GREAT DEPRESSION

In this painting I wanted to capture the painful, sometimes torturous, anxieties that plague our thoughts and emotions when we go through a depression. This was my second time painting this piece cause the original painting (created in Italy in 2019) was stolen in New York in January 2020. But I realized that there was a lesson that needed to be learned in that too. So, here’s “Great Depression” 2.0. Trying to silence the voices of past bullies/abusers; having to separate yourself from people, things, ideologies, and habits that never served you well; and making the tough, but necessary, decision to purge yourself FROM yourself (i.e., practicing self-forgiveness, accepting the past for what it is, acknowledging your wrongs, repenting, shifting the power from your flesh to your spirit-man, having conviction, developing a contrite heart) on a daily basis, gets overwhelming. There were days when I just didn’t see the point in fighting anymore because the amount of mental and spiritual energy it took for me to stay 10 toes down for myself, continue moving forward through the growing pains, and not turn back, because the past is what’s familiar and “comfortable” to me, was just way too much… But then there was that tiny voice in the back of my head that was telling me to fight for just one more day, so I did. And I hear that voice every day. Creating "Great Depression" was not only my way of administering self-therapy and pushing myself to continue wading through the quicksand of my mind until I could get out, but an ode to everyone else who might be fighting through chronic depression because of abuse, bullying, hardship, and the social constructs created by this f***ed up world. Don’t give up. - 1 Timothy 6:12