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ARTISTIC AFRO

@artisticafro

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🦋 Be Kind to Yourself 🦋
🩵 Artist•Muralist
🖼 Murals, Paintings, & Creative Wellness Workshops
🌐 Available for mural projects + workshop collaborations

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🐦❤☁️
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#fortherealones
#positivevibes
#backyardart
#liveitup #tb
#liveyourtruth
#forourancestors
#learningandgrowing
#spraypaint #birdart
#graffart #graffitiletters
#muralist #artisticafro
#keepprogressing
#staycreative taken in Jersey City, New Jersey by @artisticafro

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5 years ago

🌺✨ A lil’ peek at turning glass into pure tropical magic!

Cranky Angel's window has been living its best life in 2025 🌺🌴

@crankyangel

#y2kvibes #eternalsummer by @artisticafro

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a year ago

"Our Future" 🦋🌸

@risingtideorg @grassrootscommunityspace

"Embracing the theme 'Layers of Interconnectivity,' my mural carries a powerful message about the impact of our actions on future generations. I wanted to highlight the critical connection between our present actions and the future, particularly concerning climate change. The butterfly in this mural represents the Xerces butterfly, the 1st living species in America to go extinct due to habitat loss caused by urban development.

If we don't improve our communication across all ages, races, backgrounds, etc., and set a better example on how to protect & preserve our environments from climate change for the next generation, life as we know it will go extinct. This mural embodies the need for collaboration and open dialogue to build sustainable economies for all.

3 years ago, I applied to paint this design as a part of Rising Tide Capital's courtyard, and didn't get the job. 3 years later, I not only got to paint a part of the courtyard, but also bring in other local talented artists to collaborate and offer their own interpretation of the theme and around the company's 20th anniversary celebration. I love how organically this project came together and all the full circle moments that were realized in the process.

Special thanks to Iggy & Tense for their valuable contributions and positive conversations while I cooked in the heat. Let's continue to be the change we want to see in the world. 🌎🌸

#artisticafro
#risingtidecapital
#20thanniversary
#bekindtoyourself
#bethechange
#climatechangeart
#climatechangeawareness taken in Jersey City, New Jersey by @artisticafro

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2 years ago

Midweek Social Club is back 🙌🏾✨️

Our next gathering:

Trailblazers & Tastemakers (back at it again!)
A social night for hikers & nature lovers

If you’ve ever wanted to meet more people who love being outside, exploring trails, or chasing the fall foliage like me — this space is for you.

Expect:
🌿 guided conversation rounds
🗺 trail recommendations + shared experiences
🍻 craft beer + cozy vibes
🤝 new connections

📅 Wednesday, October 7
⏰ 6:30–8:30 PM
📍 Departed Soles Brewing Co.

Free event — RSVP encouraged
🎟 Link in bio

Tag a friend you’d hit the trails with 🥾 by @artisticafro

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12 days ago

Late summer / early fall at Byrdcliffe 🌲

I didn't fully know what this residency was going to do for me when I arrived.

I came here to make art. I've made art.

But I've also hiked through the woods, wandered around the colony, watched the seasons shift, reading many books, spent hours talking and laughing with other artists, and found myself paying attention to things I normally rush past.

Byrdcliffe has become the creative magical nature sanctuary I've been looking for 🤎⛰️ taken in Byrdcliffe Colony by @artisticafro

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12 days ago

Join us Saturday September 26th for our last Open Studio day! 🐦‍⬛💜

Check out our ceramic sale, visit our Historic White Pines, meet the artists from Session 4 in their studios, visit our pop-up exhibition to see more work from Communal and Cottage Resident Artists, and stick around after 4 for a musical and literary showcase from our talented Literary and Performing Artists, hosted on the lawn of our Historic White Pines!

For a map of participating Artists, performer lineup, and studio locations head to the Villetta Inn (3 Upper Byrdcliffe Way) at 1;00!

📍3 Upper Byrdcliffe Way
🗓️ Saturday, September 26th
🏺 Ceramic Sale 10:00 - 4:00
🏠 White Pines Tour 12:00 - 1:00
🎨 Open Studios 1:00 - 4:00
🎤 Showcase 4:00 - 5:00

#byrdcliffeartcolony #woodstockny by @artisticafro

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15 days ago

I am honored to share that I will be part of the 4th Communal Artist-in-Residency at Byrdcliffe Art Colony — the oldest continuously operating arts colony in the country🌲🎨✨

125 years of artists, ideas, experimentation, and creative community at this unique and vital cultural resource!

It’s wild where the passions you pursue can take you.

Around this time last year, I started hiking again as a cathartic release — a way to seek refuge from too much noise, too much internet, and the constant stream of negativity that can make the world feel overwhelming.

What started as an escape became a practice.

Whether it’s 30 minutes or 3 hours, solo, with friends or with groups, these almost weekly hiking adventures have helped me face myself, recognize the beauty of nature right in my backyard, move at my own pace, and remember that I’m allowed to experience life without constantly thinking about what I need to produce or become for other people. They’ve also been unexpectedly revolutionary for my creativity.

Getting outside, moving my body, and allowing myself to simply be has brought a new sense of looseness and play into my studio practice.

And now, all of that is taking me to Woodstock 🥹💚

So it feels really good to finally say:

I’m giving myself permission to disappear into nature for a little while and make things.

During my residency, I’m excited to continue expanding ideas for my Black Joy series, explore and experiment with smaller ideas around Black Joy that I’ve been wanting to play with, and give myself room to follow unexpected creative threads.

I’m especially interested in carrying this new sense of looseness and play into other parts of my practice — murals, illustration, painting, and whatever else wants to emerge.

Much gratitude to the @air_byrdcliffe community for welcoming me into this new experience.

Here’s to a rewarding and creatively enriching September 🎨🍂🥂

#BlackJoy #ArtistResidency
#ArtInNature #Byrdcliffe
#WoodstockNY taken in Mother Nature by @artisticafro

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a month ago

Throwback to this beautiful beach day with Summer, Aurora, Ethan & everyone who came out to hang! ☀️🌊🎉

A day to just be: Swimming, laughing, eating, being goofy, just enjoying the day 🥹

Thank you Aurora for being the BEST beach mom a gurl could ask for 💛 The food & meals were EVERYTHING!

Wanting more days like this 🏖️✨ by @artisticafro

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2 months ago

There is something really special about discovering how much joy exists outside of the spaces you're used to occupying 🌿

Lake Day with @raysouladventures was one of those days.

My first time kayaking, exploring Wawayanda’s trails and lake, taking in a little Jersey history, and encountering more wilderness than I’m used to.

One of my favorite parts was meeting so many amazing folks who love being outdoors too—hiking, kayaking, camping, swimming, exploring, connecting, and just being.

To let joy be adventurous.
To let it be slow.
To let it take up space.

Thank you Ray for creating the space for this much-needed reset! 💚🌲 taken in Wawayanda State Park by @artisticafro

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2 months ago

A little splash of the many joys summer has offered so far 🌈✨️

Will be sharing lots more soon 💛 by @artisticafro

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2 months ago

Jellyfish Fields
Mixed media on canvas
11" × 12"

A lil timelapse of me making the piece 💙 best part was putting very little expectations on the outcome

#spongebobday
#timelapsepainting
#mushroomart
#spongebobfanart
#artisticafro by @artisticafro

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3 months ago

💙💛⛵️ Happy International SpongeBob Day! 🪸🦀🐚🐡🐠

Meet "Jellyfish Fields"

If I could visit one place in Bikini Bottom, it'd be Jellyfish Fields. I'd spend all day frolicking through the grass, watching jellyfish drift overhead, and admiring those iconic flower clouds.

So naturally, I wondered...
"What if one of New Jersey's most unique mushrooms grew there?"

The mushroom featured here is Lactarius Indigo, an edible mushroom known for its stunning deep indigo-blue cap and concentric rings that gradually fade to a pale blue-gray with age. Despite looking like something from another planet (or Bikini Bottom 😆), it's a real mushroom that can be found in Northwest New Jersey, throughout parts of the East Coast, the Gulf Coast, and Central America during warm, rainy summers and into the fall 🍄

Nature has always inspired my work, and SpongeBob has inspired my imagination since I was a kid. Bringing these two worlds together just felt right.

Happy birthday to the sponge who taught us that curiosity, laughter, and a little imagination can brighten just about any day 💙💛

(Old SpongeBob for-everrrr!!! RIP Stephen Hillenburg 💔)

My DMs are open for custom nature-inspired or nostalgic artwork ✨️

#spongebobday
#lactariusindigo
#mushroomart
#spongebobfanart
#artisticafro taken in Jellyfish Fields by @artisticafro

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3 months ago