Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to RJ Quick. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

RJ, appreciate you joining us today. Any thoughts about whether to ask friends and family to support your business. What’s okay in your view?

I deeply believe we are all deserving of as much help as we need to have to get to where we want to be. This past year I basically was surviving off of help. I dealt with some loss of a couple family members that hit me incredibly hard and was in one of the deepest depressions I have ever survived. I am a painter, and I could not paint. I would get knots in my chest just thinking about returning to my work. One of the family members who died was my grandfather, and he was actually the one who nurtured my artistic spirit as a child. After he passed, I had a long period of just nothingness. During this time I also developed an unknown disability that affected every aspect of my life. With all of this, it became imperative that I ask for support.

Why do humans struggle so much to ask for help? I remember going to my parents who I knew were dealing with hardships of their own with tears in my eyes and a deep sense of guilt bubbling up in my throat. And whenever I did ask, I was never chastised. Perhaps I am just lucky and privileged to have such wonderful people around me; but why did I hesitate to begin with?

I feel like a big part of my learning journey last year was to be at peace with asking for help and support for myself and my business. To recognize that we are all deeply deserving. One of the first things babies do when they are born is cry and ask for help. That is absolutely fundamental to our evolutionary strategy.

I would say, I feel like its only inappropriate to ask for help after someone has already made it clear that they do not want to, like pestering someone. Like, dont be an a**hole.. But I feel like more often than not we tend to believe that asking at all is inappropriate or annoying. In this life, we don’t ever truly do anything by ourselves; we are made up of all the kindness we have received in our lives. I know I am.

I don’t believe anyone is TRULY ‘self-made’.

Part of the magic of this experience, I very much believe, is giving and receiving help. Being angels for each other, and delivering miracles for one another. I might feel weird and guilty about asking friends and family for help, but I know in my heart that I would never want someone who needs help to struggle to ask me in that same way. Perhaps we are just way too hard on ourselves.

RJ, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My name is RJ Quick, and I am an artist. I do a little of everything, but painting, writing, and drawing are most important to me. I had the privilege of having someone to nurture my creative spirit when I was very young, and I have been nurturing my inner artist on and off my whole life. Painting and drawing and poetry are such important cornerstones in my life.

I went to some art school, one year at community college and one year at a four year university. I learned so much from my one year at community college and connected with my professors and thought four year would be satisfying for me, but when I got there I realized that I was wrong.

After that, I spent years as a cashier here and there, moving quickly from one job to the next until my van (love and miss you girlie) died and I had no clue what to do. I was catapulted into freelancing out of necessity. By this time I had already attempted to show up for a couple art shows with my silly little drawings and had some mild success; but really nothing to show that becoming a freelancer would be ‘safe’.

At this point I feel like is where some major things in my life converge; I was face to face with my destiny and I saw it as I could either a.) continue working full time just to survive to one day chase down my dreams, or b.) I could start from nothing and just DO IT, chase the dream of being a full time artist.

How long after you’ve been falling do you realize you are flying? Some days I still feel like I am falling in this chaos- but then I remember how falling is an integral part of flying itself.

I have this thing all throughout my work nowadays about being guided by my love. What is my love trying to say? In drawings and paintings I have a lot of symbols for love; I use love synonymously with like Source, Energy- to me these are all universal energies of love. This energy of love is what I am always striving to connect to with every piece, and hopefully through my own connection, the viewer or the reader connects to their own love inside of them.

I feel like I am truly still at the very beginning of my career as an artist; I still have so much to learn and so many avenues to explore. At this point, I sell prints, stickers, original paintings, sculptures, and I also do commission art pieces.. I would love to soon have video content and I’m interested in dabbling in mural painting as well.

I am for sure most proud of my ability to inwardly expand- whatever happens in my life, my love can expand to hold it. I believe it is what makes me resilient. Even when I am having a real tough time, and I feel hopeless and I feel like my dreams are no longer worth believing, I just recognize it as an opportunity handed to me to expand and become a deeper, more loving person. The idea is to look at something tough and say, “And this, too”. How liberating to realize that love can expand infinitely. And to be clear- my love expanding to hold does not equal becoming complacent or is it like pushing away emotions that come up. Quite the opposite: when you realize you can hold your own emotions, feelings, thoughts, experiences, what is there left to be afraid of? Perhaps bears, but they are bit adorable, right? Maybe thats what they mean when they say “hold your own”. Maybe not.

The main thing I want viewers to know about me right now is that I am just getting started. I am going to follow where my love is guiding me, and I am going to make art.

Alright – so here’s a fun one. What do you think about NFTs?

I think they are hilarious and embarrassing- a pathetic show of Ego and a play on the idea of “ownership”. I do not blame artists for making them- no judgment on surviving out here. But I will not be participating.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

Well, the most abundant lack of understanding I have ever experienced from non-creatives was just a “what’s the point of even pursuing it in the first place?”- why even bother? The pessimistic, what’s even the point? Especially starting out, which I would say I still am, people (most often the non-creatives close to you, unfortunately) will urge you not to go this path. That it is far too treacherous a path. That the dangers are real, and in order to not worry about the dangers, you must follow more ‘acceptable’ paths. But what if I told you, you could fail at doing something you dont want to do? What if I told you, that you could struggle with money and survival WHILE ON A PATH THAT IS NOT AUTHENTIC TO YOU? What a kick in the teeth.
For me, it was simple- I would rather feel the pain of the world firmly within the path my heart has for me. I gave my entire life to my art and my work. I knew going on this path with no plan would be treacherous; but to me, after many wasted years working jobs just to survive (that sucked the actual life out of me), and after looking in from the outside WISHING I was just brave enough to go for it- I knew there was something larger inside of me that was worth living and dying for. I would rather live honestly than subject myself to the waking nightmare that was my life before.

I am thankful for my courage that has lead me here. And I have not yet had any huge success; but I do not care. I am finally living for me, and that is everything.

So maybe, for any non-creatives listening: tell your friends and those you love to follow the guidance of their hearts. We all have a great something for us here- let us be brave and courageous enough to grab hold and not let go.

Go the path meant for you! Only you know what it is; it whispers lovingly to you, be brave and hear it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tooth_hurtie/
• Other: https://linktr.ee/tooth_hurtie

Image Credits
Taylour Moenster