Free

N. Main St. studio,  summer of 2014

They say the truth will set you free, and I can finally announce that I'm leaving my day job and going back to school for a Master's.  It may surprise some, but not for an MFA and not even in art.  I recently discovered the world of UX design and it was like finding something I didn't know I was looking for.  I start Clemson this fall, and my family and I are excited and anxious.

I have always maintained two careers; one for money and one for life.  The debate rages on whether having a day job makes one a "real artist" but to my friends and peers at least, I am and will remain the real thing; and that's the only verdict I need.  I suppose I'm multi-dimensional, so perhaps I need more than one thing to keep me busy and finally discovering the opportunity to break down the self-compartmentalization of my personality was a very liberating thing.  I've been in a work environment where there are no artists, no people who perceive themselves as creative.  I've felt the need to hold a big part of myself back all these years, and I can no longer bear it.  

At my highest functioning, I need to be able to let go of persona and focus exclusively on what I'm doing.  So I'm very happy to announce the end of the short-lived life of "Mr. Rico."  

The studio work is exploding.  I've got half a dozen canvases on the way, a bit smaller by my usual standards, and I'm excited about the weeks and months ahead.  I don't know exactly where it is going, but I'm starting to paint in my head again every day almost constantly, so I know good work is coming.

I hope to have more time to blog, and to keep everyone up on the developments and work as they happen.  It was already 90 degrees in the studio today, but I had a smile on my face the likes of which I haven't had in a very long time.  

July will be about the work, and in August I'm taking a road trip to meet one of my oldest and dearest friends in Birmingham, a halfway point between us.  Then it's off to Charleston to hook up with another life-long brother in the CRB.  Looking forward to hearing them play and getting a chance to hang.