26 years ago, there he was.
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This small, cute and creative baby.
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Well, nobody knew back then what he would become.
My mom and dad, both artists in their own way, brought to earth an artist whose soul speaks louder than his mind.
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When I grew up, I was always a rebel.
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I did what I wanted. I didn’t really follow the path of society…
It might have been a blessing, but at an early age, I was moved to a boarding school. It wasn’t easy because I missed home, I missed my mom…
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It confused me a lot…
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But it turned out to be the opportunity of a lifetime.
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The boarding school was a Rudolf Steiner School which is known to promote creativity.
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I got the chance to develop lots of talents…
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From beatboxing - the first thing I learned just by observing a friend.
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At one point I started dancing, just by watching videos.
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Then I took singing lessons and started playing the guitar.
We also played theaters in our school and I loved it…
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I once even played the role of Brad Pitt (literally 3 lines and acting cool… typical Brad Pitt stuff lol)
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I also created things with my hands, small projects they gave me.
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Painting was never really in my mind as a career, mostly because society didn’t promote it and people had these limiting beliefs about it.
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I can vividly remember when I went to the Career Consultant in our school and he asked me what I wanted to do when I leave.
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For me, it was clear like a shimmering crystal.
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With enthusiasm, I said, “I want to become a Singer, an Actor or maybe a Dancer or a designer!.”
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How he looked at me…
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Rather than supporting what I wanted to do, he instead showed me a giant poster of all the jobs I could choose from (those that were acceptable in the eyes of society).
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I looked at it for a moment.
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There were a lot of jobs…
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I stared blankly at the page
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…nothing and I mean nothing, interested me!
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“Which one do you like out of these jobs?” he asked
I said, “None. I want to be a Singer, Dancer, Designer or
Actor.”
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He must have thought that I was totally crazy.
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So he gave up and I left.
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Later on, it turned out that he really thought I was totally crazy…
He even told it to the person that was responsible for me in the boarding school.
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The house father
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He was basically like a father to me in a way.
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He agreed with the career consultant…
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He even started telling others that I was disabled in my mind.
Needless to say, this broke my heart...
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It made me feel worthless and for a moment I even thought “maybe he is right”
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This however awakened a determination in me
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...to prove that I am able to do anything I set my mind to
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...to prove that I am worthy.
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So, I found an apprenticeship as a salesperson in Zürich Switzerland.
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Even though they gave me the option to go into acting school, I knew I needed to leave this place and go out to the “real world”.
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When I went I left the boarding school and moved to Zürich I was very confused about who I was and what I wanted.
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In a way, I lost myself.
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I lost this creative spirit.
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I lost a lot of energy.
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I got tired.
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People even noticed that I was constantly tired and asked if I am good for anything?
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After 2 years of being in this apprenticeship, I couldn’t take it anymore and I quit!
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I started my journey of self-discovery.
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Long story short, after many years of searching I came across a book “The Artist’s Way”
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It unblocked things that had been in the way for me
It helped release the artist within that was lost for a very long time.
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Then I kept working on myself with the help of great mentors
Today I am an aspirational artist living from my art and moving others towards a better life.
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I know where I am going and I also know that a Hojas Painting is still totally under-valued in the art market.
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I am on a mission and I won’t stop any time soon.
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​- Oliver
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