Hello intrepid reader.

Today’s note is a bit different from previous updates, and marks a shift in my approach to this channel as I tend to it.

Learning by doing; it’s what happens around here.

Let’s get into it:

My transition over the last year getting accustomed to staying off social media has me finding different ways to stay up with the artists, bands, creators, and thought leaders I am interested in.

It’s been a learning experience, and Instagram in particular is where a lot of cool people share all their most timely updates.

Instagram also gatekeeps you from perusing details of posts if you don’t have an account.

I still refuse to get back on.

Recently this lack of social media has me relying more on the following things:

• In-person encounters (conversations, posters & bulletins, referrals)
• Email updates
• Intentional sleuthing online to find out what is happening where
• REMEMBERING TO PUT THINGS IN MY CALENDAR IMMEDIATELY (because I might never be reminded about it again if I don’t)

It also has me spending less time on shallow scrolling and more time appreciating things with actual substance to attend to.

All these learnings have me realizing something important:

If I want to participate in an ecosystem that doesn’t rely on social media, my own output could stand to be a lot more aligned with the style of engagement that is working well for me personally.

This means my updates are going to become less frequent (probably once per week) as well as longer (including as many things as I would like to highlight that week), and likely feature more concrete info about things you can check out, as opposed to a single art piece.

Over time, I would like this to become a place where people who like my art and want to participate in a thriving arts ecosystem can both engage with what I create, as well as discover others (and perhaps get noticed & found via a mention from me).

It’s possible this is the first shift in a cascade of shifts that will lead me to going fully analog. Who knows??

What I do know is, art is about beauty, revelation, truth, inspiration, and connection.

You can expect me to iterate these updates to become more and more aligned—in my imperfect and in-process way—with those ideals.

And so for now what that means is, fewer emails, which include a different style of information.

Talk soon!

Peace,

Adrien

Hi! Get ready for some more art.

I’ve been doing standup lately at local bars here and there, not because I’m trying to become a professional comedian but because I’m already funny whether on purpose or not, and it’s an enjoyable way to participate in community over the weird stuff that happens in life. (As well as to practice public speaking skills.)

It’s been a cool experience gradually befriending folks in that scene. So far I have never done the same material twice and I think they are starting to notice … I am learning that’s actually very uncommon.

A lot of my content has been orbiting around this thing I have dealt with my whole life where people just assume I am evil and/or trying to hurt them not because I am, but because I’m not following their expected script.

It has been a ridiculous theme which is old and tired and ready to die. There are other things to joke and laugh about which are gradually taking up more of my minimal airtime at the mic. For example, last time I did an entire set only talking about slugs. It was stupid but we all had fun.

A lot of people get into different art scenes and it quickly stops becoming about the art and starts becoming about positioning.

How do I be the one who gets the good spots? The praise? The notoriety? The attention?

They forget that MOST of what makes any art meaningful is not how cool or smart the “performer” is … it’s that people are willing to engage in good faith.

The magical sparks of connection and electricity generated in any real art scene come from mutual good faith in both directions. As I have said many times about what makes art ART:

Presence, not product.

I made this painting while processing a lot of the things I felt I had in common with my dad while he was still here on this material plane before dying of cancer back in 2023.

He understood that a real art “scene” doesn’t come from prestige or posturing. It comes from unpretentious authenticity, as well as the courage to actually participate in what it really feels like to be alive.

This acrylic painting, which I made on his deck with a view before me and my siblings sold his house—his last piece of art he made—is called OLD SCENE // NEW SCENE.

Much like the entitled judgments that get hurled at me constantly for not following some tired old script are the presumptions of smallminded people who get caught up in the form of art while sacrificing its purpose.

Which scene do you want to be in?

One that forces compliance or one that creates opportunity for connection?

There is always a choice.

Peace,

Adrien

A theme in many peoples’ lives (mine being no exception) is watching “leaders” and people with varying forms of power and authority willfully play dumb when harm is done.

Their response—or lack thereof—is not something we can change.

However, our respect is something we can relocate. They don’t care to hold the kind of line that continued respect demands, do they?

There is a difference between a leader and someone placed in a leadership position. As painful as it is, allowing ourselves to metabolize our disappointment in them is a power move.

Their roles are just built on catchy marketing for bad products that nobody benefits from buying. Textbook definition of predation: selling something that isn’t what it seems to feed on those taking things in good faith. Is that what leaders do?

We don’t have to keep acting in a poorly-cast play.

We can just be ourselves and stand for what we stand for.

When someone fails to be the kind of boss that makes good things happen, there is no reason to listen to them anymore when they tell you what’s real. They have disqualified themselves. Whoops.

Below is one of the pieces that drew the most attention in my recent show … and I fielded a lot of timid versions of this question:

What were you thinking about when you made this piece?

The title of this post is a good summary.

This is VENGEANCE, created gradually over the course of many years.

24″ x 36″ acrylic on canvas.

Whatever happens, I’m not interested in letting apathy in the face of injustice rub off on me. That’s not a “normal” I accept.

You don’t have to either.

Peace,

Adrien