We recently had the chance to connect with Lawrence Chappe and have shared our conversation below.
Lawrence, it’s always a pleasure to learn from you and your journey. Let’s start with a bit of a warmup: What is a normal day like for you right now?
I wake up around 7-730 am. drink water, go in my backyard, Do a light workout. Check my social medias, post. Review my planner to see what I gotta do today and what I left undone from the previous day. then I get to it.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Lawrence Chappe, im a cuban American mixed media artist, I’ve been married to y wife Claudia for abut 6 years. We have a dog named Cristina that is the center of our universe. . . Speaking of which, culture is hyper fixated on negative shit, a huge part of social media is designed to make you feel bad about yourself – my work is exclusively focused on positivity, fun, happiness, healing, and high vibrations.
I am working on many things, but among many other things some of my goals are to have a gallery in east pompano that will serve as a cultural center for the community. A place where music and art collide.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who saw you clearly before you could see yourself?
As an artist I do have a couple of friends who saw greatness in me before I did… Before my art career started getting traction my friend Ivan Narvaez told me he believed in me and he know I was going to be major. . This was at a time I wasn’t even focused on my career as an artist – I was working as a photographer and graphic designer at the time. . . I remember having kind of a whatever reaction to this. I have since re-structured and re done a lot of my career goals, and I go back to that moment and think, “DANM”!
Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
many times. Shit, I question my life mission almost daily!!!!!! This ain’t for the weak of heart!
Here’s a story:
I still work as a graphic designer, and within the last 2 years I actually lost ALL my clients within a 30 days window. That means my income went to $0. I tried for months to get clients and got SHIT!!!! This put a lot of stress on my mind, my body, my marriage, my whole life. I literally went to bed at night a few times and asked to please not wake up.
In retrospect this difficult and challenging time was the catalyst to my art career. I used to sell paintings here and there, but when I saw myself with nothing, after spending months trying to rebuild I basically decided to make a commitment to myself. I’ve had a graphic design business for almost 10 years, ive had small clients, big clients, corporate clients, public companies, companies that sold for millions and millions – and so far the only consistent thing they all had in common was that they all left me when they no longer needed me to make money. So I decided this time that I would commit to ME. FUCK THESE MOTHERFUCKERS – so In 2024 I did 7 art shows, started building my art brand,
I still work as a graphic designer, and I have really good clients that I love working with – but as a general rule of thumb – my commitment is to myself, so my work comes first.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
Authenticity
Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
One thing I love about being me is that this kind of question doesnt resonate with me. It is exciting for me to answer because I really hope someone reads this and something clicks for them.
I think I am the right amount of crazy to still function in society. Doing things that I dont feel in my heart is what I truly want to do is not in my DNA… Listen, ive had shitty jobs, and awful clients, and different situations I wanted to be out of. But generally speaking, at some point I wanted to be doing the thins I was doing. So I have 10 years left of life im still going the things im doing now… Probably with more intention and focus. I love my wife, I love my job, I love my friends, I love where I live, I love what I do when I wake up, I love everything I do…. SO yea, we stay the course.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://shop.chappe.studio
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lawrence.chappe/?hl=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Chappe.Studio
