For as long as I can remember, I’ve drawn inspiration from the image of a producer making beats at their house. Coming up, it seemed like the most exciting underground music started in some random basement with nothing more than creativity, the right set of records, a sampler, and a drum machine. J-Dilla, DJ Shadow, Flying Lotus, Madlib, and more blew my mind with their early instrumental beats. As a relatively broke teenager, I was fascinated with the bedroom producer mythology.

The concept of skill and perseverance being the true meritocracy, that a musician could change the world with so little was a powerful source of motivation that still resonates today. 

As an artist that has always held a full time job, I’ve long patterned my practice after this template. The key to consistently putting work out for me has always been discipline, I wake up early on the weekends in order to get the most out of the day. In those quiet morning hours, the parallels between my creative process and those of the producers I admire stand out to me.

Using whatever tools at your disposal to make art you believe in is the very definition of putting in work. 

I’ve recently gotten into documenting my artistic workflow. It’s partly out of necessity, still images don’t get much traction on social media these days and, with the advent of AI, I think people have come to appreciate watching artist’s work.

It’s ironic how much creativity stands out in the age of generation.

Today I’m sharing the photoessays documenting the making of my two most recent collage illustrations, “New Gods” and “Infinity Seed”. Both are made by hand using paint, ink, and prints of photographs from my archive. Depending on the response, I will share more of these behind the scenes essays in the future. And be sure to follow Nonstndrd on Instagram for more.

"New Gods"

"Infinity Seed"