the understanding that great leaps in learning can happen with individualized attention and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success.

And with chapters in:

  • Boston
  • Chicago
  • Washington DC
  • Los Angeles
  • Michigan
  • Minneapolis
  • New Orleans
  • NYC

and the founding chapter San Francisco (Bay Areaaaaaa) they are taking the task to the next level.

Dig this? Check out this book cover I did for Robert Alexander’s book “He Hit Me First” OR the cover of Libros Solidarios written by Luz Yadira Herrera and Carla España.

July 10, 2026
in Educational Resources, Ilustration, Lettering/ Typography
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My Art on a Billboard! Somos Santuario!

Originally I created this illustration in collaboration with designer Jules Cowan, illustrator Micah Bizant, and the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant back in 2025. Individually we have each created artwork in service of social justice movements, campaigns, and issues affecting real people. East Bay Sanctuary Covenant has been doing this work since 1982!!!! Read that again.

The attack on immigrant families specifically Latinos has been hard as fuck for decades, but no one was expecting a level quite like that of 2025 and 2026. So it is especially meaningful to have worked with all these folks and now this billboard collaboration is done with the help of another Bay Area organization called the Multicultural Institute. They help support the housing, rights, fair pay, and advocacy of immigrant workers in the Bay.

Here are the original posters by Micah, Jules, and I. See my original post here.

Dig this? Check out this work for the ACLU in a report that studies how central cal sherriffs collaborate w/ ICE.

July 3, 2026
in Art, Ilustration
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Stuff I’ve Been Listening to 28- Cuts from Brazil

Ed Motta (Rio, Brazil) – 1978 2013

I can’t recall how I came across Ed Motta, but he is my favorite Soul singer from the country of Brazil! check out his work, he plays, sings, and writes.

What is this? This series is called “Stuff I’ve been listening to” and this is my place to share music that I listen to while I work, process, decompress, and live life. Some of it is new, some old. But I’m always listening. I share in the hopes that you will find something that inspires you. Please share with a fellow music lover. My name is Rob and I’m an artist and author from the Bay Area.

Bebel Gilberto (Rio, Brazil) – Ceu Distante Remix by DJ Spinna 2005

I was introduced to Bebel (daughter of Joao and Miucha) through my sons mom and later found this remix by one of my fav Brooklyn producers, DJ Spinna.

Djavan (Maceio, Brazil) – Nereci 1978

Love this song and cannot remember how I came across it but I thought the brother looked super fly ion his sandals, little did I know he is a legend.

Kevin O Chris (Rio, Brazil)- Tu Tá Na Gaiola 2018

I think I heard about Brazilian Funk through an article from Afro Punk about their multiple day parties and found this banger through that search. It slaps. The slang is thick tho if you don’t speak Brazilian Portuguese.

Marcos Valle (Rio, Brazil) – No Tem Nada Nao 1973

Found this through Madlib! He had a mix from Brazil and had so many great cuts on there, but this is the one that stuck out the most and I’ve played this song 100s of times. Marcos Valle is still collaborating w/ folks!

Zelia Barbosa ( Brazil) – Funeral do Lavrador 1968

This is a record my sons mother gave me almost 25 years ago. I immediately fell in love with this song though there are several with heart wrenching themes. Highly recommend it!

Matchola feat 2ZDINIZZ (Sao Paulo) – Pensando en mim 2026

Just came across this dude whos style page says “Boom Bap Melodic”. Interesting! I’m feeling it.

Lo Borges ( Belo Horizonte, Brazil) – Calibre 1972

I came across this track through producer musician Flwr Chyld. Love it!

Gal Costa (Salvador Bahia, Brazil) – Pontos de Luz 1970s

Came to this gem through the incredible Kaytranada who sampled it for “Lite Spots”.

Toquinho feat Jorge Ben (Sāo Paolo, Brazil) – Carolina Carol Bela 1970

Just heard this the other day on a video from IG with some young futbol players.

Jorge Ben (Rio, Brazil) – Oba La Vem Ela 1970

Man, this song. I was introduced to Jorge Ben through my sons mom. She was a huge fan and so I started to listen, internalize a few of the songs and this is one of my favorites.

For Brazilians, I know this is a bunch of old stuff sprinkled with a few current records. But, these are songs I love. There are some other artists I’ve listened to like Emicida, Anitta, Nego do Borel, and DJ Renan De Penha

DIG THE MUSIC? THERE’S MORE! 

  • Stuff I’ve been listening to 25: MORE SOUL
  • Stuff I’ve been listening to 19: UK ARTISTS
  • Stuff I’ve been listening to 23: MORE JAZZ
  • Stuff I’ve been listening to 21: RAPS
  • Stuff I’ve been listening to 18: HOUSE
July 3, 2026
in Creative Resources, General
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Sticker art 4 Booker T Washington

Last year I began working with the Booker T Washington Community Service Center in San Francisco California. They are a century old organization offering tons of services and programming for the community in the Western Addition, Fillmore, the Richmond, and beyond. They offer summer camps, afterschool enrichment, free grocery and produce programs, groups for youth and elders, affordable housing, and more.

BTW Mission: Booker T. is a beacon of Black joy and self-determination. We uplift and serve our community, build intergenerational bonds, and work in solidarity with allied communities to reform and reimagine San Francisco.

Vision: All Black people are free to thrive in and shape SF to enable prosperity and belonging for everyone.

Here is some process art showing the originals thumbnail drawings I made, then redrawing them slightly more refined with grey tones to convey shape, tone, etc.


Here’s some color direction to give an idea of how I take an idea and share several color directions. I ended up using a combination of all of these color directions.

Here are the finals, drawn digitally. I tried to keep them loose and textured using photoshop and Astropad. I think the “lift while climbing” sticker is my favorite. Followed by Honor our Heritage.

Here’s a video of the actual stickers.

Dig this? Check out these stickers I designed for Convergence Magazine or Self Evident Podcast

July 2, 2026
in Art, Ilustration, Lettering/ Typography, Merch
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School Visit – UC Davis w/ Booki Vivat

Ok, recently I was invited to speak at UC Davis by the homie Dr. Katlin Marisol Sweeney. The talk was awesome and was a joint collab with me and author/illustrator Booki Vivat! BIG shout out to my good friend NJ Mvondo of Multiculturalism Rocks who linked me with photographer, artist, and farmer Jorge Antonio Espinosa who took the majority of the photos of us in the classroom.

You can Jorge Antonio Espinosa who took most of the photos you see here

I took the Amtrak train from Oakland to Davis and I highly recommend taking the train if you’re a creative. With all the traffic and having only one car in our family it was so much more relaxing. I drew, thought, and got myself ready for the journey up there.

These are some of the things and people I saw while going up to Davis and during the workshop. Wanna see more sketchbook?

These are a few photos of us getting set up. Katlin had a huge class room and already had tons of materials ready to go for the students who not only listened by did some storytelling too.

Booki Vivat is a Thai American artist and writer from Southern California who works in the publishing industry. Her most recent books are The Frazzled Series and Meet Me On Mercer Street. You can read her bio here. Book is one of the nicest creators I know and I have very much enjoyed getting to know her a little bit and seeing her GO! She’s funny, suuuuper talented, and a veteran of the creative life. Her presentation about her journey, her books, and storytelling were incredible and inspired me to step up my game!

Dr Katlin Marisol Sweeney-Romero is a bad ass professor, author, event organizer, and scholar from Cali who spent time in the midwest where I met her and is now a professor in Cinema and Digital Media at UC Davis. You can see some of the events she’s helped to organize such as the Sol Con (Columbus, OH) or the Latinx Comics & Arts Festival (Modesto, CA), the publications she’s edited or written for, and what she teaches! Learn about her work.

Here are some photos of Booki talking about her journey and then giving the students some exercises to work on storytelling craft.

So, I have a history as an arts teacher. I taught art for a decade across the Bay and NYC. I have been visiting schools and libraries for 14 years now and its only been in the last 3 years or so that I have been invited to speak to college students and I am really enjoying it. In fact I’m working on how to improve it.

In my talk I talked about my journey, career, and then we got into a bit of picture book structure. I try to be very honest, no BS about what its like to be a working artist, about my politics, etc. But, I think I spoke more than I thought I would because my workshop part was too quick. I didn’t give them enough time to draw and write. But over all the students were so cool, so supportive, attentive, engaged, and ready with questions and skills. So much skills! Matter of fact…….

Much credit goes to Katlin for curating an environment where students felt held and supported because I really enjoyed their spirit, questions, and effort, They were in it with us.

After it was done we tried our best to linger and answer some questions but again I think I took too long so we didnt get enough of that. But I think I mentioned the students could reach out anytime for questions about career, jobs, and life plans!

I also brought physical media with me so folks could take some home. I enjoy doing that and I hope they dig it.

Here are some shots from around town. That’s it folks, what a beautiful trip!

Dig this? Check out some other college visits I’ve done recently. Want me to come speak to your students? Holler!

July 2, 2026
in General, School or Library Visit
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Character 187 – Paikea revisited again!

I drew Paikea in 2012 and then painted her in 2014. Here’s my most recent version of her. I love love love this film. Whale Rider came out in 2002 and is based on a historic figure in Maori history. It was written and directed by Niki Caro and starred a new comer named Keisha Castle-Hughes. This time I leaned into the emotion more as this scene from the film was VERY emotional. IYKYK.

What other Maori, Polynesian, or Pacifika films have you seen that you enjoyed? One of my other favs is “Merata” about the pioneering director Merata Mita who was the first Maori woman to write and direct a feature film in New Zealand.

I even once did a film study of whale rider which you can check out here.

Dig this? If you like my characters check out my last character collage of figures from 2020-2024

June 27, 2026
in Character Design
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Children’s Portrait 81 – Maceo

Hey, this is my most recent children’s portrait of a young boy named Maceo! I have had the pleasure of painting his oldest sister Niara in 2014 and his middle sibling Aissa in 2020. A whole family of kids and I couldn’t be more grateful and honored to paint children like these. Shout to their momma Emilia for entrusting me with this.

As always, here’s a bit of the painting process which is all done by hand. I take a photo, trace it, then transfer it to a wood panel and paint it step by step. I start with the light colors on the face and gradually build up the darker tones and then the garment the child is wearing or what I imagine them to be wearing.

What is this? This is a series of hand painted, hand crafted wooden panel acrylic portraits of children and or families. I began painting these for local friends in 2012 as a way to announce my new career in kids books. And this has grown to include friends of friends, families, and folks I dont even know. If you’d like me to paint your child please commission me by purchasing a portrait here.

Here are some past children’s portraits:

June 25, 2026
in Art, General
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