Artist Statement : I have been painting and creating art for as long as I can remember. I began painting daily since 1970 to the present. It was as if by 1970 ,having had grown up in post war Los Angeles; I had many things that I wanted to speak on as I saw them. I had been through the riots and civil unrest, earthquakes,fires, seen the Civil Rights movements, saw death on the streets, police beatings, Vietnam casualties, gangs and  police shoot outs with Black Muslims and the S.L. A ( Patti Hearst group ). I decided to investigate the chaos of society and the reasons why through my art. I wanted to arouse empathy and compassion of humankind and at the same time seek solutions through artistic awareness.

After working on the congested freeways seeing auto accident scenes, loss of life, urban sprawl and decay in Los Angeles, sketching on the streets of Skid Row seeing homeless people with no future; I later became a steward and advocate for the natural environments as well.

The natural environments utilized my skills as a lover of plants and animals to hone my resource and habitat restoration skills. This experience helped to make my art more whole and my love of the world more complete.

I was never a follower. I blazed my own path. I was never one to stand on a soap box or at a podium; although I sometimes found myself there. As much as possible I spoke with my paints, canvas and brush.

I knew that I had to be a painter of all things. Not any one subject but all subjects. Whether the subject was endangered species, war, the soiling of the environment, politics, racism, Jazz and Blues musicans or children playing; If I felt it I painted it. My subject is the world we live in.

I have always utilized art as a means of investigating life and phenomenon; to understand how we as human beings treat each other and the world we live in.

Art for me is problem solver and nourishment for the soul. The light in the dark and hope where there is none. If my art can change one mind or influence one child, it would have served its purpose. It's a spiritual thing.It is not about money, fame or recognition. It is about creating pure, unadulterated art. Art free of commercialization and economic manipulation. Uncut, unyielding and full of truths and freedom. You will not find my paintings in the furniture store or some trendy gallery with the ''Art De Jure''.   

Over the years I have come to understand my own personal ''Art Language''. I speak from life experiences with the subjects that I paint. This is accomplished through the stories that people tell me, news and media accounts of disasters, wars, conspiracy, environment and oral history. I am on ground and walking around to see it for myself.

I create art that penetrates through the facade of daily life and personal preoccupation with mental and material escapes. Wala ! You are hit with the stark naked truth, that's in your face. That is Kabu.

My art is created intuitively and as a response to social,political,economics, and world events. Art is my vehicle to express commentary on many issues impacting humankind and our environment as well as how we treat each other. Art for me is a means to explore issues of the world and humanity.
 I endeavor to expose down to the bone and remove the veil of illusion that the current media has created. To see behind the scene and hopefully bring out awareness, empathy and compassion.

 In growing up in Los Angeles, I had ample subject matter and through my travels to the East Coast and Alabama; tracing the steps of Martin Luther King, my parents and relatives, to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial I was motivated to paint what I saw and felt even more. Someone need to create art that addressed the state of things and consequences that could result.

Quotes from Art Critics, Publications and Exhibits :
 
June 12,2003 : From the San Luis Obispo, Cal. based newspaper  ''NewTimes" art critic Glenn Starkey. "The Malibu artist Kabu will be in yo' face. His colorful and sociopolitical paintings take swipes at American Imperialism, vacuous pop culture, those indifferent to poverty and pain of others and more''. '' His art will encourage you to view life and yourself on a spiritual level and aims to heighten our concern for human and world conditions by illuminating realities that are often ignored''.
 
February 18, 1998 : Dr. Gerry Block ,owner of Gallery 345, San Pedro ,Ca.

''The work of Kabu, a Malibu/Ventura California based artist is often personal and uncompromising. His painting of the man standing in front of his Mercedes Benz with a background of institutional and personal debris is a commentary on an aspect of Western Culture. The artist work was derived from a personal interview of the subject which caught his eye".
 
January/February 1990 : The Black Collegian, "Art of the African World ", by Dr. Samella Lewis. Article excerpt: ''Over the years his paintings have evolved into analysis through investigations of the daily life and the environment in which he lives''. pg. 177