A Musing #35

This post is very relevant the my future plans regarding self portraits. As of today, I have 35 self portraits in the bank. Rembrandt has close to 100. He’s dead and I’m 27 so I think I can top the Dutch mirror loving master. That’s a pretty fair goal if you ask me. Work so hard that your idols become your rivals. I don’t know who said that, but it sticks with me.

I had a really interesting chat with a friend that led to me pacing around while talking to myself long after the discussion was over. It was about millennial artists. Being one, I feel there is a need to be extremely different in order to stand out and also work a lot harder then our predecessors. Looking at art history, it’s very difficult to do something “original” today. We’re all just remixes of previous trends and work. Naturally, I brought my own work into the comparison that monologue could be labeled as my solo podcast minus the recording equipment. I feel I’m not so much trying to be a “wow” factor to grab attention, but trying to be timeless. In regards to viewers and future audiences, I think  about my paintings to stand solid on their own and remain classics. It’s like fashion where we have items released that reflect the era and others that remain eternal. What I mean by that is there are pieces that will always work no matter what and others that will have people say “oh god remember when that was in?”.

Maybe I’m thinking and talking about this too much. Whatever your goal is, just put your head down and work. That also applies to mental health and relationships. If you aren’t where you want to be, just grind it out. Don’t forget to celebrate those little victories in between. I know what I need to do. Congratulate your friends on their achievements and keep working. Good or bad, I’m going to keep pumping out work till I reach my goal.