Ultra Violent

This piece is called ‘Ultra Violent.’I specifically chose the imagery to represent a very dark mood I was in.

Over the years, I’ve learned that you have to embrace all emotions. I used to try to ignore or suppress uncomfortable feelings. Distractions are temporary (like Netflix, drinking, or working out), and sooner or later you have to face whatever is bothering you. Instead of running away from the things that repel us, we must go towards what hurts.

Sitting with those icky emotions makes them less sticky and more temporary. It’s kind of like ripping off a bandaid. If you ignore the task of ripping it off, you may induce anxiety of the act. Instead, even though you know it will hurt, you just have to rip it off. Once you do, you realize that it wasn’t that bad.

Take sadness as an example. With this emotion you just have to sit with it and become comfortable with it. Instead of trying to pretend like your not sad, familiarize yourself with your current mood’s contours and textures. How does it feel? If it had a color, what color would it be? When have you felt this way before? Having an understating of these emotions will help define its limitations and make them more fleeting.

This is totally just my opinion of course. The painting above was inspired by an angry phase I was going through. I tapped into it and guess what? That feeling is now gone.

Three Graces

There are three goddesses in Greek mythology known as the Graces. They generally represented grace, charm and beauty (alongside other attributes). Aglaia represented elegance, brightness and splendor.Thalia represented youth, beauty and good cheer. Euphrosyne represented mirth and/or joyfulness.

I’m finding that my daily meditation practice is allowing me to live in the moment more and to let go of a lot of overly unnecessary thinking. This has had a profound effect on my art. It’s easier to come up with ideas to paint these days. And although 99.9% of them never turn out the way I planned, I’m o.k. with that and look forward to creating the next batch. This painting represents my interpretation of the Three Graces.

Marcus Aurelius – Fractured Bust

Here’s a new painting of mine. It’s a bust of Marcus Aurelius. Since his book ‘Meditations’ has had such a profound influence on me, I felt compelled to create a visual reminder of his imagery to hang in my apartment. His gaze embodies what I believe to be the essence of stoicism, which is an unflinching approach to all external events. Things are what they are, and the only thing we can control is our interpretation of events.

I chose to paint a camouflage background for two reasons. Primarily, it symbolizes Marcus Aurelius’ military background and resonates with the concept of Roman stoicism (which is a practical application of the philosophy akin to a defensive military tactic). Secondarily, I am huge fan of Andy Warhol. He had a camouflage collection which was a series or prints that took the standard pattern and infused them with his signature color palette.

Marcus Aurelius will continue to be an influence in my artwork, so I look forward to see what kooky idea I come up with next.

Bear Republic Painting

I recently aspired to fully furnish my apartment since I’m going to renew my lease. For a whole year it has been devoid of furniture, and now I’m looking to spruce things up and make my pad a little livelier and homey.

I was given a canvas for my birthday after complaining to a friend that my walls were bare. I didn’t know what to paint, and my friend suggested a bear for a bare wall. Although this was a joke, I found a little source of inspiration in this humor. Plus, I’m originally from California, so this is kind of an homage to the Bear Republic.

I’m stumped for now, as I don’t know whether to leave as is or further modify. I’m totally open to suggestions. I just need to put it aside for now since it’s keeping me from creating other things.