Pencil Fingerz takes inspiration from hip hop culture in first solo art show

With the internet and technology advancing at breakneck speeds every day, more and more art is being created using digital tools and software while the use of traditional mediums like pastels and pencils continue to decline over time.

Davis Graham, however, uses elements of hip hop culture to add a contemporary edge to his pencil drawings as he shares them under the artist name Pencil Fingerz.

Image: Pencil Fingerz

Growing up in Chilliwack, BC, Graham spent much of his young life sketching faces as a completely self-taught artist. Eventually choosing to pursue contract work over traditional art school, he has always known he would become an artist. “I never considered being anything else my entire life, it’s just what I’ve always done,” he says.

Image: Pencil Fingerz

Best known for the pencil drawn album covers he’s created in the past for Brooklyn rappers The Underachievers as well as his recognizable portraits of rappers like Yelawolf, Rittz, CJ Fly, Mick Jenkins, Kirk Knight, G-Herbo, Dillon Cooper, and Smoke DZA, hip hop has always been an ongoing theme for the young artist.

“Hip hop inspires me because of its origins and its messages of positivity and redemption,” Graham explains. “It makes people feel like they can be themselves and encourages innovation and originality. It has no colour boundaries because everybody is welcome. It is a voice for the people who don’t have one, and we can promote leaders by supporting their talent. Like KRS ONE said, rap is something you do hip hop is something you live.”

On Friday, September 16, Pencil Fingerz is scheduled to host his first ever solo art show titled “All My Creations” in the Fortune Sound Club Special Projects Space.

Image: Pencil Fingerz

Image: Pencil Fingerz

Image: Pencil Fingerz

Image: Pencil Fingerz

Image: Fortune Sound Club

Pencil Fingerz “All My Creations” Art Show

Where: Fortune Sound Club – 147 East Pender St.

When: Friday, September 16

Time: 10 pm – 2 am

Cost: Free with RSVP

Check out the Facebook event page for more info.