One of the reasons art is so powerful is because it meets you right where you’re at…
No judgments, no preconceived notions. It doesn’t ask you why you aren’t further along. It doesn’t care what age you are, what political group you affiliate with, if you’re married or single. Your status, your background, and your bank account are completely irrelevant in the presence of art.
All art cares about is who you are at your essence…when you can’t check any boxes to define yourself. And it also cares about who you are becoming.
When you allow yourself to surrender to it, it will elicit exactly the right questions for you to consider in order to grow in powerful ways.
I think this is why I’m often called to paint large...
Because I love the idea of us all getting engulfed by art...getting lost in its invitation to go beyond...beyond the limiting beliefs and definitions each one of us has about ourselves and about each other.
To date, the piece you see below is the largest I’ve ever created!
I got the canvases about a year ago when I was in a different place and was a different person. The canvases sat blank for over 4 months because I was scared. When I finally cultivated enough faith and courage to make my initial marks, I couldn’t touch them again for a long time after that. I think I was trying to make time go still.
You see, to me, each stroke captures a moment in time.
To some, my work may look chaotic, but I am not just randomly placing lines on a canvas.
Yes, there are times my strokes transcend standard logic and it feels as though I’m being guided by a mystical muse, but I can assure you none of my work is by chance.
My paintings are my prayers that go out into the world. And what the piece above, in particular, represents is the journey of a prayer. The big prayers we all hold in our hearts...for ourselves, our communities and humanity at large...the big prayers require a journey.
Perceived missteps and failures are inevitable when going beyond what has been before. Which is why the prayer must be on repeat. (The piece's title: Prayer on Repeat.)
I believe there’s not a more beautiful prayer to be on repeat than the prayer of "connected, period."
Make it your mantra, your commitment, your intention.
