6 years later ... and i thank YOU

6 years later ……… and I thank you ;)

It’s been 6 years since I moved from Melbourne to live in the Gold Coast.

4 of those years were spent being majorly challenged in many ways!!

When I did my big travelling gig in 2002 (can you believe its been 9 years), I, like most people,

came back a different more inspired person. Living in Melbourne….. a more shall I say culturally diverse

place than the Gold Coast, it was easy for me to go out and associate myself with people, groups,

activities and hobbies that gave me a sense of connection to the places I had been and

experienced whilst travelling. It was there that I started to paint pieces from my travels and began to

 make a name for myself as an artist.

THEN I MOVED!!!!!!!

It wasn’t a bad move… but it wasn’t exactly the “surroundings” that would support my future artistic endeavours either.

To be honest... I was artistically DEAD! I went from my cultural little hub in Melbourne,

to my “fantastic outdoor sporting activity haven” Gold Coast. NO it wasn’t a bad move, it was different.

 I love the fact Gold Coast weather and surroundings are stunning and you can be outside living

and breathing every day basking in the sun!! But creatively I was uninspired, I didn’t have cultural diversity to

 immerse myself in, to create the balance I needed between my art (and what motivated me to paint what I did)

and my new lifestyle of   “surfing, riding, climbing, hiking, bbqs, early dinners and sleeping by 8pm “ …

(I know sounds miserable doesn’t it ;p)…..

 MY POINT! It was one lifestyle or another. So I became sad and kinda lost (you have a talent, you want to use it,

throw in a few other bits and tads life throws at you) …… which kinda turned into depression…..

which kinda turned into all sorts of other hurdles!! No creative / cultural support network was bad news for me!!

The answer to my artistic despondency was obvious but not for me at the time!! I’m a firm believer now that

no matter where you are in the world, whether you like where you are or not, you need to go out of your way to

create the situation you want to be in. Trust me it was hard but so easy!! ……

This is where I want to take a sec to THANK YOU!!

Please explain Cheska … hehe… well… so, I was majorly uninspired, we started to make short trips OS here

and there, obviously you all know that Japan was a big hit on my list of cultural inspiration…

 it was like a coffee in the morning for me, a good boost but not enough to last me till the next holiday…

 it was also obvious that not much was to change on the culture/ lifestyle front for me on the Gold Coast either…

so I decided enough is enough, I’m going to create it!!

I shut down my personal page of FB 2 years ago and decided to start my “Cheska Paintings “ page.

My “inspiration” odometer begun to move, I started to connect with artists near and far, all over the world,

as well as lovely non art people that like and comment on what I do.

Then a really special lovely person gave me the opportunity/ boost to start my Cheska paintings store online

(whilst sulking at home with a broken foot ;) .

I also had to change my working environment…. Where to work , where to work since Gold Coast  definitely is

NOT a place of choices!!! …. Lucky me found a top source of fun cultural exchange... yep… a youth hostel!!

Could not get better than that in a culturally challenged place like GC. Now 6 years on things are great!!... so …

THANK YOU to all of you who stuck by me with words of encouragement when I was down.

THANK YOU to all of you who are connected through FB and encourage me and partake on my page!

THANK YOU to all of you whom I have met/know from near and far on my travels and are now reconnected via the web!

THANK YOU to all of you who I have met through a pretty cool job!

THANK YOU man upstairs for making it all come together!

Now I’m re-inspired to pick up a brush and start painting again about cultures and travelling as I travel
everyday with you and through you all!!!!!

No matter where you are, opportunities exist, even if you have to create them !

LOTS OF KISSES PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!
(ps. was in a feel good mood with all the response i got from my Comp #2 on Facebook... check it out xx)