My life changed completely when I discovered art. This “Aha!” moment opened my eyes up to a mass of unseen potential and possibilities. I started off by tattooing as a means of surviving here. After the year of doing this, I now hated it. I had to figure out why I disliked it so much, so I could get back to that enjoying it again. Then I realized it was because I was back to chasing money. I hated it because I was now doing these projects I had no interest in but because I was getting paid to do it, I was obligated to the customer. Once again, money was steering the direction of my life. So, I asked myself, “How can I fix this?”. And then it came to me that I lacked drawing skills. If I knew how to draw, I would have more creative freedom over the projects, and I would enjoy it more. So, I taught myself how to draw the best I could for months. Then I finally found a mentor who would take me more seriously to teach me.
Once I started learning from him, he explained that if I really wanted to be a great artist, I had to learn how to paint. He said painting would open my eyes up to looking at things in life from a different perspective. After teaching me basic color theory, he had me paint my first piece. It was a newspaper clipping of a lighthouse. When I finished it, I stood back and I looked at it. It wasn’t the best picture, but it looked just like it, except in color. It blew my mind that I was able to do that and at that amazing moment it became bittersweet for me. Although I was happy I created this picture, it made me realize how much of my life I had wasted chasing an illusion. But this painting, this was real, and I could have been chasing something real like this. That was the real “Aha!” moment that showed me what I would never allow myself to see — that I was capable of building instead of destroying.
These commentaries are recorded by Prison Radio.
