Life is Art.

This is something I strongly believe in. It's quite interesting how art (in almost every form) has followed me for so many years but I never paid too much attention to it up until recently. Growing up as a kid of an artist and a painter (aka my lovely mom Giedre), I was always surrounded by art. Mostly paintings and different drawings. Even though, I was never really good at any of it, I always found it fascinating. I never went to an art school or took any courses. I can definitely say that some of those artistic genes got passed onto me by my mom, who is a super talented artist. She used to travel around Europe showcasing her work and she still paints up to this day. Now, mostly for her own pleasure though. She's such a huge inspiration for me and she's my main resource when it comes to anything creative.

Here's some of my mom's art (past & present).

When I say I was never really good at art, it's true. In school, I would usually ask my mom to do the art class homework for me. I remember it as if it was yesterday. I would come up to her and go, "Hey mom, could you "help me" with this homework assignment. Oh and can you try to make it so it would look like I did it? Maybe use your left hand or something?!" and of course, she would still make this beautiful piece of art that no one believed was made by me. Except for my art teacher. Although, I'm pretty sure he knew something was up. How come I suck when I'm drawing in class, but then I bring this beautiful complete drawing the next class? haha so silly.

Anyhow, it wasn't until fairly recently that I shifted my focus to art. Having a creative outlet was always very important to me. I started with music at first, gave it a crack and thought that it was "my thing", but it wasn't. I then slowly transitioned into drawing, illustration and painting. This is my true happy place.

Of course, the learning curve here is insanely steep, but I love it. Even though I often feel like I'm a little late to the party (I'm 31 now) I still love the challenge, the struggle and the progress, no matter how slow the progress may be. For the last 6 months or so, I've been drawing almost daily and can already see the difference in my style, line work and composition. I love not knowing where the line will take me. It's all improvised and that's exactly what I'm after.

Inspiration.

Inspiration is everywhere around me. I pay close attention to my surroundings, the people and my thoughts. Although, urban/every day living is probably my main source of inspiration. I also really enjoy studying the work of various artists, discovering and trying different styles and techniques. There's so much out there to see and explore.

One of the most recent and very interesting artists I've came across goes by the name of Coulter Jacobs. Check out this short documentary about the man. I love this type of behind-the-scenes kind of stuff. I love how he has a day job but also finds time to create beautiful and meaningful art. Such a talented dude.

Also, a few weeks ago, while still on holidays in Lithuania, I got to read a few books about some of the best Lithuanian contemporary artists (R. Slizys, H. Natalevicius, L. L. Katinas, M. Skudutis, A. Kuras and others). It was unreal. Marius, my stepdad, being an art collector was/is close friends with a lot of these artists, as back in the day he used to help them put up exhibitions all across Lithuania and Europe. He still has some of their artwork hanging in our place. It's like walking into a tiny art museum. So rad.

Anyway, here I am, diving head first into this beautiful world of art, where there are no boundaries, where rules are meant to be broken and where real magic happens. I'm sure that things will change and my style will evolve over time, but I am really excited about this!

There's only one thing that I've promised myself and that is to just keep going, no matter what happens. Not because I need to, but because I want to.

For me drawing and painting is the purest form of self-expression. We all have stories to tell.

Life is Art and Art is Beautiful.

Sincerely,

Vinny The Guy