It's A New Day

My name is Sparro Kennedy. I am 26 years old. I am an artist. I and writing this blog because I found an article about myself, that made me realize that while I understand art, I know nothing about actual artists.

Until I turned 24, I had never lived anywhere longer than six months. Until one day, I came back to New York, passed Mount Vernon, and pitched a tent in Zuccotti Park. I pitched a tent there, because I was angry because I will never have the opportunity to be wealthy. Consequently, I began collecting signatures for a ballot measure that would make wealth concentration reform a policy. After I collected over 5000 signatures, my briefcase was stolen, along with my designs for a fashion show. It is my opinion my bag was stolen for the designs...other people have more sinister views that I do not agree with.

After Occupy, came Gay Squat. I have never ever ever in my life had so much fun. I literally lived La Boheme. It was the Court of Miracles for every punk, gypsy, thief, hacker and artist in New York City. Eventually it all fell apart, as these things do, but while it lasted...it was the most amazing thing I have ever experienced.

Since then, I have done a residency at the Peace House in D.C., I have traveled with the Rainbow Family and set up an artist community in Connecticut. In the meantime, my friends have begun the slide, their alcoholism is no longer funny. The drug use is no longer casual. Some of them have died, others have disappeared, and the ones that remain look less beautiful every day. One of my friends looked at me and said "you do not have to be here, the best thing that you could do, is go figure out how to do what you have been doing. You are the best, it is just that no one knows it."

I do not know if I am the best, I have never been able to afford the materials to be the best. At any rate, art is not a competition or race. It is the study of self-expression. It is the ability to be able look at a situation, and illustrate the reality of it all with a stroke of a brush, or a tap of a pen. Most of all, it is the ability to be able to express rage, love, peace, passion and voice in a way that is organized, concise, and neat.

I have studied the masters, I have been to paris, and africa and seen the greats. I have travelled around the country and sat in artist studios and observed. For the most part, the great artist have a style of painting that is very distinct. Everything is organized, right down to the brushstrokes. Even in abstraction, everything makes sense. I cannot express how many times I have gone to galleries and have been reprimanded for looking too close.

I can always come back for my friends. It is not selling out to move on. The first step for me, is to gain a current understanding of the current masters. The people who have patrons, display their work in galleries, and are able to recognized and respected for their craft. I am not yet ready for their league, but why stand on the sideline if I am not prepared to handle a brush.