Akili Richards: Mixed Media Master

He’s been creating art since he was “able to put a crayon to paper.” Now, Akili Richards has found a medium right in line with the 21^st century – a technique called digital airbrushing.

It’s exactly what it sounds like. Imagine those obnoxiously bright t-shirts you get made for Spring Break in Panama City, but with a more refined, digital feel. A mixture of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and classical training in art is what you get with Richards’ pieces. “What I like most about digital airbrushing is the ability to create works with extremely high detail. My pieces have such fine detail that there are elements most people will never notice because they are so small,” the artist said in an interview with VA Mag.

However, with a relatively novel medium comes many naysayers. This is something that Richards believes is really the most difficult part of digital airbrushing. “The biggest issue is [the fact that] because the medium is so new and I use a computer to execute, art traditionalists, especially in the Black Arts Community are extremely skeptical and at times have even questioned if I really created it,” Richards told VA Mag. Born and raised in New Jersey, Richards was classically trained in art with media like pencil, acrylics and oils. He developed digital airbrushing as a way to combine his skills in oil painting and graphic design.

Richards has been using digital airbrushing for more than 10 years now, and he likes to create  “a typical point of view” through his art. To create these pictures, Richards draws from all kinds of experiences, some of which aren’t even necessarily his.

“Most of my pieces are inspired by either my life experiences, or those of people I know, or even trends and issues that I view in our community,” said Richards. If you take a look at Richards’ work, you can easily see a vast pool of inspiration from which he draws. Topics include religion and various kinds of lives different people experience based on good and bad choices we all make. For Richards, it’s all about our decisions.

“The two most prominent themes that run through my collection are my love of God and the importance of the choices. Life is all about the choices and decisions we make,” Richards told VA Mag. These life choices are what the artist is working on next. He went on to explain a little bit about one of his newest pieces he’s working on now called “100 Miles Past Empty.”

“It’s a scene from a strip joint. The twist is that the women’s faces are all showing the way they really feel inside. And all the women and men in the picture are various levels of saturation between full color and black [and] white to illustrate the emptiness that is gradually taking them over due to the detrimental lifestyle they’ve chosen.” Richards said. One of Richards’ goals is to reach people. He wants to reach his audience in a way that makes us aware. He wants us to “feel the life that runs through [his] work,” and gain new perspectives in our own lives, or in the lives of others that we may not completely comprehend.

“In the future I hope to continue creating pieces that grab people and make them think. To me, art is about more than making something that looks pretty. I want my work to touch and possibly even change lives,” said Richards. His other goals are more personal.

“[My] ultimate goal in life is to make God proud and take care of my family. When it comes to my art, I just want it to be seen and appreciated by as many people as possible… And if I can make a few million dollars while I’m at it, that wouldn’t be too bad either,” Richards told VA Mag. The artist has some words of wisdom to leave with fellow artists. This doesn’t just apply to painters, but anyone who pursues any kind of art could learn from this message:

“My advice to new artists would be simply to stay true to themselves when it comes to their work. Don’t create just to get a response or sales. Some people may like your work and some may not, but as long as you stay true to yourself you’ll always be fulfilled as an artist.”

-Geneva Toddy