Painting and protesting

I want to paint a future you simply cannot resist.

As I walked out from my gym after a calming swim, I was greeted by the loud drumming of an Extinction Rebellion protest. Their chants demanded people to stop using banks that fund fossil fuels projects. 

I thought to myself, this is a group of people who care about the same thing as me. I should follow them. But I couldn’t. I have never gone to a protest in my life. I get anxious in large crowds and am very sensitive to noise. 

So I continued my walk home. To my art desk. To my protest.

My protest looks like a 9x12 inch paper and watercolors instead of large posters and black markers. The soundtrack is lo-fi music instead of drums and chanting. It feels like a community on Twitter instead of folks on the street.

Instead of screaming about my fears on the street, I paint about the solutions I want to see in our world. I collaborate with companies who are making those visions reality. 

My protest is a quiet one. A peaceful one. It’s behind a keyboard and a paintbrush. I sit quietly and think about the quote that guides the work I do. “The role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible” by Toni Cade Bambara. 

I want to paint a future you simply cannot resist. For it to be so beautiful you can imagine it. So that if enough of us start to see it, we believe it is possible. And then we can create it together

My question for you:

What does your protest look like? Shoot me an email, comment, or DM. I would love to hear.

Painting of the week:

Nicole Kelner @NicoleKelner

Electric Grid Managed by Regional Interconnections