About this speaker
I was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil but did not become an artist until I moved to the United States at the age of 20 and found the Columbus College of Art & Design.
In my early years as an artist, I was focused on the dark side of life, creating from a place of anger and pain. I created an intense environment and that energy was transferred out into the world through my paintings and back into my life. After many years and numerous attempts to override the shadows through religion and then personal growth, I grew weary of seeing the world through the filter of darkness, sharp edges, and control.
Awareness, humility and personal responsibility have brought me into this NOW. I learned to trust and love myself and then others. I made a choice to surrender into the joy that I wanted to feel, to shine a light inside, to add colors to the meanings, and to add life to my work. I am becoming the man I intend to be, truthful to my purpose and not willing to waste another brushstroke in perpetuation of negativity.
The purpose of my art is to inspire others to feel inspired again or maybe for the first time. I want viewers to be reminded of something they forgot they loved, to feel the wonderment and excitement of a life they thought they’d lost or to experience the magic they never knew existed.
I don’t always know where this thing called creativity comes from but my intention is to put it to good use for the highest expression of self and to communicate to the viewer that no matter how bad things are, how badly you’ve been hurt or hurt someone, it is never too late to forgive. Every one of my paintings is infused with great feeling -- from joy, belonging, excitement, familiarity – so that they become talismans, tokens of the power to overcome demons just as I did. By virtue of the light within each piece, the art is here to fulfill its soul contract as the deliverer of healing.
As I share my process and my work publicly, my desire is to be as vulnerable as I can so that the audience will understand the regenerative connection between self-exploration and self-expression. To answer the question -- Why do we create? – over and over again.
The purpose of my life is to remind people that love is possible if you explore your soul, allow your heart, let your defenses down and stop to smell the flowers.
The greatest gift is to see the world smile when they see my art, to laugh and cry when they learn the story and realize that our stories are the same. I am committed to being transparent with the source of my inspiration including the lessons I’ve learned from many years of self-reflection and the teachings of amazing guides. They have helped me remember myself as a powerful man who has arrived in the never-ending grand-finale NOW moment to bring joy and awareness to all. I want to make you smile.
Love, ZON