iamthenublack: Robert Trujillo

Introduce yourself

Peace, my name is Robert Trujillo and I’m an artist from The Bay Area, California.  I mostly do Illustration and Murals. I am the father of a beautiful and inspiring little boy who wakes me up at 7am almost everyday. We laugh, read, play, get mad each other, eat hummus, and make science experiments.

I am passionate about using my skills as an artist to make a positive impact on my family, my community, and the world. I’m not down with what the US government has done to people of color, working class, and poor folks of their own country and around the world.

I am down with positive, creative, and progressive collaboration to live a better life that includes time for love, family. What else? I represent an amazing group of artists known as The Trust Your Struggle Collective. We’re currently fundraising for our third Mural tour. I’m also working on a project called “Come Bien Books” which works with illustrators and writers of colour.

Favourite lyric from a song

“We didn’t come all this way just to give up, we didn’t struggle all this time to say we’ve had enough”

-Gil Scott Heron & Brian Jackson  – ‘There must be something we can do’

Who and what inspires you?

My son, my family, and my crew (TYS Collective) always inspire me, but lately I’ve been inspired by things such as:

Blogs: African Digital Art, Ghetto Manga, Black Nerds Network, LeCoil, Flygirl, Harriet’s Alter Ego, Kiss My Black Ads, Blank bare clean, Drawn, Thenublack of course!

Books/Comics: The Alchemist, Black Comix, and Witchdoctor by Kenjji Marshall, Brotherman Comics, Type Illy Press, Octavia Butler, Keepers of The Maser,

Local Organizers in the Bay/NYC: Nancy Hernandez,  Anthony Navarro, Pueblo Nuevo, Ryse Center, La Pena Cultural Center, The Peoples Grocery, Red Bike and Green, POKER Family, MVMT, Hard Knock Radio, World Up, El Puente, Rebel Diaz Arts Collective

Artists: Dignidad Rebelde, Brett Cook, Estria, Kufu, Refa, Dead Eyes, Martha Alicia, Chaz Bojorquez, Mode 2, Juana Alicia, Lois Malou Jones, Salvador Dali, Alejandra Perez, Crystal Clarity, Zeckis, Ms Mensen, Zees Moreno, Os Gemeos.

Icons, past and present

Tough one, I’m not sure. I consider Michael Jackson an icon

The nublack philosophy according to Robert Trujillo

Promote your work because if you don’t let people know you exist, others who feel the same way you do, share something in common, or just appreciate what you do will never know you. Doing “you” is as real as it can get. My struggle, my friends, and family, are real. And my goals are real, so I’m achieving them no matter what, no matter how weird or impossible they seem!!! That’s thenublack to me…Trust Your Struggle!

Check me out

Website

Trust Your Struggle

photo by Leo Docuyanan
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