marek zayler | painter

don't judge the process

Some people think being an artist is some holy vocation, reserved only for a few. You can wait + sit for inspiration to hit you and never do a thing. The thing is for me is to start the process and not judge it. Don’t look at it and say, “that’s a mess, I’m throwing it out”. Because in that mess, there may be gold.

Being in a wheelchair has confronted me a lot. It’s slowed me down. But sometimes you see and feel things that other people don’t. A lot of people run through their lives, always in a hurry and they never see things. I have the opportunity to sit back a bit. It has made me look at the whole physical thing…how important it is. Especially in a place like Byron Bay, where there are a lot of beautiful people walking around. But what is really beautiful is what you can feel from someone - it is a different energy that comes from inside.

Painting gives me the freedom to be myself – whatever that is. I don’t paint pretty pictures. I paint the pictures that I need to paint. That’s when they work. I get a good sense of when I’ve contrived something because it doesn’t feel as good. One of the biggest compliments anyone has ever given me or can give me is that your work makes me feel.

words by marek zayler

edited + curated by cassie douglas