The American Dream
"The American Dream" is a series of digital paintings created as I dive into my new venture in life as a full time, self employed visual artist. The paintings explore items that have been rooted in my brain as things that are needed to live a "good life." The problem is, the definition of a good life, or the american dream, is different for everyone. There is no formula. There is no a to b. This series of paintings is a way for me to discover all the things in my mind that are not true to my good life. The things self imposed and those imposed by people around me, society itself, and a long history of cultural mis-conceptions.
Make a Boat Load of Money
I always had this thought that the more money I made the happier I would be... the more comfortable I would be. And while making money can be a lot of fun, the more concentrated I became on making it, the less happy I was. It became everything and every second of every day consisted of busting my ass to work as much as possible to make as much as I could. I had this number in my head... if I can only make a little more. Once I hit the number, the number would get bigger. All the while I was doing my work at a constant depreciating quality level. The more I over worked myself, the more I couldn't work well, which increased the amount of work I needed to do. It took a huge moment to step back and slow down. I had to cut back, start making good work again, concentrate on whats important, and start living my life again. This is when I quit one of my jobs and re-centered everything around getting myself healthy, rested and spending more time with the people I love.
Money is not the only thing, there is so much more. And the less I worry about it, the more it seems easier to make... a very odd concept, that I am still trying to grasp.
20x20 giclee print on archival Kodak Professional Endura Supra Lustre paper. Signed and numbered by the artist. Limited edition - 100 prints
