We had the good fortune of connecting with Godfrey Mawema and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Godfrey, do you have some perspective or insight you can share with us on the question of when someone should give up versus when they should keep going?
There is no alternative to giving up. So one can only keep pushing.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am still on my path towards being a full time artist. I’m still learning on how to capture lighting in a bottle, with regards to painting a painting which catches peoples attention. I guess one never stops learning.
I have a weird challenge in that I have so many images that I want to paint. Galleries don’t like that. They tend to want an artist to generally to stick to one theme. But I only have one life to live, and I want to paint as many cooky ideas that come to me.
My art, I guess, is narrative based. Classically trained painter, whose images are allegorical in nature.
Creating is never easy, one just learns from past mistakes.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
First, I would take him to the California beaches, show the craziness of Venice Beach, then the unattainable Malibu, then maybe In-n-out. Show him both the grittiness of downtown and fake poshness of Beverly Hills. Afterwards we would have to visit Hollywood Blvd to show the Blvd of broken dreams, we can then go up to the Hollywood Hills to show the 1% who made it.
Definitely need to try taco trucks, decent pizza and over priced salads. Have to visit Universal Studios, Disneyland and wait hours in line. Show him California is beautiful, and he’ll have to get used to sitting in traffic as well.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Just about anyone who ever gave me encouragement and constructive criticism. And i would have to say family and close friends.

Website: https://www.godfrey-art.com

Instagram: godfrey_gm

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