One of the conundrums of being an artist who is very much not driven by validation is the constant psychic warfare waged by those who presume they are the ones I am orienting towards.

When you are on a stage, people presume they are mere observers, not participants. But what better position to observe than the stage? Just because you can be seen doesn’t mean you don’t also see.

And conversely, just because you think you’re not “a performer” doesn’t mean you aren’t participating in reality with other people just as much as the person with the mic is.

A lot of people live life under the illusion that they are tourists and the impact of their presence is both temporary and optional.

Impact is inevitable, whether you grasp it and claim responsibility for it or not.

Here’s an art piece I live painted at a collaborative streamed event last summer (2025) with some excellent local musicians and AV geeks in Bellingham. I won’t give too much away about the painting other than to say I was deeply present to the fact that though I was being watched, that didn’t mean I wasn’t watching back.

As anyone with the courage to be visible does, I’ve dealt with a lot of rude folks presuming I am desperate for their (honestly, worthless) validation.

I think in many ways that’s a form of the coward’s desperate grab for meaning. Instead of claiming their own expression, they try to claim authority over the substance of someone else, by positioning their opinion as necessary for the other person’s creations to mean something.

BO-RING.

Here’s a pic someone snapped of me live painting at the event I mentioned, fondly titled the DREAM STREAM.

Whenever I am engaging in art, either as the creator or as the one getting to enjoy it, I like to ask myself, who really is the audience?

Don’t get cocky thinking you always know the answer to that question.

Peace,

Adrien