“Never let a hard time humble us… double up” - Nipsey Hussle
$ide Note:
It was February 2022 and we both were selected for Paloozanoire's annual "Black and Brown Faces Art exhibition" at the Cincinnati Art Museum. We had no idea about each other's existence, however, God knew us both personally and he knew how to create a bridge for us. I go, nervously, to meet Alandes at her house for an interview. She was selected to be honored as a influential person in Cincinnati and I was selected as the artist to create a piece that honored her. The interview was supposed to be a reference for me to use as inspiration on my piece I was creating. I was nervous because my car was broke down and I had to get a ride to her house and my ride wouldn't be back to get me for 3 hours. What in the world was I going to talk about for 3 hours?! Well it happened, the interview was an amazing conversation that actually sparked our relationship we have now. The show was amazing and I created a piece called "The Disturbance and Niarra" inspired by her late daughter Niarra. We literally watched it touched souls and create a godly synergy that actually blew our minds.
Thank you to anyone who took the TI:ME to visit the entire "Black and Brown Faces" 2022 exhibit at the Cincinnati Art Museum and another thank you if you took the TI:ME to see the piece we created.
Today, September 25, 2023 (the date I actually created this post), is Alandes' birthday! For her birthday I created, "The Disturbance and Niarra II." I'm not going to lie I was a little nervous because this is a big deal- I'm literally honoring her late daughter, Niarra. The first painting was a classic, I needed the sequel to not necessarily compete but hold it's own weight in the convo.
My style of ART is what I like to call, "De$igner Graffiti" it's a mixture of abstract, stream of consciousness, solitude and graffiti, strategically layered and blended. Alandes didn't understand graffiti before I met her and now, since our art show, she has a new found love for the art form. My artwork is not for everybody but I am blessed that it is cherished by Alandes and others alike.
I cannot wait until she has the TI:ME to actually sit and read the messages on the canvas. I have a lot of confidence in my creative ability and I still have to filter it through Jesus. Ultimately, I'm doing his will through my artistry. So at anytime he has the access to contribute how he sees fit. I love it! There are so many messages on the canvas, Jesus can literally press upon your heart a new discovery everyday from looking at the same painting.
Context for the title:
The goal is to be like Jesus more and more, day by day. He hates arrogance, pride and haughtiness, these attributes are so far from God's presence. Our goal is to humble ourselves before God. In the midst of the good times, humble ourselves before God. In the uncertainty of bad times, humble ourselves before God - not let the hard time humble us. Jesus knows you can't do anything good apart from him. So hard times will come, John 16:33, it's impossible to avoid. Jesus overcame every trial on earth, so now we have access to that same power. Our hard times are meant to bring us closer to him - not leave our tails between our legs paralyzed in fear. By "double up," as the song says, we doubled up on "The Disturbance and Niarra." The "disturbance" was the "hard time" or storm, God used to get our attention. We didn't run from it, we just ran to Jesus.
Below are photos from the 2022 Black and Brown Faces exhibit at the Cincinnati Art Mussum
Grace and Peace,
Drye