Malik Whitaker was born and raised in Newark, NJ. From a very young age his parents recognized his passion and talent as an artist and enrolled him in several workshops and art classes. His illustrations have appeared in many poetry books and publications. He is also an accomplished muralist whose work can be seen on several buildings, churches and colleges throughout NJ. He specializes in portrait and figurative painting impressions through visual translation based on individualized customer needs. He has studied many forms of art; oil, watercolor, acrylic, pencil, charcoal and pastels. He currently is the owner of M-Print Art studios in Newark, where he continues to display his art while working on projects and mentoring students. Malik is also currently mentoring and teaching art to students of all ages including students with physical and mental disabilities all while facilitating workshops in public school systems and NJPAC.