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I painted this almost a year ago... To be honest at the time, I stopped painting because I had a full time job working at an ad agency. There is this tension between responsibility in paying rent and bills, and having fun and creating from passion. I remember in school growing up my teachers would call me out for daydreaming out the window. It was bad. I wasn’t paying attention. I wasn’t supposed to dream because I was supposed to be learning math or something, which was the right thing to be doing in the moment. But I just can’t help wondering about all the dreamers who get their ideas squashed because of the ‘right’ thing to do, playing it safe and forgetting about what was placed in their heart while they divert their attention to solving a math problem along with 20 other students. The last two years in LA have been just that, balancing what was ‘right’ and what God has placed in my heart that would be a risk to pursue. There is so much going on in this painting, all sorts of movement, it’s abstract, I love abstract. But in the middle is a rose made out of all that chaos. It may not look perfect, or how a picture of a rose would look, but it’s still a rose. That reminds me that no matter what we look like or where we are from, everyone is still human. So, does this rant have anything to do with this abstract painting of a rose? HA…no but the reason why I am even writing this is because this picture inspired me to stop & reflect on how I got to where I am today. The only reason why I didn’t stop painting at that time was because my friend Justin - who always encouraged my paintings when I posted them - asked for one himself. So I carved out time and made a way to paint, and I am so happy I did. You never know who or what you may be inspiring. So I encourage you today, to go after what God has placed in your heart, try to do the ‘right’ thing while balancing your passions and dreams, surround yourself with good friends who will call you out and also push you into your purpose, because it’s so easy to give up, and so hard to stay the course. Whatever you do just don’t give up x
Chase and Justin after presenting the painting.