I have had this painting on my soul for the last few months. It was my dream to paint it here in Berlin– Big! It is 1.5 metres by 1.5 metres. Much bigger than most vagabond cyclists would dare to paint!
It is about the glorious feeling of merging dream with reality: “I have a Dream”. It needed to be big.
Lately, I have been having many conversations on manifesting one’s dream. How exactly do you make longing of your soul happen? How do you make dream reality? As I wrap up my time in Berlin this is a great moment to remind myself of this process.
First, you’ve got to listen to your heart.
The whole dream might not be there… I didn’t actually come up with the idea of going around the world until I came to the monastery in Belgium. However the first seed “Russell… leave Smithers on your Bike for Berlin!” was there. I had to hear it.
Second you’ve got to speak the dream.
How can a dream come true if you can’t even put it into words? How can a dream not come true if you can’t even tell your friends? I am talking to myself here! My fears and dreams are inextricably linked. Speaking and articulating the dream is the essential first step of facing the fears.
As I made my way towards Berlin, I would tell people my dream of painting these big paintings. Then the magic then began to happen! Then they would say… “Oh! You must meet up with my friend who can help you!” “Oh! I know someone with a studio!” “Oh! I know someone with a cafe gallery”.
And so, as I arrived in Berlin, the ingredients of my dream came to me — bekommen mich. I found myself in the harware store– a friend helping me buy all the wood that I needed. I found myself in a studio– the saw, paint, brushes and everything I needed around me. Now, I type this in the gallery where all my paintings hang around me.
Dreams tend to involve fear. That’s why they aren’t real yet. Often what we dream of, is precisely what we fear the most. For me speaking and painting the dream is a way to process the fear and to figure out exactly what the dream is. This is the essence of my simple series of paintings. Through extreme simplification I get to the essence of what my heart is longing for.
So, Russell, what now is your dream? Here we go:
My dream is to cycle around the world back to Kamloops, BC Canada orchetrating the planetary 1Mandala collaborative project. I will start in Northern Italy and start cycling east towards Romania and then onwards East to Japan. I will meet and make great friends, meet beautiful people, learn new languages, make dazzlingly cool movies and art and deepen mine and humanity’s understanding of Oneness and have the time of my life.
“I have a Dream”. That’s me folks, looking out at the Mediterranean– the sun of love and health and passion shines down upon me.
