2Pac aka Tupac Shakur is the greatest rapper of all time, and was one of the first super stars in the rap industry. 2Pac inspired with his vicious flow, but more importantly with his message, spending much of his career drawing attention to and fighting the systemic racism that plagued America. I felt it was important, in the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement, to paint Tupac and to understand him further through painting this piece.

In this painting I really wanted to focus on embodying his being. I chose a more sullen expression to grasp his serious side. I wanted to accentuate this expression so I put a lot of work into creating the dramatic lighting on his face. I wanted to also acknowledge his death and show admiration in the way that he lived his life, by adding in the white aura around him. To me this is easily the best painting the I have ever done.