WHY YOUR UNIQUENESS WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE

What Makes You Different?

      I thought it would be a good time to talk about attaining a process to do whatever it is that lights you up. People always need to find something that is unique to them in order to create the unique craft that they create, perform the unique service they have to offer, and do whatever sets them out from the pack. In art, this often has to do with certain types of paint brushes, certain types of materials or maybe even recycled materials, the sky is truly the limit. If you’re not an artist, maybe it has to do with the way you show your determination, the power you possess in a room, or maybe you are the voice everyone wants to hear from. Whatever it is that you use, it is generally a good idea to have something that can help make you noticeable and unique. Now, there is a difference here between just gaining popularity with your craft versus doing something that's functional for your craft and your life. 

From Jackson Pollock & David Garibaldi

       There are a lot of examples of people who are unique to their craft so let me give you some examples in the art world. I have seen artists who paint with their hair or who paint while rolling around on the floor. Maybe take the example of Jackson Pollock, an artist who was someone who really started the movement of drip paintings. A lot of artists today are using resin and epoxy to create amazing drip paintings with a spinning or hanging apparatus to create blasts of color. The point is their process is what makes it entertaining and unique. Another artist I can think of off the top of my head is David Garibaldi. Something I like about his process is the performance aspect. Mind you, people never necessarily see what goes on behind-the-scenes when it comes to practice but this artist in particular practiced his craft for so long and had so much practice before he became a big deal, much thanks to modern social media. So if you're not familiar, David Garibaldi is a performance painter who actually paints with both hands and creates portraits of celebrities quickly, in front of your eyes. The whole performance is an experience in itself because you're watching an artist go through their process while paint is flying everywhere and it is very exciting thing to witness. 


Why Do Others Stand Out To You?

       There's always that line between what makes an artist, or anyone, unique, what makes them stand out, and what seems just plain crazy. In the art world there seems to be something for everyone. Sometimes artists use their own bodies as the artwork, sometimes artists use things that fringe along the fine lines of ethics, the point is they stand out for a particular reason. So for you in your life, what is it that makes you unique? What is it that you like about others that make them stand out to you? 


Simple Techniques Making Big Changes

       One of the techniques that I like to use in my life came simply from art school. I like to utilize extensions on my pencils and paintbrushes. This is something I picked up from one of my art teachers when I was a student and I took it to the max by pushing it further. So, some of you that are familiar with my work, you may have seen that at times I'm holding a 6 ft long paint brush. This essentially allows me to have the fluidity that I need while working around a canvas and it essentially becomes a meditative dance for me when I'm laying down the framework for a new painting. I actually started this process when I was primarily focusing on charcoal drawing when I was in art school and then I eventually took this to paint with canvas. I used to be someone who would focus a lot on realistic drawings. Realistic drawings utilizing graphite was something I was very comfortable with especially in high school. I would use a grid, I would use photographs, I got extremely comfortable with being able to draw what I saw and it honestly got a little boring and started to make me feel stagnated with every little detail. 


Your Spiritual Turn Ons

       An artist argument that a lot of times you will see come up is when it comes to things like realism or hyperrealism. The argument is that people don't have their artistic eye in the composition. Now don't get me wrong this takes a lot of skill to do this realism art, hyperrealism etc. however there's always the question of whether someone is being a human xerox machine or not. Where is their uniqueness? That's for you to decide. For me, I noticed the more and more realistic I tried to get with my work, the less joy that I actually got from the process. I believe as an artist that there should be a type of joy associated with whatever it is that you do. I think that's a general example for life. You should get joy from anything that it is that you do, otherwise, what’s the point? I believe everyone should do something that lights them up whether it's for their job, for their career, whether it's a side hustle, or a hobby. I believe everyone should do something that “turns their spirit on.” 


Here Is A Way I Show My Uniqueness

       Truthfully I believe that is a way to make the world a better place. Wouldn’t you think so? If you have been following along, you would know I have a background in medicine and that's why I like to bring things like five element theory into my paintings. I really am thinking about what elements would correlate to my paintings, how the theories of yin and yang combine, balance, flow etc. If you're not familiar with the five element theory, it is an aspect of traditional Chinese medicine diagnosis. I myself am still a licensed practitioner and instructor of Traditional Chinese Medicine but the point is I take the background of my life and I put it onto the canvas in a new creative way that is unique to me and it lights me up. Back when I was a more the realism artist, I feel like my individuality wasn't coming out properly and it wasn’t that exciting, even to me. So one of the reasons I wanted to share this technique is that for me, thinking outside the box and just making a massively large paintbrush, combined with my background knowledge from other aspects of my life, completely changed my work for the better. Now I'm creating work that is extremely unique to me and it is extremely exciting to look at. When I compared that to a lot of my realism work, (which I still like to do for aesthetics, structure and practice on occasion,) I noticed that by releasing some control within the process, it allowed me to attain a certain flair, a new angle and a fulfilling experience. Ultimately the biggest question I now ask myself is, “am I getting the right amount of joy and excitement from this process?” Doing something that makes us all truly unique, (your soul’s mission if you will,) would aid so much of the issues we face today in modern society. For example, look at the numbers of anxiety, depression, trauma, addiction. Those feelings, those influences come from a source of inadequate joy. The vibration behind them is an unfortunate story. Imagine if someone allowed themselves to follow what they loved. How could that aid with overcoming their current mental state? Saying no to influences that lead to misfortune?


Is Uniqueness = To Happiness?
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        I have found that as a contemporary impressionist painter and draftsman, it is way more exciting for me to simply follow the road of my uniqueness and happiness. I have had my own share of chronic disease, traumas and anxieties, trust me. When I decided I wanted to find a better way, I dove into myself and allowed my own vulnerability to admit my passions. I knew I wanted to help people through my art, my words, my medicine, my music, you name it, I knew I was placed on this earth for a reason, that I faced all the things I faced in order to better serve not only myself, not only my family, but someone that will cross with my path in the future. 


       To me, my uniqueness became the story I wanted to tell. The story I needed to tell. My art and my words became my lessons to teach, the crowd I claimed knew how to reach and the energy I am here to attract. 


How You Will Stand Out

       If you have that golden formula then you will absolutely be  able to stand out in anything you set your mind to. For me and my uniqueness, it has become all about the journey not necessarily just the final product or the destination. If I feel like dancing while I paint, you can bet your best dollar that I'm going to dance while I paint! It's more exciting, it's more fun, and I end up having a great time! So when given the chance, how will you dance? How will you rise to the purpose of your worldly gift that is this body? Be your greatest, unique self, and the energy that will flow into your life will beam for you and through you to light the darkness that will cease to exist around you. Become your best self and share your greatest, unique gifts.