The Secret To This Artist's Success Is Rap Music (Kinda)

Refinery29

We've all been there: You're driving on an open highway, casually bopping on a dance floor, or barely on minute two of your treadmill run when suddenly, "Dirt Off Your Shoulder" begins to play. And instantly, it's like you're charged with the power of 40 Red Bulls. Even if you replace Jay Z with Dolly Parton, there's inarguably a bit of magic infused in the jams that get our mojo going. And, for artist Rosson Crow, it's rap that hypes her up when she's creating her fantastical larger-than-life pieces of work.  "Rap music is all about building up [your] own image," she tells us in the latest video for Nasty Gal's Portrait Of A #GIRLBOSS. And, as someone who never really fit the norm (she wore costumes and wigs to her conservative high school) and has had her own fair share of doubt (like fearing she may never sell another painting again), Crow's musical motivation tip is a pretty amazing one we can relate to. And, that goes for whether or not your medium is acrylic and oil on canvas.   Watch for more of her brilliant musings on making mistakes, standing out, and trusting yourself. And, yeah, we think Hova would approve, too.

Transcript

00:07My name is Rawson Crow, and I'm a painter.

00:10Well, I grew up in Plano, Texas, which is a suburb of Dallas.

00:15I did find it a bit creatively stifling at times.

00:18I moved to New York when I was 17, so I got out of there as fast as I could.

00:22I was a very quirky teenager.

00:25I was kind of always doing my own thing.

00:27So I wore a lot of, like, costumes to school and a lot of wigs.

00:31I had a huge wig collection in high school.

00:33I was definitely not necessarily accepted by all the kids in my school.

00:36My high school was very conservative.

00:38It was kind of like I was in my own world doing my own thing.

00:41You know, I've always been drawn to painting.

00:42I think it's a really, it's a very interesting art form.

00:45It's almost like requires a slowness to really view painting,

00:49and there's like a sexiness in that, which I was really drawn to.

00:53I remember selling my first painting.

00:55It was very exciting that somebody wanted what I had made.

00:59But I was also like, who knows?

01:00Maybe no one will ever buy another one of my paintings, and this is it.

01:03The artist's life is so full of ups and downs, and it's like nothing's guaranteed.

01:07And I'm going to be brave enough to do that,

01:09even though maybe it's not going to be as commercially viable.

01:12There's a huge part of it that's very much like a boys' club.

01:16It's just making it through those challenges and not giving up.

01:18It's the hardest thing.

01:19Well, I listen to a lot of rap music when I paint.

01:22I mean, rap music is all about building up their own image,

01:25how much they've accomplished in life and what odds they've overcome.

01:29That's inspiring to listen to.

01:31That's one trick.

01:33Some of the mistakes I've made come from not following my own instincts and not trusting myself.

01:41Mistakes can be good.

01:42I mean, I'm really pro-making bad paintings, if you're going to learn something from it.

01:47So, I don't know.

01:48I've never really been like, ah, I've made it.

01:50This is it.

01:51Because, you know, what does that mean?

01:53I don't know.

01:54Just be tough and go for it.

01:57Because what's the worst that's going to happen?

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