08/31
Everyday You Wait Is A Day You Wont Get Back
i create one-of-a kind-paintings. you may have seen my work in cb2, on sale sites such as gilt.com, or popping up in celebrity home photos in people magazine.
i am wile e coyote, dynamite ready and excited to introduce a new series of paintings based on crossfit work out movements. i have canvas’s showing double under’s, burpees, slam balls, push ups, kettle bell swings, box jumps and dead lifts. maybe even a few you will need to look at twice to figure out.
it is all a sort of mix between crossfit + canvas. these caffeine laden, high intensity movements are a jarring collision between the still and blank space of a fresh canvas + the rapid repetitive motion of athletic strength. it is an unforeseen impact between the pre wod countdown and the fine line between wanting to quit and pushing through to finish the work out.
each original piece is a unique, one of a kind creation ready for hanging in your box, your office, your home or even in your secret lair. to some it will be an abstract work or art. to others it will be a reminder that after completing twenty one, fifteen and nine nothing can stand in your way. there are also hand pulled screen prints available for smaller spaces or to be hung as a featured gallery wall. each is numbered as a limited edition of 25 and signed.
oh, and Vuori clothing made jumping around, splashing in paint and lifting heavy stuff super easy to do. i love the way the kore shorts moved while diving up and down during long video shoots of endless burpees + the banks help up just the same while dead lifting into puddles of paint. i liked them so much i have my local box carrying the collection.
i’m actually pretty quiet – most of the time. yet i’m capable of volcanic eruptions of energy and frenzied moments of accomplishment. its just that i’m better with a brush than i am with words. and in this case, i’m better at pushing, pulling and lifting than i am with expressing myself through voice. in many ways it can be hard for me to talk about my work – that’s why i paint – i’m trying to show you how i feel.
i’m constantly putting my work in front of others which can give be crawl in a ball + hide under a desk anxiety. work’n out - whether it is crossfit, soccer, going for a run or a yoga session boosts my confidence and calms my nerves.
more than anything - that is why i sweat. i need that. every day.
i also need to be told to wake up. get off the couch. show up on time. work your backside off and surprise someone.
being an artist is not all pretty pictures and brightly hued sunsets.
i didn’t start with a business plan, a studio, fancy business cards or an art blog. i don’t really know when i started. but it was slow. family is priority number one so i couldn’t just jump ship and announce i was an artist. i looked for clients and projects during the day, took phone orders for pleated khaki’s in the evening and if i could stay awake would paint a little after that – then do it all over again the next day. honestly – not the peek of my artistic career – but i was part of the journey.
if i had only known then…
actually – i did. and so do you. you know it now + you can feel it – so do it. do what you love – now. do it at night. wake up two hours early. make it your second job. replace your television schedule with a making stuff schedule. whatever you have to do. do it. now.
don’t figure it out – because you won’t. i still haven’t, no one has. don’t wait for clients, don’t wait to be debt free, don’t wait for the right situation, for things to settle down, for your kids to go to school, leave the house or get out of diapers. don’t wait for less hours at work, don’t wait for summer, don’t wait for winter, don’t wait to settle down – don’t wait.
i’ll never get back the days i waffled between i should do it and i could do it. it was not until i took action, even though i really didn’t know the direction that things began to fall into place.
everyday you wait is a day you won’t get back.
the world is full of people and corporations who claim to be authentic, creative, game-changing, innovative, inspiring and paradigm-shifting. sounds great – but that’s not good enough… i want to be with/ work with/ collect the work of someone who shows fall down, crazy stupid love for their work and want to be surrounded by people who are alluring, beguiling, blazing, bursting, epic, frenzied, ravenous and volcanic. i want passion to erupt.
to find out more about the unique pieces of art created using kettle bells, slam balls, jump ropes + plates and bars, visit http://experience.kentyoungstrom.com/crossfit-and-canvas/