Closing Out 5 Years Of Being An Artist And Brain Cancer Boy
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Dear Patrons,
In 2018 I chose to start calling myself an artist. Thank you for uplifting that choice and being a part of my visual art practice over the last 5 years. This creative period coincided with a complete life transformation as I navigated the immediate treatment and long term impacts of living with brain cancer.
Love and art have been the anchors guiding me through it all and I wouldn’t have them without your presence and encouragement along the way.
As I enter my 38th year and prepare to become a father in the coming months, I’m thinking about what it means to live, for a long time, as an artist, a partner and a dad. I’m working to release some of the limitations that have come with my experience as a brain cancer boy while having gratitude for each breath.
I’m also looking back at all I’ve learned through my early days as an artist and feeling called to use this moment of transition to share my evolution with visual art as it relates to healing.
As we traverse these last 5 years of color love, I welcome your comments and reflections on the work. I also look to learn from my fellow parents who have successfully maintained this dream; living and thriving as artists and creators.
Phase 1: The Proscription For Acute Pain Was Expressing Joy
Destination Del Sol rang in the new year in 2018 and kicked off my career as an artist, it led to a sold out gallery show, my work in the new Soho Warehouse downtown, major press recognition and commissions to paint cars, walls, textiles and canvas all over the country.
Painting a car and driving it from LA to Cabo and back proved my hunch that bold, colorful patterns painted across vehicles, buildings and objects could spread joy and love in myself and others. I’m deeply grateful for my co-pilot and collaborator Daniel Johnson who continues to push our capacity to make work with meaning while photographing the path along the way.
