Later this month I’m headed to Los Angeles for the Renegade Craft Fair down there. If you’ve got folks out there , tell them to come check me out. I’ll be at booth #117. If you’ve never been to one of these its worth checking out for jewelry, plants, fashion, toys, food, and more. Official website.
You can see my set up from 2024 at the Seattle Renegade Craft Fair.
Peace y’all, I just came back from a cool trip to Philadelphia to read the at the main branch of the public library. This is my first trip to the city and it was great to see it and connect with some old friends. Get ready, there A LOT of photos in this post!
I flew out on the red eye which I will not be doing again cuz I didn’t get much sleep. Once I landed I started hearing Black Thought lyrics in my head though because of street names and things like….
One of the things I loved about the city is the beauty and abundance of murals. I thought the Bay had a lot of walls but Philly is truly the mural capital. I didn’t get to meet up with her but Michelle Angela Ortiz is one of my favorite muralists out there. Another thing I love about the city is the styles of Graffiti which are distinct and historic. They often write tall and skinny tags!
On my way inside the library I met Lynne Haase, a Philadelphian librarian who answered the call when I set out to visit schools and libraries last year for the first time outside of the Bay. Me and my folks headed into the library (its amazing by the way), and headed down to the kids section where we saw lots of letters and drawings from children. Then we went into a theater where the children would listen to me speak.
First it was one classroom, then 2, then 3 whole classrooms full of children from a local school came on in to listen to me read. They had such great energy and questions!
The room was full, I introduced myself and I got down to business asking them questions and trying my best to engage them so they would not just be listening, but talking back and participating. That means questions, call and response, and good interruptions. I read my book Fresh Juice to the kids!
I wish I could show you photos with the faces of the children unblocked but I was not able to get permission slips for each child. But, they were there and thats the important part.
As I usually do, I brought some of the artwork from the book with me because its like a doorway to understanding how stories get made. Its a process and I try to drive that home with kids, not just about my story but about how the video games, cartoons, films, or other forms of media they consume are created.
Ok , the reading was awesome and if you’d like to see more visits I’ve made to schools or libraries I invite you to check out some of these:
After that I walked around the library to check out the art books and music books.
The library is underrated yall. You can check out tools, seeds, films, records, CDs, musical instruments, and so any different types of BOOKS!
I love walking around libraries. Especially kids sections because each librarian, city, and region is different. I love seeing Bay Area creators work up in other cities too. Here are some fotos I took walking around and some of the librarians checking out my prints. If you would like to see my prints, you can see them here.
A few fotos from around the city from the downtown area, West, South, etc. My good friends who I stayed with took me to a place called Saad’s Halal Restaurant in West Philly that had some of the best Falafel and bean pie I’ve ever eaten:) My friend also took me on a hike around Cobb’s Creek park. I saw Osage ave, infamous for the bombing of the MOVE family, and I saw the famous Hakim’s Bookstore. One of the oldest Black owned bookstores in the country.
Next, I took a trip to Germantown to see my friend Sarah and Uncle Bobbie’s coffee and bookstore!
Uncle Bobbie’s was a beautiful store w/ lots of light and a strong curation. After that I went for a nice hike in a local park w/ my friend Sarah Kolker who is from Philly but lived in NYC and the Bay, where we met!
Lastly, I went to check out The Philadelphia Museum of Art; one of many museums! I also went to meet w/ my friend Dr. Li Sumpter before heading back to the Bay!
Dig this? Check out my trip to Detroit to read out there:)
Here’s a short comic that had me thinking about how a system of government needs and thrives with loyal, unquestioning workers to follow orders. They need folks to not step out of line, to not think. But if they do, keep it to themselves. It does not work without obedience OR ignorance from its citizens. What is the United States rank education wise? So, I wanted to depict a soldier, defense contract worker, and journalists with the words “Stop Following Orders”. Right now, the US and Israeli governments are playing a vicious game with real lives by bombing Iran. Some questions come to mind when I think of this:
Whats this? I’ve had fits and starts with comics since 2007. In 2016 I started working on an epic graphic novel and it was too much, I couldn’t finish. So I took a break and began doing mini comics in 2021 (shorter more manageable stories) so I could do the most important part; finish them. This is a continuation of that. My accountability partner is my cousin and artist; Zhanne Easter.
Dig this? Check out some of my other mini comics
Check out Art of Rob feat 130 pages of drawings, sketchbook pages, illustrations, etc.
I painted this brother because although I’ve heard his name I didnt know who he was. A writer named Howard Bryant put out a book about him and Jackie Robinson and that made me want to look him up!
Paul was born in 1898 in Princeton , NJ. He was the son of a freed slave (his dad) and was raised by him. He grew up strong in the church, playing sports, and very smart. At 17 he got a scholarship to Rutgers University in New Jersey where he studied and played college football, becoming an All American award winning player twice. He went on to play ball and attend Columbia University where he earned a law degree! Facing racism he decided not to go into law but started working in theater eventually making his way onto Broadway for several plays and becoming an actor and singer in film starring in movies. It is said that he was one of the first Black superstar’s because of this and his ability to sing with his deep baritone voice.
But, he left Hollywood because there were not enough substantial , non stereotypical roles for him. He went to the UK and while working internationally learned about struggles in Europe, Africa, and Asia by working class folks and people who were marginalized. He related that back to the struggle of Black folks and other people of color in the US and began speaking out. Paul spoke in favor of workers rights, against segregation and lynching, he denounced facism and apartheid, etc. And because of this and his support for communist China, Russia, and anti colonialist African movements, they blacklisted him, harrassed him, and took away his fame, passport, and ability to work. Paul would come back to performing later in life but struggle with depression, suicide, financial troubles, and drugs. He died in Philadelphia in 1976.
But many remember him for the folk songs he sang, his words and actions of protest, and his expressions of great solidarity between Black people, Jewish folks, the Japanese during WW2, workers in Wales, Mexico, learning and speaking 12+ languages, starring in 13 films, recording 6 albums, and inspiring younger artists and activists.
Sources: Black Past, Toronto Int’l Film Fest, IMDB, Quboz, Wikipedia
Dig this? Check out the Combahee River Collective, Nelson Vails,
This is a crew of bad ass women who’s statements echo today and whose voices are still strong. The Combahee River Collective (1974-1980) is a crew, clique, or family founded by Black women out in the Boston area. They are Black, they are women, Queer, and Radical in their politics. “The name”Combahee” refers to the river in South Carolina that Harriet Tubman used to free over 700 enslaved Black folks. In the 60s and 70s we had a lot of movements for civil rights, independence, and social change happening but in separate silos. Meaning some knew their issue, but not others. So, these sisters came from different groups and formed their own. They wrote a statement that gave analysis to movements happening and how they “connected”. This definition was ground breaking back then and is still used by scholars, students, and activists today. Before the term intersectionality, there was Combahee. Celebrating , not ignoring their many identities and helping folks get that oppression is coming for all of us so we better stand with each other, rather than apart. As a group these women who were activists, artists, teachers, writers, etc worked on campaigns to support abortion rights, they stood against sterilization, against domestic violence and attacks against women, they stood up for their Queer and trans family, they were anti-war, anti establishment, and they advocated for solidarity between people fighting oppression. Members included: Gloria Akasha-Hill, Cheryl Clarke, Demita Frazier, Audre Lorde, Chirlane McCray, Margo Okazawa-Rey, Sharon Page-Ritchie, Beverly and Barbara Smith, Helen Stewart, and Mercedes Tompkins.
Why is this important? There are some folks within the Black Power, Feminist, Queer rights, or Social justice movement who pretend like one of the others ain’t shit. You may have seen it. But, I think some would agree, we’re stronger together (w/ hard discussions & principled struggle or disagreements). That means letting go of a lot of EGO and petty shit.
Sources: Black Women Radicals, Democracy Now, BLK History in 2 minutes or so, Wikipedia
Dig this? Check out my piece on Olive Morris, Claudia Jones, or Margaret Sloan.
Its been three years since I did one of these for Black History Month! From 2016-2023 I drew and painted so many people, places, and groups from Black history that we dont hear enough about. And here’s one more:
The Freedom House Ambulance service was founded in 1967 in Pittsburg, PA by Phil Hallen (former ambulance driver) and Dr Peter Safar (Pioneering Dr @ Univ of Pittsburgh) in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, a predominantly Black neighborhood. EMT, Paramedics, and modern ambulances in the US owe a great deal to the Black men and women of Freedom House Ambulance. Around this time there were no ambulances for most working class folks in big cities, you called the police and they threw you in the back of a cop car or a police wagon. Being that there was rampant police brutality, profiling, harassment, and murder at the hands of police there was a contentious relationship when it came to emergency medical service. The majority of officers had no medical training and Black folks were at their wim when it came to being “sick enough” to warrant emergency medical services. As a result so many died from treatable things.
Enter Freedom House, a community based organization that got funding to not only create a hood based ambulance service, but to hire Black men; many of which were unemployed, did not graduate college, or had been in the system. Pioneering Dr Safar and several others gave them 12 months of medical training learning anatomy, physiology, resuscitation, etc. In addition to hundreds of hours in classroom settings , they spent time in the emergency and operating rooms, as well as the morgue before hitting the streets. And when they hit the streets they responded to six thousand calls in the first year or 16 emergency calls daily. Coming from the neighborhoods they were serving they understood when people were having a medical emergency relating to overdose, sickle cell anemia, diabetes, etc. In fact they were among the first paramedics to pioneer techniques using narcan for overdose, electric shock for heart attacks, intubating patients, CPR, and IV‘s. They were a mobile emergency hospital because they stabilized patients, saving thousands of lives.
Fast forward to the mid 70s, word got around that wealthier more white neighborhoods were not receiving the same level of expertise; the mayor and white establishment got jealous; and they intentionally pulled funding and support for the program. The city began randomly testing Freedom House medics, ruling out anyone who had been locked up, and using them to train white EMT’s who got better promotions. Eventually everyone was pushed out and only a select few were able to find employment with the city. But their work went on to help save lives nationwide and is still being used today.
Sources: WQED Pittsburg, Film: Heroes on Call, Wikipedia, and Sage Journals
Dig this? Check out my piece about these medical professionals: Dr Muriel Petioni, Dr Dorothy Brown, or Alice Augusta Ball
Xóchi had a tough day. It was the weekend of the super show but she couldn’t do all the fun stuff she normally did like eat cotton candy, have a cyber fighter battle with her cousins on their Nintendo switches, or eat extra spicy nachos during the hopping contest. Her job today was to study, polish tio Ramon’s car and make sure nobody went to the wrong space from the club. Luckily Star and Miguel brought comics, with the newest Alien Quinceñera she still got to have some fun.
Context: I love reading but I didn’t always love it. Rather than illustrate that pain, I wanted to paint a picture of a candid moment of three ordinary kids sitting together reading comics for fun on a lowrider at a show. During the summer of 2025 me and my family went to our first lowrider show together as a family.
What is this? This is a short story. They are a way for me to sharpen my skills, to play, 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 other formats now too. My name is Robert Liu-Trujillo and my most recent book is Fresh Juice/ Jugo Fresco published by Lee & Low Books.
Check out some of my past short stories worth checking out:
Dig this? Check out my first self published Art Book- 130 pages of sketches, paintings, characters, and more HERE
Just made some new branding. Not a huge shift but a subtle foot forward. I usually do this every two years but last year was whew!! So here we are with a new digital portrait. You’ll start seeing it here and there.
Here are some other ones from the past you can see:
Dig this? Check out this Post about using biz cards
Here is a new short comic about some of what I do when I’m getting ready to be an exhibitor at an event. I will make the art, recreate it via prints, stickers, or other ways. Then I pack it up and drive or fly to the event before talking to lots and lots of people. Then I head back home and do it again.
Whats this? I’ve had fits and starts with comics since 2007. In 2016 I started working on an epic graphic novel and it was too much, I couldn’t finish. So I took a break and began doing mini comics in 2021 (shorter more manageable stories) so I could do the most important part; finish them. This is a continuation of that. My accountability partner is my cousin and artist; Zhanne Easter.
Dig this? Check out some of my other mini comics
Check out Art of Rob feat 130 pages of drawings, sketchbook pages, illustrations, etc.
Hey yall, This is a photo of me holding a coloring book I illustrated for a south Bay organization called the Open Space Authority of Santa Clara. They are a an organization that stewards and protects over 30k acres of land in Santa Clara County from being bulldozed and turned into malls. The land includes hills, valleys, trees, wetlands, and lots of animals and critters.
Check out some of the land they protect even in the heart of silicon valley. Its a vast area! Thank goodness for organizations that do this kind of advocacy for all to appreciate nature and wildlife.
Here’s a bit of process of drawing one of the spreads from the book. This is the first spread from the coloring book. I also did the hand lettered typography for the title below.
Here’s the cover for the book which features coloring pages, puzzles, and some other observant activities for children to do. It’s a cool way to introduce them to the Santa Clara Valley.
Here are some screen shots from Open Source’s Instagram account where they took the books to a local hospital and made them available for kids in the pediatric waiting area. Visit Open Space Authority of Santa Clara here. If you wanna watch their video about this coloring book check it out here.
Dig this? check out some art I did for the AFYA Center for Health Equity or the cover of The Public Eye magazine