My Paintings, Kanye West's Former House, and the Way of the World

Sometimes life throws you a little curveball that makes you stop and think, "Wait, how did that happen?" That's exactly what went through my mind when I found out two of my paintings ended up in a house Kanye West used to own. Now, before you get excited and think Kanye himself bought them, let me set the record straight: he didn't. But how they got there is a story worth telling.

Selling My Paintings to a Designer

A few years back, I sold two large paintings—one of a football player and another of a guy holding a hawk—to a designer in Los Angeles. These were big pieces, four feet by eight feet, done in acrylic on canvas. At the time, I figured they’d find their way into some stylish LA home, but I never imagined they'd wind up in a house that once belonged to Kanye West.

The Instagram Discovery

Fast forward to recently, one of my relatives was casually scrolling through Instagram and stumbled upon a couple of my paintings featured on a pop culture page. At first, it was a cool surprise, but then it got me curious. How did my art end up in a place like that? I mean, it’s not every day you see your work hanging in a home that’s connected to one of the biggest names in music and fashion.

How My Paintings Ended Up There

After a bit of digging, I found out that the house was being put on the market, and like any high-end property, it was staged to look its best. My guess is that the realtor called in a staging company or a designer they knew to come in and spruce up the place, and that’s how my paintings ended up there. It’s funny, but this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. I’ve seen my work pop up in TV shows and movies without my permission. That’s just the way things go sometimes in this business.

Reflecting on the Artist's Journey

It’s always a mixed bag of feelings when something like this happens. On the one hand, it’s kind of cool to see your work out there in the world, even if it’s by surprise. On the other hand, it’s a reminder of how little control we sometimes have over where our art ends up. But at the end of the day, that’s part of the artist’s journey—letting go and seeing where the work takes you.