This last weeks trip to the Paradise Gathering was a perspicacious experience for me. Everything; from attending such an amazing event filled with like minded and open people, to losing one of my closest high-school friends over the weekend, to attending a memorial party for him and reconnecting with people I haven’t seen in over a decade, to my 13 hour drive home alone which allowed me time to digest everything. I believe all of these were signs that the idea of positivity is important. We are inundated with negative imagery and our future has been made to appear bleak and hopeless. I can no longer believe in this. In my heart I have to believe that we have the ability to create positive change. People just need to be made aware of the ideas behind hope and pride again.

As people may or may not know. I am not a religious person. This is about as far as I need to go with this statement. I do however believe that there is a need for change. People need something to believe in again, whether it is a god, themselves or their sense of community. These are ideas that I believe religion had right. Everyone needs hope and pride…They are the foundation to happiness.

With that said. I have made a conscious decision to no longer promote negativity in the art I create. This does not mean that I refuse to do a broken-hearted kid, I just need there to be a sign of hope in that painting or tattoo for that sad kid. I refuse to promote despair in my art any longer. I apologize to my fans that this may affect, but I hope that they become understanding and start to see the reasoning behind this.

This is something I need to do for myself, my beliefs and my art.