Behind The Kobe Bryant Prints (Pt 1) - "24/8"

After the passing of Kobe Bryant I was inspired to create. It just happened that way. He is one of those figures that exemplified the push that I have been engaged with lately, so I felt I had to do what pop art does, speak on popular culture.

I always think deeply about those that have inspired me, and in the spirit of pop art, I created two pieces after Kobe's death. The first of these prints is called "24/8". 

As usual, I went with what felt natural to me. But since it's the first tribute piece I've ever done, I felt weird about not going the usual tribute route. In fact, while typing this, I realized that I needed to delete all of my art-speak and just let you know what was on my mind as I constructed this image:

* an ode to Kobe's legacy

* the game we play

* the ball

* constancy

* forward motion

I will post about the second one a little later on. It's a bit more involved.

CLICK HERE FOR THE "24/8" PRINT ON THE 8BITCUBIST SITE

- Mr Benja -

Give A Christmas Gift To Yourself

I never liked conforming. It hurts my soul to go against what my gut is telling me to do. Unfortunately for me, my gut rarely lines up with what a lot of people in my environment are doing. This is especially true during the Christmas holiday period. There's so much pressure to conform: say "Merry Christmas", smile at people, spend money you don't have, etc. I actually like having general holiday fun, and I don't mind the decorations and hooplah, but there's something that happens to people that really gets them down during the holidays because of the pressure. Hey, man...don't be stressed.

BUT I don't give a shit, so I'm doing what I want to this Christmas. That's my gift to me. This year, I'm not doing too much "Christmas-ing" and I'm doing some creation because I feel like it. In fact, I'm about to get dressed and go to a park to continue my creating. It's something different so it'll kick me into a different mindset.

So get good with the good people around you, make things happen, and give a gift to yourself.

I wish you all well.
- Mr Benja -

Being Negative Is Easy. Being Positive? That Takes Work.

The thing about being positive, is that it actually takes work. I used to take it for granted, but it's legitimate work that we need to practice at. (At least I needed to practice it.)

Now I'm not talking about ignoring issues, tolerating nonsense, or lying to yourself. That's not really focusing on the positive, that's just putting your head in the sand. I'm also not saying you should cut yourself off from negative emotions. They have their place in life, and you should be in touch with them.

Example: If there is a steaming pile of dog shit on the floor, don't spend all day fretting about the dog shit and who did it. That's easy, and it accomplishes little. Think about having a clean floor and get it back to that state. Then you can try to ensure that you keep a floor that's dog shit free. That takes a bit more work but is more satisfying.

I've spent days wasting mental cycles on some bullshit that I've seen online that I have no plans to address in any way. I was just wasting my mind's precious time and energy. I could have spent that time thinking about (and working on) the next story I'll write, the next painting I'll create, the next time I meet up with friends, the next time I travel and so on.

There's a ton to be said about this sort of thing, and people have devoted their lives to studying the power of positive thinking, so I'll come back to this post. I've been angry many times before, so I'm going to use that as a starting point to talk about becoming becoming better.

I'll come back to this topic.