Book 1
'Painting a lyrical picture'
A collection by MoneyBear
This collection is where it all started, and what led me here. Telling other people's stories through art, taught me that I had my own story worth telling... That realisation became 'Create Your Own'.
Chapter 1.
The Beginning
Becky Hill
"I genuinely believe anything is possible"
20th September 2021
I didn't really have a direction with my art - I had been trying for years and failing to get anywhere. I was doing random paintings and random commissions with no real weight behind them... I was unhappy.
September 2021 is when I went to my first ever music festival - 'Isle of Wight festival'. It was there I saw my first artist perform live, Becky Hill. Watching her live and hearing her lyrics on that day just really inspired me. While everyone else had their eyes glued to her, I looked around and saw what her lyrics and her story had created... it had created a real connection with all these people she had never even met. That got my mind spinning. I started seeing how powerful an artist's lyrics where, and what they meant to so many people. It made me reflect on how music helped me out of my dark times... then a thought popped into my head... as I looked at Becky on the stage, I thought: "I'd like to work with you". I saw how people clung so tightly to every lyric, and I wanted to put that connection on a canvas...
"...But who was I at this point? I was no one..."
...I had absolutely no right to stand there and think, "I'm going to work with you one day". Every person in that crowd probably wished the same, but I was different... I believed it.
I left the festival feeling so inspired that as soon as I got home, I started painting her portrait. I hadn't developed my own style yet, and my portraits were still quite shaky at this point, (sometimes they worked out, sometimes they didn't). I spent a few days on it - painting on my living room floor, trying not to get any paint on the carpet.
I was really pleased how the painting turned out, but I still wasn't confident enough to write the lyrics on by hand. To tackle this, I took a photo of the painting and edited the lyrics in the background. But this meant I had to order the final painting as a print.
With the painting finished, I posted it on Instagram. This wasn't just the first music painting I had tried, this was my first post on my new Instagram account all together! So in truth I had no chance of anyone seeing it, let alone Becky. But I did it anyway... and she saw it. just a couple weeks after seeing her on stage, I had received a DM from Becky Hill, she had followed me back on Instagram, she had re-shared my painting, and she commissioned me for a painting.
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This whole experience was a total eye opener for me - 'if you have a dream, or a goal, or an idea... all you have to do is TAKE ACTION! And do it before any doubt, or fear creeps in. You never know what could happen, and I genuinely believe that anything is possible'.
"This was the start... everything that follows came from this one life changing moment."
Chapter 2.
The Practise
"Everything happens for a reason."
... good and bad - everything that has come before has shaped us into who we are now.
24th June 2022 - 19th October 2022
Meekz
Aitch
After Becky Hill, I thought I'd found the formula... paint the artists I listened to, reach out, see what happens... so I did it again, and again.
A1 X J1
J1
"I travelled 2 hours to deliver this painting... and the link up nearly never happened! I arrived at the agreed address, but I could not find the correct door... I spent 1 hour knocking on doors looking. I had given up and was walking back to my car, when I looked up, by some miracle, he walked out his front door as I was passing!"
Six paintings that year, all of the same shape - musicians whose music I loved, painted from nothing but admiration and a hunch. Three led to real meetings: A1 X J1, HAZEY, and Tyrone. I handed the paintings over myself and stood across from people I'd been listening too and looked up too. Each conversation opened a door to something that felt like it mattered - new leads, promising collaborations, the sense that this was finally working.
The painting ended up above his music plaques...
Tyrone
HAZEY
What I didn't clock at the time was the cost. Paint, canvases, travel to meetings across the country - it was quietly emptying my bank account with no return coming back the other way. And the leads that did feel promising? Every one of them faded into nothing. No collaboration, no deal, no income. Just the good feeling of a meeting that went well.
"I stopped. Not from a plan - I just ran out of money to keep chasing it."
Arrdee
It took another 2 years, and a mentor telling me something I didn't want to hear - that "I hadn't found my own style yet, I was still developing". They said I was another 3-5 years away. That was the moment the post-it note concept became real, and it's the reason for the rest of this collection. Everything before was just practise - I hadn't recognised that at the time, but I can see it now.
Chapter 3.
A new beginning
"I'm not gonna go get a job, that's dead."
Central Cee - 'Lil Bro' (feat. Lil Bro)
29th March 2024
There was no brief. No commission. No reason beyond curiosity.
After being told by my mentor: "I'm still developing as an artist" - I went away and developed my own unique style... 'post-it notes'. I had the idea and I needed to test it! No one had asked for it. No one was waiting on it. I just needed to know if it worked.
Central Cee was the obvious choice. I was a fan of his music and one lyric in his song 'Lil Bro' stuck in my head... "I'm not gonna go get a job, that's dead". The refusal to settle for a normal job, and the certainty that it wasn't the life for him, was a mindset I could relate to. That lyric felt like permission - not to copy his life - but to build my own version of refusing the default.
What I didn't know yet: one year later, I'd paint Central Cee again - and this time, had it to him myself...
The lyrics across the background are rough... looking back, you can see exactly where I was still learning to trust the concept - but that's the point of a first chapter. It isn't supposed to be perfect.
It's supposed to be honest.
Chapter 4.
Rinse and Repeat
"Get your head down... and work."
12th May 2024 - 11th October 2024
With the new found style, I got to work! No commissions. No promises. Just a vision and a dream.
I simply repeated the same strategy as before: paint the artists I listen too, reach out to them on Instagram, arrange a link up if they respond.
This was the perfect way for me to test how people would respond to my new style...
1.
PRINZ
“If I'm true to myself I'm winning.”
This whole painting was based on my favourite PRINZ song at the time - 'Life Story'... it inspired me and I felt like I could relate a lot to it.
PRINZ - 'Life Story'
"It took me about 3 hours of travel to deliver this one - all my trains were delayed."
The painting ended up in the background of all his videos...
2.
Lil Macks
"From the bottom, but we had a dream."
I experimented with some graffiti in the design of this one. I also wrote all the lyrics in pencil so it was only visible in certain lights.
Lil Macks - 'Plastic Dreams (Freestyle)'
"This meeting almost didn't happen like the J1 one... I drove 2 hours to deliver it and I had to wait another 4 before we could meet."
"That's special man."
3.
Nino Uptown
"Hard work mixed with a dream."
I carried on the same graffiti influence and pencil design from the Lil Macks painting in this one. After I posted it on Instagram his team reached out to me and invited me to their pop up in London to give it to him.
Nino Uptown - 'Who said Goons don't cry?'
The painting even made it in the music video...
4.
A!MS
"Don't chase, attract the dream."
A!MS - 'Self Esteem'
It was only after I painted this one that I realised he is based in Ayia Napa ahah!
I haven't made the trip over there yet but I'm sure I will one day!
5.
Meekz
"I'm the original, could never be a better me."
Meekz - 'Mini Me's'
I decided to revisit my original Meekz painting from the 'practise' phase, and improve upon it... this time he responded.
After this one I started getting recognition from other industries rather than just music...
6.
Tom Walker
"I won't regret it... no way, I'll know I did it... my way, my way."
Tom Walker - 'My way'
I had to post this one but my standard frames were too big and heavy! I had to get creative and come up with a thinner frame design...
"This is a stunning bit of art."
7.
Chip X Nafe Smallz
"They say your career starts when you ain't hot and new."
Chip X Nafe Smallz - 'Neighbourhood (intro)'
This was my first time combining two portraits - it was a lot of fun mixing them with contrasting colours, it made for an interesting paint and I would definitely like to do more like this one!
Both Chip and Nafe Smallz wanted... it was Nafe Smallz who ended up getting it.
This painting was quite big! So delivering it proved to be tricky ahah... especially taking it on trains - I got some funny looks on the tube!
By this point, demand for my art was going up!
8.
GeeYou
"Make it out, ain't got no doubt, I had a dream."
GeYou - 'AMG 2'
This one is one of my personal favourites...
This was also the first time I got recognised in public for my art... they didn't know me but they saw the style and recognised my work.. it was a special moment.
9.
ARZ
"Just level up, don't change who you are."
ARZ - 'False promises'
I never got round to delivering this one, but I'm sure I will one day!
10.
WeWantWraiths
"This king of my town, just give me a crown."
WeWantWraiths - 'Big machines'
This is another one of my favourites...
"At this point, my hard work was starting to get recognised."
11.
Russ Millions
"Born as a leader, I'm the chosen one."
Tion Wayne - ''We won (feat. Russ Millions)'
Not sure why, but I always find 'side on' portraits easier to paint than 'face on' ones.
Not gonna lie... I panicked a bit when this came through because I didn't know how to reply ahah!
12.
163Margs
"My name ring bells, talk of the town... in fact, I'm talk of the city."
163Margs - 'Talk of the city'
This is the first time one of my paintings ended up in a recording studio.
13.
38 X ALZ
"See I'm talented, I guess that I'm gifted."
38 X ALZ - 'Gifted'
This one finally gave me the opportunity to do another double portrait... not sure if I Iike this one more than the Chip X Nafe Smallz one or not.
"No one's doing it like 'MoneyBear' you know"
I think it was safe to say that by this point, my art and unique style was being received better than I ever thought it would!
Chapter 5.
Victorious Festival
"I went from the crowd to backstage"
August 2024
Being from Portsmouth, my local music festival was 'Victorious'.... I had a meeting with one of my business contacts (separate to art) and we got on the topic of my art, so I showed him the work I had been doing in the music industry. That's when he told me that he knew the owner of Victorious Festival. He gave me their contact and I reached out to see if there was any opportunities there to work together. He loved the work I was doing and we ended up creating paintings for the headliners, and they would be left in their dressing rooms backstage as a welcome gift.
1.
Louis Tomlinson
"Cause we made it, underestimated and always underrated."
Louis Tomlinson - 'We made it'
2.
James Bay
"So come on let it go, just let it be."
James Bay - 'Let it go'
3.
Holly Humberstone
"I'm falling, falling asleep at the wheel... guess I forgot how to feel."
Holly Humberstone - 'Falling asleep at the wheel'
Each painting came with a custom note...
Chapter 6.
I am Next
"No one's doing what I'm doing..."
7th October 2024
With all the work I was doing within the industry, people were slowly starting to know the name 'MoneyBear'. One person that recognised my vision was 'Mr I am Next'. He had a respect for my art and the work I was putting in off my own back. He commissioned me for his own piece, which I did, but the more we spoke the more we realised we could help each other. This commission quickly became an opportunity to level up my game. So when it came time for me to deliver the painting, I brought the painting a long side a business proposal.
YouTube - @IAMNEXT
Instagram - @mr.iamnext
TikTok - @mriamnext
From that day forward, it would be a collaboration between 'MoneyBear' & 'Mr I am Next' - working together to bring a modern take of a lyrical picture to the music industry.
I will be forever grateful for the value he has brought to me and my art. I highly respect him for his work ethic, and everything he has done for me, has genuinely come from a place of mutual respect and desire to actually see me do well - those qualities can be rare these days.
He has been able to open so many doors and opportunity's for me... but this was only made possible by the work I decided to do myself. At the very start, no one was pushing me, no one was backing me, everything was done off my own back and my own connections that I built myself. Nothing has ever been given to me, I had to work for it, and discipline myself to achieve my goals and my dreams. I only tell you this so you can see that you truly can come from nothing... yes people may help you along the way, but at the end of the day, it's up to you!
We had our plan, and we got to work...
Chapter 7.
A new wave
"We levelled up!"
12th October 2024
After my meeting with 'Mr I am Next', my life changed almost instantly - just a few days later I was backstage at the O2 handing one of my paintings to Lil Tjay.
Lil Tjay is an artist who's music has really helped me over the years, so to be able to give back to him was a special moment for me. This was also the first time I'd been to a concert of this scale... and for my first concert to be a sold out O2 arena, with an 'artist complimentary' ticket and backstage access was crazy!
Definitely a moment I will never forget.
Chapter 8.
Sainte Headline Show
"We are locked in."
27th October 2024
One show... three paintings....
Delivering three paintings at once proved a challenge - just finding a bag big enough was the hardest part... it was very uncomfortable to carry too.
1.
Sainte
"I wasn't calm and collected, I had to go get it."
Sainte - ' Calm & Collected'
2.
AntsLIVE
"Bout time they know about me, hello."
AntsLIVE - 'Number one candidate'
"That's amazing!"
3.
Tay Jordan
"I been feelin' like the player of the year"
Tay Jordan - 'Player of the year'
"Cmon man... we got MB"
I'm extremely grateful for all the incredible people I have had the chance to meet. Looking back, when I used music as 'my escape', I never thought I would be in this position one day. I still kinda felt like I had no right to be in these rooms, coming from nothing and no prior connection to the industry... but the paintings were being received extremely well and that was a big confidence boost.
Chapter 9.
Sam Recks Headline show
"The game ain't seen nothing like this."
Sam Recks - 'Wish'
24th November 2024
Crazy how I went from never going to a concert, to consistently going backstage at them.
"This sh*t hard, still."
Chapter 10.
Nine's final show
"Hoodstar, my life's like a movie set, it's Nines."
Nines - 'Fire in the booth'
27th November 2024
This is another moment I will never forget... very grateful to have been part of Nine's final show.
This was the first time I got creative with the frame and tried something different... I think it worked well.
"You are a inspiration."
My only goal with my art is to inspire other people to follow and chase their dreams... so receiving messages like this makes me really happy. This is what I do it for - I don't do it for fame - I just want my art to help someone in their journey. Comments and messages like these mean more to me than anything else.
I could sell zero paintings but still say I had a successful career because of how it's touched other people's lives - how we treat and help other people in our lives is way more important than any amount of money.
Chapter 11.
AntsLIVE Headline Show
"One more show to end the year."
9th December 2024
One last show, five paintings... end the year on a high.
1.
Kairo Keyz
"Motion, I can't be stagnant."
Kairo Keyz - 'BRUV'
"By hand?!"
2.
Unkown T
"Pain is the essence, learnt the game in adolescence."
Unkown T - 'Adolescence (Feat. Digga)'
"Real."
People were starting to see that I was different... this was more than just art. The love and support was crazy - and deeply appreciated.
3.
Rushy
"Step out shine, know you can't stop my grind."
Rushy - 'Hi! Bye!'
"Honestly, I rate what you're doing."
4.
Jamo Beatz
"The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing."
I've always found it extremely important to highlight not just the artists, but the people who do the work behind the scenes - like the DJ's for example. Because they may not be front and centre but they still play a crucial role in the artists career... and that doesn't always get the recognition it deserves.
5.
BXKS
"Excuse me, can I get a word in?"
BXKS - 'Excuse me (feat. Joe James)'
"What the hell... yeah this is mad."
This was a great way to end the life changning year of 2024!
I even made an appearance on the 'UK Rap Numbers' page.
I spent the christmas break that year just sitting and reflecting exactly what I had managed to achieve that year. I went from being inspired by music in my room, to being deeply rooted into the music industry. This truly came from nothing, and it was only possible because I did three things:
1. Had a dream
2. Made a plan
3. And took action
It really is that simple... everyone has dreams, very few make a plan for it, and only 1% of people actually take action.
Please use my story as proof that you can do it, whatever your dream is. Nothing is impossible, but you have to put the work in! No one is going to do it for you.