Artist Statement: Cory L.
Hometown: St. Louis, MO
Sobriety Date: February 14, 2016
Favorite Media: Freehand Written Word Graffiti

Specs:

• Spray Paint on Plywood

• Framed

• 45 in x 6.5 in

It is great to have a creative and sober community of people to make art and hang out together. We share and build ideas. I have been working to create a life that I do not have to run from. Before sobriety, I used drugs in order to be myself. After some self-work, I could be myself – alone, and with others who are also sober and authentic. Now, I can be myself without drugs. In this art community, we get to work on ourselves and share it with each other. At the end of the day, I am grateful if I have spent my time well with friends and family. This is my life purpose.

Before recovery, art was the only thing I could do to find enjoyment. I was a crystal meth addict, and I would get high and draw for days at a time. I lived to make art. I believed I could only make art when I was high. When I began my recovery, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to draw again. I can, yet it took a lot of practice and time being sober. Now my art is mine, it’s authentic. Before, I might have been using my imagination, but my source was drugs.

My favorite form of expression is Graffiti. It’s being able to do something awesome under pressure. I work with one word and always find new ways to illustrate it. I will take one line (called a one-liner) and use a bunch of techniques, or I will mix paint markers with felt tip markers to create three-dimensional effects. I draw fast with one line to get a particular look and effect from my tags.

I can always improve my imagination – it is limitless. No matter how much I practice and draw, there is always something different I can do, a better way to express myself. There’s always something new to make, it’s limitless energy. A lot of my imagination comes from Halloween themes. I like bold and fierce imagery, something that strikes you, something you won’t forget.

Degas said, “Art is not what you see, but what you make others see. When I draw, I have something I want you to see from me. It’s letting you know who I am, unafraid of what you might think, you don't have to like it, but you can’t diss it because I know I have skill. I want you to consider something new that you haven’t considered before. If I am drawn to something I pay attention so if you like it, listen up. Like recovery, investigate what interests and resonates with you and let the rest go.