I can’t say I have one particular style. As an artist, I’ve had the chance to study many artists and explore many styles. When I was younger, it often felt like an internal battle—because I genuinely love experimenting with techniques. In high school, I had Mr. Corey, who I’m still in touch with, guiding me through the underpainting methods of Caravaggio. Then there was Mrs. Kunin, who had me studying Renoir—on the days she didn’t kick me out of class for laughing and causing a bit of chaos. To this day, I blame Tee Taylor, another phenomenal artist making waves in these art streets.
When I got to Moore College—after being recruited by Professor Moe Brooker—I later learned it was actually his wife who visited us at CAPA. I believe she was the VP of the Philadelphia Museum of Art at the time. At Moore, I studied with Tendai, Mary Ann Krustsick, and many others who shaped my growth. I think Alice Oh might still have a bit of PTSD from having me in her class. But honestly, I loved the freedom to experiment.
The only time I didn’t enjoy being an artist was in grad school. One instructor tried to box me in—not just creatively, but in terms of how I should look and present myself as an artist. That was the first time I saw my mother cry because of how I was treated. It broke my confidence, and I stopped painting for a while. That’s when I pivoted to desktop publishing, after a relative connected me with a client (which turned out to be a nightmare). But from there, I started diving into other creative work.
After my mother passed, I ended up in a completely different industry. I had to quit my job, which disrupted everything creatively. But about two years later, I realized that the mix of office work and desktop publishing could become something more. My grandmother and I had learned software together, and those skills slowly turned into a side hustle—one that eventually paid more than my 9-to-5.
I taught myself Adobe products and web development, spending long days and nights learning code and refining my skills. I started building relationships and growing a business, even while dealing with some family drama and people spreading lies about what I was doing on my computer. I didn’t let it stop me—I just got stronger. Over time, I became a successful entrepreneur. Until now, I’ve kept a lot of that to myself.
In 2014, I decided to deepen my digital marketing knowledge and enrolled in the accelerated master’s program at Full Sail. My brain moves fast, and I get bored easily, so the pace was perfect for me. I should also mention that while I was “terrorizing” folks in high school and undergrad with my jokes and laughter, I still earned my BFA in General Fine Arts with a Minor in Art Education. It was supposed to be a five-year program, and I finished in four—well, technically four and a half after completing my teaching internship. People eventually caught on that I was pretty smart, like my mom, who was a tested genius. My grandmother (speedy fingers) wasn’t slow either—she could type 95 words a minute and beat us all at Nintendo.
Today, I can paint, draw, build a website, create an app, go viral on social media—whatever I feel inspired to do. I feel incredibly blessed to have this kind of freedom. I can blog, host a podcast, or even write a book. And now, with AI in the mix, I’ve added even more tools to my creative toolkit. While recovering from neck and spine surgery, I studied how to use AI to enhance and monetize my work. I’ve been building automated workflows, experimenting with agents—especially RAG agents backed by knowledge bases—and learning from various LLMs. These skills are now opening up international possibilities.
Most people don’t really know what I think or why some folks have certain opinions of me, because they’ve never been in my shoes. But I’m okay with that. These days, I’m just enjoying life and the role that means the most to me: being known as Jamir’s mom.
