I. Meaning, Truth, and Justice [It Must Be Created] (feat. Chris Canvas) 🔨

II. Lucky To Have Color 🌈

This Week’s Podcast 🎙️

• The story of an artist who bet everything on himself 🍀

• How childhood nostalgia fuels adult creativity and meaning💡

• Color theory as life theory: orange makes you hungry, blue keeps you calm 🎨

• The power of calling your friends 📞

• Liberation and hidden slavery inside America’s prison labor system 🔒

• And many more deep, meaningful, hilarious and thought provoking moments!

The Fountain of Truth (feat. Chris Canvas)

If you feel like a creative, but your good ideas never seem to come to fruition, you might just be overthinking it.

“Don’t wait for perfect,” says Chris Canvas.

He’s a Houston-based multidisciplinary artist and founder of Sixth Degree Clothing.

“Put it out — you’ll learn more from releasing than from overthinking.”

Chris puts together dope creations the same ease in which we put on our socks.

When I heard he was going to be in town to commemorate his US Open Collaboration, I brought him into the studio to unfurl the commandments of consistent artistry, and to dissect the cosmic folds of his brain.

Unlimited Creativity Glitch (Works Every Time 🤑)

We all have that one friend who seems to always be making or doing cool things.

And they aren’t just creative — they’re highly efficient at putting things out there.

It almost looks too easy. How do they do it?

What’s the secret sauce to churning out chord-striking art, electric parties, or dope clothing?

No need to take a paid course to learn this “one deadly trick”.

Good artists and in-demand creatives stay consistent when they:

• Pursue meaning.

• Connect with others.

• Discover purpose through work.

  That’s free game. No card info required.
  

  

  Casual greatness is casual.

Walking the Walk 🚷

I write a weekly newsletter and produce a bi-weekly video podcast.

Every single day it is that I’m grappling with quality vs. quantity.

I want my work to be entertaining, valuable and informative without overwhelming my audience.

I find that generating from the heart and offering sincere value makes my creations fluid.

“The truth is that which needs to be told … and true creation is that which needs to be created …” Dr. Maulana Karenga

Your Creations Are Your Mirror 🪞

In the age of AI-produced art, it’s incredible to see how good an actual human can be at making things with their hands.

You’ll see what I mean throughout this post.

Chris grew up in front of the TV, spending hours recreating the whirlwinds of finely detailed color seen in 2000’s cartoons and anime.

The conduit of creativity extended out into the classroom, where Chris would get ridiculed for doodling during math class in his early notepads.

“My teacher used to throw away my Dragon Ball drawings every day,” Chris laughs. “I didn’t realize back then those pages were my foundation.”

Chris lives and breathes through his artistic expression.

Whether he’s whipping up iconic anime characters or reimagining vivid dreamscapes in hand-painted form, there’s no shortage of vibrance in his work.

Just ask him about the art nook he’s built in his home — it’s a glimpse into the technicolor mind of his artistry, where wild and explosive sits next to order and intention. 

“I got my little easel and stuff over there … I’ll dance, vibe out, do some push-ups, talk to the cat. We got a dog too. They get along. They’re both golden. They’re my golden boys.”

To get to know the real Chris Canvas, though, you can’t just browse his gallery and call it a day. 

You have to understand what he stands for, from prison and education reform, to color psychology and theory.

📺 Chris pleads his case for meaningful connections as the inspiration for purpose and creation.

“We need to fix the track,” Chris says about the broken American system. “Not just the cars.”

He’s got a huge personality, too — expect some hot takes, side-splitting moments, and insights that’ll leave you with thoughts to chew on for the entire week ahead. 

I’m eager for you all to learn from a gifted mind the same way I did — by listening to his words in a candid and unfiltered medium. 

I know you’ll enjoy this one. 

Color Me Powerful 🌈

Colors paint the walls of our minds and draw symbols on our souls. 

Even if we don’t notice it, colors have the power to make us feel happy, sad, and every emotion in between.

Ever been so angry you’ve “seen red”? Or so low you’ve “felt blue”?

Just as winter wind can shiver us or the spring sun can make us feel reborn, colors are inputs — always nudging us — shaping how we think, act, and choose. 

They can even intensify how we feel about people, objects, or moments.

Colors tote the line between abstract imagination and blunt, brick-house reality.

Through color psychology, you can bend perception itself.

The colors you choose to use can command attention, evoke emotion, create bold memories, or start wars.

There’s no shame in it. Just look at McDonalds’ iconic red + yellow.

Let the wayward burger-eater see those colors, and it’s chow town in no time.

It’s leveraged in tech too.

The blue of your iMessage bubbles keeps you glued to that little piece of glass for hours on end, hijacking attention and molding your habits like clay.

And that revulsion you feel towards green bubble users ….

It isn’t just instinct or biology that gives color its grip on us.

It’s the ideas and associations we attach to them.

Our minds write stories about each shade visible to the eye, stamping each with meaning and expectation. 

I find it valuable to be intentional with these color powers.

If I can create positive and constructive associations with colors, I can influence my mind, and even my audiences.

If I’m wearing blue, such as in this photo of me, I might appear more trustworthy or knowledgeable.

Go out and paint the town red today. Or, whatever color that happens to pour out of your soul.